Under FAA JAA IKO rulings, it is mandated that if and when an emergency is declared by an airborne plane, ATC immediately diverts all incoming traffic and gives priority to the emergency situation. Most, if not all, of the events we have described as emergency are official emergencies. However, sometimes they are incorrectly reported as emergencies by our sources, have been downgraded from official emergency status, or are believed to be emergencies by passengers in fear for their lives.
American Airlines flight AA-2250 had to make an emergency landing in Hartford, Connecticut, on February 26th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Chicago, Illinois, but had to turn back after the crew noticed an unusual smell on board.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All ninety-three passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
Alaska Airlines flight AS-1506 had to return and make an emergency landing in Seattle, Washington, on February 26th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Santa Ana, California, but had to turn back after the crew noticed an unusual odor on board.
The plane landed safely. The cabin crew were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
JetBlue flight B6-1204 had to return and make an emergency landing in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on February 25th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Newark, New Jersey, but had to turn back due to a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and fifty-eight people aboard remained unharmed.
Austrian Airlines flight OS-509 made an emergency landing at Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy, on February 25th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane flying from Vienna, Austria, was descending toward Milan Malpensa Airport when the crew reported an unusual smell in the cabin.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
EasyJet flight U2-426 made an emergency landing in Birmingham, England, on February 25th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Bristol, England, was diverted after the crew noticed a burning electrical odor on board.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
British Airways flight BA-706 made an emergency landing at London Stansted Airport, England, on February 25th.
The Airbus A320-200N plane heading from Heathrow Airport, England, to Vienna, Austria, was diverted after the crew received a cargo smoke indication.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH-724 made an emergency landing in Jambi, Indonesia, on February 25th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was diverted due to a low fuel indication.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and twenty passengers and seven crew members remained unharmed.
SpiceJet flight SG-389 made an emergency landing in Kolkata, India, on February 26th.
The plane took off for Surat, India, but had to turn back after a passenger who was flying for the first time suffered a panic attack.
The plane landed back safely.
A Wizz Air plane made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 25th.
The plane was coming from Budapest, Hungary, when the crew suspected a damaged tire,
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-474 made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on February 24th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Montreal, Canada, but had to turn back due to issues with the IRS systems.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Vistara flight UK-733 made an emergency landing in Kolkata, India, on February 25th.
The plane was coming from Chennai, India, when the crew reported an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-147 made an emergency landing in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on February 23rd.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was flying from Dhaka, Bangladesh, when a passenger attempted to enter the cockpit at gunpoint.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All Passengers and crew members disembarked while the security forces tried to negotiate with the purported hijacker. He was later shot by the security forces when he refused to surrender and was taken to a hospital where he died.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
A Czech Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Václav Havel Airport Prague, Czech Republic, on February 23rd.
The plane took off for Seoul, South Korea, but had to turn back due to a suspected fuel leak.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
SkyWest Airlines flight OO-3565 made an emergency landing at McCarran International Airport, Nevada, on February 22nd.
The plane heading from Palm Springs, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah, was diverted after a passenger suffered a medical emergency.
The plane landed safely. The patient was taken to a hospital.
Safair flight FA-102 made an emergency landing in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 21st.
The plane took off for Johannesburg, South Africa, but had to turn back due to a technical issue.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-3768 made an emergency landing at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, Arkansas, on February 21st.
The plane heading from Springfield, Missouri to Dallas, Texas, was diverted after the crew noticed smoke in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Southwest Airlines made an emergency landing in Orlando, Florida, on February 21st.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Denver, Colorado, was diverted due to a suspected nose tire damage.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-501 had to return and make an emergency landing at Galeao International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 20th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane took off for Frankfurt, Germany, but had to turn back due to an engine problem.
The plane landed safely. All three hundred and sixty-one people aboard remained unharmed.
Atlas Air flight 5Y-8591 made an emergency landing in Leipzig, Germany, on February 20th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane heading from Nuremberg, Germany, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was diverted due to a technical issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Satena flight 9R-8729 made an emergency landing in Bogota, Colombia, on February 20th.
The plane took off from Quibdo, Colombia, but suffered tire damage during departure.
The crew continued the flight and landed uneventfully in Bogota. Emergency services inspected the plane upon arrival.
All passengers and crew members remained safe.
United Airlines flight UA-961 made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on February 20th.
The plane heading from Frankfurt, Germany, to Newark, New Jersey, was diverted after an elderly passenger suffered a medical emergency.
The plane landed safely. The patient was pronounced dead upon landing.
Delta Airlines flight DL-589 had to return and make an emergency landing in Seattle, Washington, on February 19th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Shanghai, China, but had to turn back due to a lavatory maintenance problem.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and ninety-passengers aboard remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-2050 made an emergency landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 19th.
The plane heading from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Atlanta, Georgia, was diverted after it suffered a lightning strike that resulted in engine vibrations.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and sixty-four people aboard remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-671 made an emergency landing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on February 16th.
The plane heading from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, to McCarran International Airport, Nevada, was diverted as it needed refueling due to weather-related delays at the destination airport.
The plane landed safely and departed for McCarran International Airport shortly afterwards.
LATAM Brasil flight LA-3466 had to return and make an emergency landing at Sao Paulo International Airport, Brazil, on February 17th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Porto Alegre, Brazil, but had to turn back due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
