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.
A British Airways flight had to return and make an emergency landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan, on April 10.
The Airbus 321 departed for London but had to turn back shortly afterwards after one of its engines caught fire.
The plane landed uneventfully and all 92 passengers and crew members remained safe.
EasyJet flight EZY5455 had to make an emergency landing at Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany, on April 11.
The plane was heading from London Gatwick Airport to Paphos, Cyprus, when the pilot reported smoky odor in the cockpit and declared emergency.
The Airbus A320 made a safe emergency landing in Cologne. All 169 passengers and 6 crew members aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged an alternate aircraft for the passengers.
A plane skidded off the runway at Brookneal/Campbell County Airport in Virginia, on April 11.
The airport officials confirmed that the incident happened when the twin engine Cessna was attempting an emergency landing after its door came open midair. The plane was en-route from Florida to New York at the time.
The pilot, his wife and dog were onboard the plane. Authorities said only the pilot sustained minor injuries.
The incident remains under investigation.
A small plane had to make an emergency landing at Cox Springs Road, just south of U.S. 20, in Peosta, Iowa, on April 11.
The single-engine plane was heading from California to Galt Airport, Illinois when the pilot Adam Maritz noticed smoke in the cockpit and decided to make an emergency landing.
The plane landed uneventfully and the pilot, who was the only one aboard, remained unharmed.
The FAA was notified.
Allegiant Air flight 8503 had to make an emergency landing at Chicago Rockford International Airport in Rockford, Illinois, on April 8.
The plane took off from South Bend, Indiana and was heading to Wendover, Utah when the pilot reported an oil filter malfunction. FAA spokesperson Tony Molinaro confirmed that the plane made an uneventful emergency landing as a precaution.
The plane was a charter for the Resorts at Wendover and was carrying around 115 people at the time.
The passengers were accommodated in local hotels and were transported back to South Bend next day.
Jet Airways flight S2 4121 made an emergency landing at Raipur airport in Chhattisgarh, India, on April 8.
The Mumbai-Raipur-Bhopal-Mumbai plane was forced to land in emergency after the pilot reported a snag due to flat nose tire.
The plane landed safely and was immediately grounded. All 160 passengers remained unhurt.
The next flight to Bhopal was cancelled.
A Cessna 182 had to land in emergency at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport in Lubbock, Texas, on the afternoon of April 9.
Authorities said the pilot requested an emergency landing due to issues with plane’s nose landing gear.
The plane landed uneventfully at around 12 p.m.
The pilot remained unharmed.
Japan Airlines flight 521 made an emergency landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, on April 8.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 was heading from Haneda to Hokkaido when the pilot reported a suspected engine fault and sought permission to land back.
Authorities said the aircraft’s right engine had to be shut down midair before it made a safe emergency landing.
All 228 passengers and 11 crew members remained unhurt.
Turkish Airlines flight TK1530 made an emergency landing at Nuremberg Airport, Germany, on April 8.
The Airbus 321 was heading from Düsseldorf to Istanbul when its windshield began to crack. The pilots then immediately reported the situation and requested an emergency landing at the nearest airport.
The plane landed uneventfully and everyone aboard remained unhurt.
The aircraft was taken for repair.
Two F-16 jets made an emergency landing at Muan International Airport, South Korea, on April 7.
Air Force officials said the Kunsan Air Base fighter jets had to land in emergency after one of them experienced engine trouble. The jets departed from Gunsan Airport and were on a training flight over Jeolla-do when the malfunction was reported.
The planes landed safely.
The U.S. Forces Korea is investigating.
An Air India flight had to return and make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, on April 5.
The airline confirmed the incident saying, “the flight had taken off for Mumbai at around 1650 hours (US time) and landed back at Newark (US) after being airborne for about two hours due to violent vibrations in one of the engines of the Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.”
There were more than 250 people aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Republic Airlines flight 3880 had to make an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport in Hartford County, Connecticut, on April 2.
The plane, heading from Newark, New Jersey, to Burlington, Vermont, had to be diverted after the pilot reported engine problems.
The plane landed uneventfully and all 71 passengers and 4 crew members remained unhurt.
The aircraft was taken for inspection while the airline arranged alternate transport for passengers.
Germanwings flight 3882 made an emergency landing at Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy, on April 3.
According to the airline, the flight, en-route from Hanover, Germany, to Rome, was diverted because, “two people, a passenger and a member of the crew, were struck by strong nausea and needed medical treatment.”
The plane, carrying 149 people, landed uneventfully. Medical attention was provided to the sick passenger and crew member.
The flight resumed shortly afterwards.
Germanwings Flight 4U 814 had to divert and make an unscheduled landing at Stuttgart Airport, Germany, on April 4.
The airline said the Airbus A319, en-route from Cologne, Germany, to Venice, Italy, had to be diverted after the pilot reported suspected oil leakage and shut down one of the engines. “This is a standard safety procedure. It was not an emergency landing,” the statement said.
The plane landed safely and all 123 passengers and 5 crew members remained safe.
The aircraft was taken for inspection while an alternate plane was arranged for the passengers.
United Airlines flight 1188 had to turn back and make an emergency landing at San Francisco International Airport, California, on April 1.
Authorities said the Boeing 757-300 aircraft was en-route to Boston, Massachusetts, when the pilots sought permission to return due to a sick flight attendant.
The plane landed back uneventfully and the ill flight attendant was rushed to a nearby hospital.
United Airlines Flight 5064 had to return and make an emergency landing at San Francisco International Airport, California, on April 1.
The plane, bound for Calgary, Canada, had to turn back some 30 minutes into the flight after the crew reported smoky odor in the cabin.
The plane landed uneventfully and everyone aboard remained safe.
The flight was being operated by SkyWest Airlines.
Jet Airways flight 9W 541 had to make an emergency landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, on March 31.
Authorities said the pilot requested an emergency landing after a bird hit the aircraft. According to an airline spokesperson, “The captain of Jet Airways flight 9W 541 from Dubai to Mumbai reported a bird hit while landing. A thorough inspection of the aircraft was carried out and no damage was reported.”
There were 110 passengers aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
The incident temporarily closed the runway due to which, 4 flights were asked to abort landing while 5 other incoming flights, including 4 Indigo flights and 1 Jet Airways flight, were diverted to other airports.
A U.S. Airways flight had to return and make an emergency landing at Baltimore–Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 29.
According to airport spokesperson Jonathan Green, the plane, heading to phoenix, had to return after a bird hit its windshield.
The plane landed back uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
Turkish Airlines flight 15 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Casablanca, Morocco, on March 30.
The Boeing 777 was en-route from Istanbul, Turkey, to Sao Paulo, Brazil, when the crew received a note on which ‘bomb’ was written. The crew then reported the situation and sought permission for an emergency landing.
The plane landed uneventfully and was thoroughly searched for any explosives. However, the airline confirmed that nothing was found.
All 256 passengers aboard remained unharmed.
An Emirates flight made an emergency stop at Gatwick Airport in Crawley, England, on March 29.
According to an airport spokesperson, the flight, heading from JFK International Airport in New York to Dubai, was diverted due to a medical emergency.
The plane safely landed at 10:51 p.m.
The nature of medical emergency is not clear at the moment.
Turkish Airlines flight TK-52 had to return and make an emergency landing at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29.
The flight took off for Tokyo, Japan, at around 1:30 a.m, however, just minutes into the flight, the crew received a message indicating possible C-4 explosive on-board. The pilot immediately reported the situation and requested an emergency return.
The plane landed safely and everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Police teams thoroughly searched the aircraft but no explosive material was found.
A Cessna 206 had to make an emergency landing on Highway 29 in Wellford, South Carolina, on March 26.
The plane, carrying members of a professional skydiving team ‘ Team Fastrax’, was heading to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Greer, for refueling. However, its engine failed before it could make it to the airport.
The plane made a safe emergency landing and everyone aboard remained unhurt.
According to Pilot Hollis Collins, they were going to perform at Cooper River Bridge Run.
The plane was able to take off from the highway on March 27.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG 0085 had to make an emergency landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 28.
The Airbus 310 was coming from Singapore when the pilot reported a fire warning from one of its engines and requested an emergency landing.
The plane landed safely and none of the 210 passengers aboard was harmed.
Authorities said it was a false alarm and no evidence of fire was found.
A home built experimental plane made an emergency landing in an open hay field near 4800 West and Highway 218 in Cache county, Utah, on March 28.
Authorities said the plane took off from Logan Cache Airport and was flying over the Trenton area when it began experiencing engine trouble. The pilot, identified as John Kerr, 74, of Logan, then decided to return to the airport, however, the plane’s engine failed midway.
The aircraft made a hard landing and sustained major damage. The pilot remained uninjured.
The incident is being investigated by the NTSB and FAA.
U.S. Airways Flight 5568 made an emergency landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas, on March 27.
Emergency was declared aboard the plane after it developed some engine issues. The flight, operated by Mesa Airlines, was en-route from Charlotte to Austin at the time.
The plane safely landed shortly after 6 p.m. None of the 83 people aboard was harmed.
An American Airlines official Matt Miller said, “Our mechanics are trying to determine if the plane is flyable and can continue to Austin.”
