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.
Gol Linhas Aéreas flight G3-1253 had to return and make a safe landing at Sen. Petronio Portella Airport, Teresina, Piaui, Brazil, on December 12.
The Boeing 737-800 was en-route to Brasilia, Brazil, when the crew encountered some problem with its engine and returned to Teresina for a safe landing.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers aboard remained unhurt.
TAM Airlines flight JJ8065 had to return and make an emergency landing at Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain, on December 15.
The Boeing 777 took off for Sao Paulo, Brazil, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bomb threat.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Gulf Air flight GF003 made an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom, on December 13.
Authorities said the pilots of the Airbus 330, flying from Bahrain, declared an emergency after the aircraft developed some technical issues that led to a drop in cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All 89 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
The airline said in a statement, “The safety, protection and comfort of our passengers and employees are of utmost importance and Gulf Air crew are trained to handle such incidents, as evidenced by the level of professionalism shown by both the pilots and cabin crew as well as all of our teams on the ground.”
Jetstar Airways flight JQ-127 had to return and make an emergency landing at Adelaide International Airport, Adelaide, Australia, on December 11.
The Airbus A320-200, en-route to Bali, Indonesia, was above central Australia when some problem with the hydraulic system caused it to return and land.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers aboard remained unhurt and were accommodated in other flights.
Southwest flight 987 made an emergency landing in San Antonio, Texas, on December 13.
The plane was heading from Austin to Valley International Airport, Harlingen, when the crew noticed that a part of the wing was missing and decided to divert.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 109 passengers and 5 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
A Jetstar flight had to return and make an emergency landing at Auckland airport, New Zealand, on December 13.
The plane had just taken off for Dunedin, New Zealand, when it started ‘jerking and shuddering’, prompting the pilots to declare an emergency.
The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.
Compass Airlines flight DL-5749 had to return and make a safe emergency landing at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Washington, on December 10.
The Embraer ERJ-175, heading to San Diego, California, had to return due to a hissing noise coming from one of its doors.
The plane landed uneventfully.
No injuries were reported.
Porter Airlines flight 265 had to make an emergency landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada, on December 11.
The plane was flying from Ottawa when the pilot reported a hydraulic issue and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 54 passengers and crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
A small plane crashed in the median of Interstate 29, north of downtown Council Bluffs, Iowa, on December 10.
The Piper Malibu Meridian single-engine plane had just taken off from Eppley Airfield when it started experiencing some issues. Authorities said the pilot radioed to the airport and sought permission to return for an emergency landing, however, the plane clipped a power line and went down.
The pilot, who was the only one aboard, was killed in the crash. He was identified as John Rogers, 65, of Omaha.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.
A small plane had to make an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, New York, on December 10.
The Bombardier plane was flying from White Plains, New York, when its landing gear got stuck in the down position, prompting the pilots to declare an emergency.
The plane landed uneventfully. All five passengers and two crew members remained unhurt.
The plane was taken for inspection.
Lufthansa flight LH-430 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Keflavik, Iceland, on December 10.
The Boeing 747-800, en-route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Chicago, Illinois, was diverted due to reports of electrical odor in cabin.
The plane landed safely. No injuries were reported.
A U.S. Air Force KC10 tanker plane made an emergency landing at Monterey Regional Airport, California, on December 8.
Authorities said the plane that took off from Travis Air Force Base, near Fairfield, requested an emergency landing due to smoke in cabin.
The plane landed safely. There were five crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Frontier Airlines flight F9-917 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Jacksonville International Airport, Jacksonville, Florida, on December 9.
The Airbus A319-100, flying from Trenton, New Jersey, to Orlando, Florida, had to divert due to an issue with one of its engines.
The plane landed safely.
All 140 passengers and 5 crew members remained safe.
TAP Air Portugal flight TP-432 had to return and make an emergency landing at Lisbon Portela Airport, Lisbon, Portugal, on December 8.
The Airbus A320-200, en-route to Paris, France, had to return due to a sensor indication.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All 36 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
RusLine flight 7R-607 had to return and make an emergency landing at International airport “Kurumoch”, Samara Oblast, Russia, on December 6.
The Canadair CRJ-200, heading to Krasnodar, Russia, had to return when the crew failed to retract its landing gear.
The plane landed unhurt.
All 33 passengers and 3 crew members remained safe.
Air France flight AF83 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Québec, Canada, on December 8.
The Boeing 777-328, en-route from San Francisco International Airport, California, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, when it diverted due to an alleged bomb threat.
The plane landed safely.
No one was injured.
Lufthansa flight 1406 had to make an emergency landing in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 5.
The plane was flying from Frankfurt, Germany, when a Jordanian-American passenger started fumbling with the controls of an emergency exit door. According to an airline spokesperson, “A passenger got up and tried to do something at the door, but was stopped by crew members and other passengers…The passenger was then restrained for the remainder of the flight in his seat.”
The plane landed safely. The man was handed over to the authorities.
An Air France flight, operated by Cityjet, had to divert and make an emergency landing at Belfast International Airport, United Kingdom, on December 4.
Authorities said the plane, en-route from Paris, France, to Dublin, Ireland, was diverted due to Storm Desmond.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were over 50 passengers aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
The airline arranged bus for the passengers.
An American Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Meridian, Mississippi, on December 5.
The plane, operated by ExpressJet, was heading from Dallas, Texas, to Columbia Metropolitan Airport, South Carolina, when the crew reported a crack in the windshield and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
The airline arranged another aircraft for the passengers.
BMI Regional flight BM-1826 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport, London, England, on December 2.
The Embraer ERJ-145, en-route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Bristol, England, had to be landed in emergency after the crew received a smoke indication in its lavatory.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers aboard remained unhurt.
Allegiant Air flight 815 had to return and make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, North Carolina, on December 3.
The plane took off for St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, Florida, but had to return immediately afterwards after the crew reported smell of smoke in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. No one was injured.
The airline said the aircraft had a mechanical fault.
A private plane made an emergency landing at Palm Springs International Airport, California, on December 4.
Airport authorities said the plane, carrying two people, requested an emergency landing after its landing gear failed to deploy.
The plane landed on its belly. Both occupants remained unhurt.
A 1960 Piper Comanche single-engine plane made an emergency landing at Millville Municipal Airport, Cumberland County, New Jersey, on December 4.
Authorities said the plane was taking off when it lost power and landed on its belly on the grass near a taxiway.
There were two people aboard at the time, including the pilot Roger Buck of Berlin and his passenger Roland Arthur of Lumberton. Buck sustained minor injuries in the incident while Arthur remained unhurt.
The plane, registered to Buck, was significantly damaged.
The FAA is investigating.
JetBlue Airways flight B6-833 had to return and make an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Buffalo, New York, on November 30.
The Airbus A320-200, flying from Boston, Massachusetts, to San Francisco, California, was mid-air above Buffalo when the crew detected smoke in the cockpit and sensed vibrations, causing the plane to divert.
The plane landed safely.
All passengers remained unhurt and were accommodated in another flight.
A Saudi cargo plane had to divert and make an emergency landing at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, on December 3.
The plane was heading from Italy to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, when the pilot noticed that the fuel level is alarmingly low and decided to divert.
The plane landed safely.
Authorities said the plane was able to resume its journey after refuelling.
