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.
On Dec 17, 2012, an Alpi Aviation Pioneer 400 en route to Gloucestershire did a visual flyby over Gloucestershire Airport before it skidded on landing.
The registered owner of the plane is CORRADO RUSALEN, HARDWICK ABERGAVENNY.
A wheel collapsed (or failed to extend) and the plane collapsed in grass off the runway.
Great Western Ambulance Service paramedics were on standby but there were no injuries.
What: private Tiger Moth
Where: Jandakot Airport Australia
When: Dec 14, 2012, 10:15 a.m.
Who: pilot and passenger
Why: The flight was en route when smoke started coming from the engine. The smoke was seen at 10: 15.
Shortly later, the pilot made a safe landing at Jandakot Airport Australia with four crews of emergency services standing by.
The smoke seemed to originate from an oil leak.
What: Private Cessna en route from Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre
Where: Region of Waterloo International Airport
When: Dec 13, 2012
Who: flight instructor, pilot
Why: Pilots made an emergency landing in Waterloo with emergency services on standby.
The flight was en route when smoke developed in the cockpit.
THe smoke is being blamed on a leaky oil seal dripping oil on to the muffler.
The plane landed with emergency services on standby but taxied on its own steam to the hanger.
No injuries were reported.
What: US Airways Flight 3786 CRJ-200 en route from Philadelphia to Buffalo
Where: Buffalo-Niagara International Airport
When: Dec 13, 2012 9:50 pm
Who: 53 passengers
Why: The commuter plane made an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport after reporting brake problems.
THe CRJ-200 circled the airport for half an hour burning off fuel before making an emergency landing.
Passengers disembarked at the terminal. No injuries were reported.
What: Jet Blue Flight 1327 Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Boston
Where: Baltimore
When: Dec 14 2012 7:17 pm
Who: 84 passengers, 4 crew
Why: THe Jet Blue plane made an emergency landing at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport after getting a mechanical alert.
There was an odor in the cockpit.
Emergency vehicles were standing by.
Passengers were evacuated via emergency slide on to the tarmac. No injuries were reported.
FlightawareFlight Log
What: Yakutia Boeing 737-86-N en route from Rimini Italy to Rostov Russia
Where: Rostov Airport
When: Dec 1, 2012
Who: 120 aboard
Why: The Yakutia flight was landing at Rostov Airport and skid off the runway when the pilot applied brakes.
Passengers disembarked safely with no injuries.
It took half an hour to tow the plane the ten yards back to the runway with a 20 ton truck.
No injuries were reported. Passengers exited the plane via “ladder.” (Possibly a mistranslation!) The plane stopped on soft ground off the runway while it was raining.
What: Yak-42 en route to Novosibirsk
Where: Tolmachevo Airport
When: Nov 30, 2012
Who: 38 aboard, no injuries
Why: Vladimir Puchkov’s transportation failed when a Yak-42 lost one of three engines while en route to Novosibirsk. THe engine began to vibrate and was shut down, which is standard procedure.
Pilots made a safe landing at Tolmachevo Airport in Novosibirsk.
What: Inter-Iles Air Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia en route from Moroni, Comoros to Anjouan
Where: Indian Ocean
When: Nov 27, 2012
Who: 29 aboard-25 passengers, 4 crew
Why: According to passengers accounts, the plane took off and was leaking. Another reports that an engine failed. The pilot intended to return to the airport but instead managed to ditch safely in the Ocean within five minutes of take-off. Both pilot and copilot had over 5000 hours of flight experience.
The pilot suffered head trauma but no one else was reported as injured.
The leaking plane had passed DGAC inspection one week before the accident.
The rescue/recovery of the crew and passengers was performed by local fishermen.
What: Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER en route from Hong Kong to Los Angeles
Where: Anchorage
When: Nov 22, 2012
Who: 288 passengers and 18 crew
Why: While en route, the Cathay Pacific developed a pressurization problem and had to make an emergency landing in Alaska. There were no injuries. When the pressurization problem developed, oxygen masks were deployed.
Cathay Pacific and the Civil Aviation Department will be investigating.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations and an alternative flight.
The cause of the pressurization problem is speculated to be a malfunctioning valve in the air system
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gary Claridge-king
What: Emirates Airlines Airbus A380-800 en route from Sydney to Dubai
Where: Sydney
Who: 380 aboard
When: Nov 11, 2012
Why: After takeoff, one engine on the Emirates Airlines Sydney-Dubai flight developed a problem and was shut down. Passengers reported hearing a bang and saw flames from the engine. We do not know if it was a bird strike.
Pilots dumped fuel, returned to Sydney and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative flights.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Christian Merz
What: Austrian Airlines De Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 en route from Florence Italy to Vienna
Where: Vienna International Airport
When: Nov 5 2012
Who: 80 aboard 76 passengers, 4 crew
Why: On landing at Vienna International Airport, the Austrian Airlines De Havilland Dash lost the inboard wheel of the right landing gear.
There were no injuries reported. The accident is under investigation.
What: Kensington Capital LLC Piper PA-24-250 Comanche en route from Arizona to Schlemeyer Field Airport
Where: Odessa
When: Oct 26
Who: 3 aboard
Why: When the pilot realized he didn’t have enough fuel for the Piper PA-24-250 Comanche to make it to Schlemeyer Field, he dodged power lines and made an emergency landing on 87th Street between Harvard Ave. and Rainbow Dr.
The pilot called for a fuel delivery, and was subsequently permitted to take off for the airport. There were no injuries.
KWES NewsWest 9 / Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, TX: newswest9.com |
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Stefan Hofmann
What: Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from Cartagena, Colombia to Fort Lauderdale
Where: Palm Beach International Airport
When: Oct 25, 2012
Who: 54 aboard
Why: As pilots were flying from Cartagena, Colombia to Fort Lauderdale, the plane developed problems and the pilots had to divert the flight. According to one source, one of the engines developed problems and was shut down. (Reports vary on the exact nature of the issue behind the diversion.)
Pilots diverted to Palm Beach International Airport where they made a safe landing.
Two miles off shore of Waikiki, a US Coast Guard MH65 Dolphin was hit by a laser pointer. The pilot had to make an emergency landing at Barbers Point Air Station in Hawaii. A flight mechanic and rescue swimmer were aboard the helicopter when it had to divert back to the base.
The crew was sent to have their eyes checked and are temporarily off-duty.
It is a federal crime to aim a laser pointer at an aircraft.
What: NSW Air Ambulance A Beech King Air 350 (VH-NAO) o en route from Sydney to Wagga Wagga
Where: Sydney
When: Oct 23, 2012
Who: 3 aboard
Why: A patient, flight nurse and pilot were uninjured when an emergency developed aboard the flight.
The patient was being taken to Wagga Wagga when the plane had an undercarriage indication failure. The pilot returned to the airport and did a flyby for visual confirmation that the landing gear was not locked in place; and then made a safe landing at Sydney Airport in Mascot.
The elderly female passenger was transferred to an ambulance and driven to a hospital.
What: CHC (for Total) Helicopter Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma en route from Aberdeen to West Phoenix drilling rig
Where: 32 miles south of Shetland, off Fair Isle
When: October 22, 2012
Who: 19 aboard, 0 fatalities
Why: The helicopter that was ditched in the North Sea has been retrieved and taken to Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is investigating the incident in which seventeen passengers and two crew were on the way to the drilling rig when the crew had to ditch the helicopter (controlled ditching) in the North sea.
Report name:
S5/2012 – EC225 LP Super Puma, G-REDW
Registration:
G-REDW
Type:
EC225 LP Super Puma
Location:
20 nm east of Aberdeen
Date of occurrence:
10 May 2012
Category:
Commercial Air Transport – Rotorcraft
Summary:
This Special Bulletin contains information about the helicopter’s main gearbox (MGB) lubrication system and the results of an investigation into the indication of a failure of the emergency lubrication system, after it was activated by the crew. It follows publication of two earlier Special Bulletins on this accident, AAIB Special Bulletins S2/2012 and S3/2012.
This was the first occasion that the EC225 LP MGB emergency lubrication system had been operated in-service. One Safety Recommendation is made.
The investigation into the failure of the bevel gear vertical shaft in the MGB continues.
Read More
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Contact photographer Rafael Alvarez Cacho
What: Transavia Boeing 737-BK2 En route from Sharm el-Sheikh to Amsterdam
Where: Primošten Croatia
When: Oct 20, 2012
Who: 192 aboard
Why: While the flight was en route over Croatia, smoke and the odor of burning plastic developed in the cabin. The pilot diverted to Zagreb-Pleso airport and made a safe landing although two passengers complained of breathing problems. Emergency Medical Services at the airport treated them.
Apparently there was no one available certified on Boeing, so an expert from Amsterdam was called in.
While passengers spent the night at a hotel, a replacement plane was flown in.
What: TACA airlines Airbus A321-200 en route from El Salvador to San José Costa Rica
Where: Costa Rica
When: October 18, 2012
Who: 146 passengers, 7 crew
Why: On touchdown, three tires burst on the wet runway, resulting in an emergency landing. The plane skidded and spun to the right and when it came to a stop, it was perpendicular to the end of the runway.
There were no injuries reported when the plane landed at 4.pm. Burst tires can often occur as the result of a hard or too fast landing.
Passengers disembarked on to the runway.
The incident is under investigation.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ignatiy Savranskiy
What: Wideroe de Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 Dash 8 en route from Florø to Bergen
Where: Bergen-Flesland Airport, Norway
When: Oct 18, 2012, 7:30 a.m.
Who: 17 aboard
Why: The pilot was en route to Bergen when smoke in the cockpit forced him to land immediately; but he called off the mayday because he felt in control of the situation.
Before landing, the pilot informed passengers.
The crew stayed aboard until passengers were evacuated. The evacuation was described as undramatic.
What: Aero Contractors flight en route from Lagos to Abuja
Where: Lagos Nigeria
When: Oct 16, 2012 8 pm
Who: not released
Why: After take-off, one of the engines quit.
The pilot was in the air less than twelve minutes, and returned to Lagos to make a asafe landing at the airport. The problem was corrected as not an engine failure but an apu failure.
Repairs were made to the plane which is now apparently operational.
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Chicago to Miami
Where: Miami
When: Oct 11, 2012
Who: 148 aboard
Why: On landing in Miami, the plane suffered a bird strike. The bird was ingested in the engine according to Matt Miller of American Airlines. Pilots made an emergency landing with emergency services on standby.
Passengers in the video below describe the smell of the burning bird, taking off after touching down.
No injuries were reported on Flight 1388. 145 of those aboard were passengers.
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Tampa to Hartford
Where: Bradley International Airport, Connecticut
When: Oct 3, 2012
Who: 130 people aboard
Why: After Southwest Airlines Flight 2102 suffered a bird strike on the right side of the plane on approach to Bradley International Airport, the pilot made a safe landing.
The crew described hearing a “loud bang” on approach.
The bird strike was not confirmed during the flyby but afterwards during inspection.
What: Beechcraft 55 Baron en route from Baytown TX to Sarasota FL
Where: 28 miles east of South Pass in the Gulf of Mexico
When: Sept. 20, 2012
Who: 2 aboard
Why: After the International Emergency Response Coordination Center notified 8th Coast Guard District command center of a beacon alert, the search began.
Two men whose flight ditched were rescued after the Border Patrol spotted them adrift in the Gulf of Mexico. A Coast Guard MH-65C Dolphin helicopter was launched.
The pilot hit the water at an estimated 100 knots after the plane caught fire and the cockpit filled with smoke. The two men aboard survived the crash and three hours in the water.
Coast Guard helicopter pilot Lt. Becki Fosha said that “They had a limited time to bring the aircraft to the water and then they had about two minutes to get all of their survival gear together and get ready for a survival situation before the aircraft submerged…They had a GPS sport beacon. They had their current EPERB 406 beacon. They had floatation and survival equipment for just this kind of scenario…the men did a great job ditching the plane.”
Theodore Wright and Raymond Fosdick were pulled out of the Gulf and flown to Belle Chasse Naval Base. Fosdick was hospitalized at Ochsner Medical Center.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Joachim Eichner
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Bristol to Reus
Where: Barcelona
When: Sept 15, 2012
Who: 171
Why: On Sept 15, the Bristol-Reus flight diverted to Barcelona after developing an engine problem. Passengers disembarked in Barcelona and were provided alternative transportation.
This is one of the events that caught the eye of Spanish and Irish aviation bodies. They are initializing an investigation into Ryanair after a number of diversions occurred recently in Spanish airspace.
The investigation was initiated after a diversion to Madrid during a Paris-tenerife flight, and three landings in Valencia on July 26.
There are fears that Ryanair is courting disaster by flying with minimal fuel requirements.
Read the official statement below:
