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.
Air 
Berlin flight AB-7001 had to make an emergency landing at Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany, on July 20.
The airbus A330-200 was heading towards Dusseldorf, Germany, from Miami, Florida, when its main gear tires lost pressure, forcing the pilot to divert.
The plane landed safely. All the passengers aboard remained unhurt.
The flight resumed after replacing wheels.
An Allegiant Air plane had to make an emergency landing at Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida, on July 20.
The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Florida and was en-route to Memphis, Tennessee when a maintenance issue prompted the pilot to declare emergency.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
An Alaska Airlines Flight 006 returned to Los Angeles International Airport, California, on the afternoon of July 18.
The Boeing 737, heading towards Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Virginia, had to return for an emergency landing after it was hit by lightning.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All 159 passengers aboard remained unhurt.
A single-engine Piper Cherokee had to divert and make an emergency landing at Province Lake Golf Course, Parsonsfield, Maine, at 7:50 A.M. on July 18.
The plane, en-route from Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport, Canada, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, had to be landed in emergency due to fog and heavy rain.
The plane landed safely. The sheriff’s department confirmed that the pilot, identified as Gary Soucy, 66, remained unhurt.
The FAA was notified.
Air Transat flight TS-315 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Dublin Airport, Ireland, at 11:46 A.M. on July 17.
The Airbus A330-200 had to be diverted after smoke was noticed in the cabin. The plane, carrying 313 people, was heading towards Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada from Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Italy, at the time.
The plane landed safely and everyone aboard remained unhurt.
According to the airline, the airbus was diverted as a precaution for a technical verification.
EasyJet flight EZY 4784 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Berlin Schönefeld Airport, Germany, on July 16.
The plane, en-route from Manchester, England to Tel Aviv, Israel, had to be landed in emergency after 3 cabin crew members and some passengers suspiciously started feeling unwell.
The plane, carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members, landed uneventfully. All passengers were checked by the medics and 4 of them were hospitalized.
The flight resumed shortly afterwards.
The incident is under investigation.
Delta Airlines flight DL-2469 made an emergency landing at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, Washington, at 2:24 A.M. on July 16.
The Boeing 767-300 was heading to Atlanta, Georgia from Anchorage, Alaska, when the pilot decided to make an emergency landing due to engine fire.
The plane landed safely and all 255 passengers and 7 crew members remained unhurt.
The passengers were accommodated in other flights.
A small plane crashed into woods near Waite Road in Sheridan, Chautauqua County, New York, at 11:30 A.M. on July 16.
The single-engine Cessna 162 crashed while the pilot was trying to return to Chautauqua County/Dunkirk Airport, New York, after facing some mechanical issue.
The pilot, identified as Francis Emmerling, 66, was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. It is believed that Emmerling was the only person aboard.
The FAA and Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.
A sky-diving plane had to make an emergency landing at route 72 in Stafford Township, New Jersey, on the morning of July 12.
The single-engine plane had to be landed in emergency after it apparently lost engine power. The plane was carrying 5 people, including 3 students and an instructor from the Skydive East Coast sky-diving school, at the time.
The plane landed uneventfully. Authorities said the instructor received a minor cut on his arm while everyone else remained unhurt.
The FAA is investigating.
A helicopter, carrying Ghana’s president and his wife, made a precautionary landing in an open field of Apatrampa in Kumasi, Ghana on the night of July 10.
President John Dramani Mahama, and his wife, Lordina Mahama, were travelling to Accra from Sunyani, when “a sudden storm with high winds closed in”, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.
The helicopter landed safely.
Everyone aboard, including the President and his wife, remained unharmed.
Jet Airways flight 9W-536 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Muscat International Airport, Oman, on the afternoon of July 9.
The plane, en-route to Dubai from Mumbai, had to be landed in emergency after Air Traffic Controllers alerted the pilot about a bomb threat.
A Jet Airways spokesperson Manish Kalghatgi confirmed, “There was a bomb threat on the flight. It was a serious threat prompting the pilot to land at the closest airport.”
The plane landed uneventfully and all 54 passengers and 7 crew members remained safe. The flight continued after security clearance.
British Airways flight 474 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts on July 8.
The pilot had to divert the plane after a drunk passenger, Darren Halliwell, allegedly hit his wife, Sharon Halliwell, mid-air. The plane was en-route from London Heathrow Airport, UK, to Houston, Texas, at the time.
The plane landed uneventfully.
Authorities confirmed that the 48 year-old company director would have to face 2 and a half-year prison sentence after assaulting his wife.
Thomson Airways flight TOM2334 made an emergency landing at Larnaca International Airport, Cyprus at 9:00 P.M. on July 8.
The Boeing 767-300, travelling from Manchester, UK, to Larnaca, Cyprus, had to declare an emergency after it experienced short-term air turbulence.
Among the 328 passengers and 10 crew members aboard, 4 crew members sustained injuries.
The injured were taken to hospital.
Kuwait Airways flight KU-361 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai, on July 7.
The plane was en-route from Kuwait to Colombo in Sri Lanka, when the pilot detected a technical problem in one of the engines and decided to divert.
The Airbus A300-600 landed uneventfully.
The passengers were later accommodated in a replacement plane.
Hainan Airlines flight HU-7244 had to return and make an emergency landing at Hefei Xinqiao International Airport, China on the morning of July 8.
The Boeing 737-800, heading to Guangzhou, had to be turned back after the crew received indication of smoke in the cargo hold.
The plane landed safely and was evacuated through emergency slides.
There were 162 passengers and 9 crew members aboard the plane; authorities said 8 of them sustained injuries during evacuation and were taken to hospitals.
Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) were investigating.
United Airlines flight 2910 made an emergency landing at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Michigan, at around 2:15 A.M. on July 8.
The Embraer 145 regional jet was on its way from Denver, Colorado to Traverse City in Michigan, when it had to declare emergency after experiencing trouble with its wing flaps.
The plane landed safely.
All 46 passengers on board remained unhurt.
A Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter made a precautionary landing on a cul-de-sac in Mineville, Nova Scotia, Canada, at 10:40 A.M. on July 7.
The Sea King helicopter was on a routine training flight when it had to land as a precaution after the crew observed a drop in its hydraulic pressure.
None of the 4 crew members aboard reported any injuries.
Turkish Airlines flight TK 0065 diverted and made an emergency landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Dehli, India, on July 7.
The Airbus 330 was heading towards Istanbul, Turkey, from Bangkok, Thailand, when it had to be diverted due to a bomb threat. According to reports, the crew had found a statement written with lipstick on toilet mirror saying, “Bomb in Cargo Hold.”
The plane, carrying 148 people, landed uneventfully. Civil Aviation spokesperson R.N. Choubey confirmed no bomb was found in the plane.
American Airlines Flight AA-2437 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, at 1:40 P.M. on July 7.
The airbus A319-100 was en-route from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia, to Los Angeles, California, when the pilot declared emergency due to hydraulic issues.
The plane landed safely.
All 127 passengers and 5 crew members aboard remained unharmed and were accommodated in a replacement flight.
A Turkish Airlines flight had to divert and make an emergency landing at Nikola Tesla International Airport in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 6.
The plane was diverted due to a suspicious tablet found on-board. The flight was heading from Istanbul to London at the time.
The plane landed safely and after check-up, it was allowed to continue its journey towards London.
The suspicious tablet was confiscated by the police.
American Airlines flight AA-2271 made an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, on the afternoon of July 6.
The Boeing 737-800, heading towards West Palm Beach in Florida, from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, had to be diverted due to a problem with one of its flaps.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 141 people aboard remained safe.
Southwest Airlines Flight WN-2869 had to return and make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, at 5:58 p.m. on July 5.
The Boeing 737-800, en-route to Los Angeles International Airport, had to return due a “performance issue with one of the tires”. It is believed that one of the aircraft’s tires blew during take off.
The plane made a rough landing at the airport, however, all 183 people aboard remained safe.
The passengers were later transported in a replacement plane
Delta Air Lines Flight 546 had to make an emergency landing at Norfolk International Airport, Virginia at 3:10 P.M. on July 5.
The Boeing 737 was heading towards John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, from Dominican Republic, when the pilots received warning of a possible mechanical issue in one of the engines and decided to land as a precaution.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All 131 passengers and 6 crew members aboard remained safe and were accommodated in a replacement flight.
A Cessna 180 float plane made an emergency landing on mudflats close to the Birchwood Airport near Anchorage, Alaska, on the afternoon of July 5.
The pilot decided to land in emergency after the plane lost its power.
The plane was en-route to Fire Lakes in Eagle River, Anchorage, from Katie Lake in Matanuska-Susitna Valley at the time.
The pilot, who was the only person aboard, remained safe.
Allegiant Air flight 977 had to make an emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in St. Petersburg, Florida, at 7:53 p.m. on July 3.
The MD-83 aircraft, en-route to Putna Gorda in Florida, from Asheville, North Carolina, had to divert because of bad weather conditions.
According to Allegiant, the pilot had to declare emergency before landing when an “indicator light” indicated a “maintenance issue” in the plane.
The plane, carrying 146 passengers and 6 crew members, landed uneventfully.
The passengers were adjusted in a replacement flight.
The issue is being investigated.
