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.
What: Chartered Bombardier Challenger 300 en route from Manila to Caticlan, Aklan
Where: Manila
When: May 19 2010, 12:36 p.m.
Why: The pilot reported engine problems just after takeoff, and requested an emergency landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The flight landed safely, with one engine shut down. The flight landed safely with emergency teams on standby.
Mechanics began working on fixing the problem.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Agustin Anaya
What: Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Detroit to Sao Paulo
Where: Atlanta,GA
When: May 15th 2011
Why: While en route, over Daytona, the plane developed an issue with their airspeed indication. Although the issue was fixed, the flight diverted to Atlanta where they made a safe landing. A fresh crew with adequate duty time flew them to Sao Paulo.
What: American Airlines twin-engine MD 80 en route from Dallas to Washington
Where: Little Rock Arkansas
When: May 15 2011 4:08
Who: 136 passengers 5 crew
Why: While en route, the pilot declared an emergency due to an engine fire, then diverted to make a safe landing in Little Rock Arkansas. Passengers were provided access to alternative flights to Washington.
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Madrid to Rome
Where: Madrid
When: May 9 2011
Why: The plane took off without incident, but an hour outside of Rome, the instrument panel indicated an engine leak. The pilots returned to Barajas where they made an uneventful landing with emergency services on standby.
The flight was cancelled.
What: Ryanair Frankfurt to Ciampino
Where: Rome
When: May 10, 2011
Who: 166 passengers
Why: On the next day, another Ryanair flight ingested two birds into an engine, overshot the runway on the emergency landing in Rome. Several injuries occurred during the emergency exit via slides.
What: Arik Air Boeing 737-700 en route from Owerri to Lagos
Where: Owerri Nigeria
When: May 8th 2011
Who: 69 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane incurred a bird strike. The bird was ingested in an engine. The flight continued until there were severe vibrations on the right side of the plane (where the strike occurred).
Passengers aboard the flight said they experienced five minutes of terror (that lasted forever) as the right side of the plane was vibrating. Presumably pilots shut down that engine after five minutes.
The pilots made a safe landing in Lagos.
Pictured: An American Eagle Embraer EMB-145LR
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Propfreak
What: American Eagle Embraer en route from Los Angeles to Reno
Where: near Fresno
When: May 6th 2011 1:40 pm
Who: 41 aboard
Why: The flight had taken off and was en route when an odor was detected on board.
The pilot diverted to Fresno made a safe landing, and taxied to the gate. Passengers were able to exit normally.
The odor was described as a “hot, electrical ozone smell.” Mechanics examined the plane to find the source of the smell.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jan Bialas
What: American Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from London to Chicago
Where: Moncton
When: May 3rd 2011, 3 pm
Who: 150 aboard
Why: While en route, the crew reported the smell of smoke, and diverted to Moncton in Canada.
The plane landed with emergency services on standby and emergency services stayed until 5:20 p.m. The smoke in the cockpit turned out to be from an overheating battery. Dieppe Fire Department examined the plane. There were no injuries, and passengers were provided a room in the airport, so they didn’t have to go through customs.
A replacement jet was flown in.
What: Los Angeles Police Department helicopter
Where: Van Nuys Airport
When: April 24 2011, 6:00 am
Who: officers aboard
Why: In the San Fernando Valley near Saticoy Street and Densmore, gunfire struck the helicopter, which began smoking and leaking fuel. No one aboard the helicopter was hit.
The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing; at least one report said the chopper landed with a dead engine. The helicopter made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport, making an “auto-rotation” to land on the apron at a charter jet service, Clay Lacy Aviation. The helicopter was put aboard a flat-bed truck to be transported to Hooper Air Station for investigation.
The shooter was tracked down and arrested at his home and in possession of a semi-automatic rifle. The arrest was made at 7:10 a.m near Cohasset Street and Gloria Avenue. No one was injured. The shooter was reportedly distraught over the death of a friend.
* An autorotation is landing without a engine power. The airspeed of the descent turns the rotors fast enough to provide lift for a safe landing.
What: US Airways Bombardier CRJ-300 en route from New York
Where: Philadelphia International Airport
When: April 22, 2011 7:30 pm
Who: 12 passengers and 3
Why: Citing engine failure, the pilot of a US Airways flight made a successful emergency landing in Philadelphia.
Emergency crews were on standby. No injuries were reported, and no cause for the failure.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Allen Zhao
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 Aukland to Sydney
Where: Sydney
When: Apr 13 2011
Who: 130 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane reportedly had a fuel leak and an engine problem while over the Tasman sea. They made a “priority” landing in Sydney, with no injuries, although the fuel leak problem was mistakenly announced.
The problem was diagnosed as a fuel transfer valve, which was subsequently replaced.
Prior to landing safely in Sydney, the problem was announced on Twitter.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Mirko Krogmann
What: Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 777-268ER en route from Washington to Riyadh
Where: Greece
When: April 14, 2011
Who: 240
Why: While en route, the plane indicated a fire aboard. The pilot diverted to Athens where they made a safe landing.
The plane had “dry ice” aboard, which gave the appearance of fire. Though from the accounts we have heard, we’re not sure if the smoke was visually detected, or if the ions from the offgassing of dry ice fooled a smoke detector.
What: Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Caracas Venezuela to Paris
Where: Caracas
When: Apr 13th 2011
Who: 207 passengers
Why: Unable to retract the landing gear, the plane circled for three hours to burn off fuel and made a safe landing in Caracas.
No doubt the situation caused significant anxiety. Any time an Air France flight originating in a South American country has a problem en route en route to Paris, the passengers in crisis must inevitably remember what happened to Air France Flight 447 and wonder if they too will become innocent victims, and statistics lost at sea.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Xu Zheng
What: Emirates en route from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai
Where: Chennai
When: April 10, 2011
Who: 465 passengers
Why: While en route, the plane had a technical failure resulting in smoke in the cockpit. The crew diverted to Chennai where they made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative transportation to Dubai. However, the passengers overnighted in Chennai as the problem could not be solved within the crews “max duty time.”
What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 en route from Phoenix to Sacramento
Where: Yuma International Airport, AZ
When: 01 APR 2011
Who: 118 aboard
Why: A hole burst through the top of this Boeing while en route. The plane suffered decompression, descended to a safe level (when an attendant was injured) and made an emergency landing in Yuma.
The hole has opened a witch hunt on aging Boeings in search of the kind of metal fatigue that would result in a hole during operations now that the aluminum skin has been known to separate at the lap joints, where panels are spliced together. Although the incident did not result in death, it is being taken as a “warning.” 175 Boeing 737 are slated for examination, and maintenance programs (Southwest, FAA, Boeing) are being re-evaluated to take this into account.
Discussion of lap joint and the 3 rows of rivets. The skin separated at the lower rivet line. Pre-existing fatigue existed on the fracture surface. (Multi site damage.) The decompression happened 18.5 minutes after take-off, and no pre-indications. The flight crew immediately declared emergency.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Ralf Meyermann
What: Lufthansa Airbus A320-200 en route from Frankfurt to Moscow
Where: Frankfurt
When: Apr 2nd 2011
Who: 80 passengers
Why: Engine exhaust increased in temperature. The pilots returned to Frankfort where they made a safe landing. Passengers were provided a replacement flight 3 hours later.
What: Chart Air flight en route from Ngukurr to Katherine
Where: Katherine, Australia
When: March 29, 2011
Why: When the plane’s landing gear did not work properly, the plane circled the airport for 45 minutes. Passengers were “advised to call their loved ones.
Maybe the pilot was young or inexperienced. I don’t know. I do know that it is not all that rare for planes to have landing gear problems. Usually it is something that is handled fairly easily. Usually they foam the runway to prevent a fire, and the plane lands on its belly, usually after flying by the control tower to get visual confirmation on the status of the landing gear.
I’m not sure what I think about telling passengers to make that phone call. That pilot might have caused some unnecessary panic. There will probably be some negative consequences for some of these people who experienced flying on the plane and having the pilot practically promise them their goose was cooked and they were going to die.
Is this Chart Air protocol I wonder? In my opinion, however well-meant it is, it is not particularly a good thing for a pilot to induce panic and terror into one’s passengers.
What: Helicopter over Dallas
Where: Regal Row and Empress Row
When: March 18, 2011, 9:30
Who: 3 passengers
Why: A helicopter a mile and a half from Dallas Love Field Airport had to make an emergency landing at the intersection of Regal Row and Empress Row when an air conditioning belt overheated.
There were no injuries.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vivek Manvi
What: Air India Airbus A330-200 en route from Tripoli to Delhi
Where: Malta
When: Mar 6th 2011
Why: After taking off from Tripoli, the landing gear failed to retract. The pilot diverted to Malta and made a safe landing.
So far, of 18,000 Indians expats, 9,200 people had been evacuated from Tripoli. Egypt Air has also been making chartered flights to bring Indian citizens back home in “Operation Safe Homecoming.” As of Mar 2, Air India had retrieved 6 flights worth of passengers.
What: American Eagle Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Chicago to Charlotte NC
Where: Champaign
When: March 4 2011, 9:36pm
Who: 31 passengers
Why: After takeoff, the pilot smelled smoke.
The pilots diverted to Savoy and made a safe landing. Emergency responders (whom, it was noted, had 12 minutes to set up) included Tolono and Savoy firefighters, Pro Ambulance and University of Illinois police.
There were no injuries reported. Passengers were ported to the terminal and the plane was sent for examination.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Luc Verkuringen
What: Flybe Bombardier Q 400 en route from Exeter Airport to Newcastle
Where: Exeter International Airport
When: March 4, 2010
Who: 39 passengers
Why: On takeoff, passengers witnessed one of the Flybe’s wheels shooting sparks and detaching.
The pilot dumped fuel and circled for an hour and a half before returning to land safely at the airport. There were no injuries.
What: Air Wisconsin/US Airways flight en route from Charlotte, North Carolina to Ottawa
Where: Ottowa
When: Feb 13, 2011
Who: 49 passengers and three crew
Why: Unidentified fumes in the Air Wisconsin/US Airways flight permeating the cabin and cockpit, forced an emergency landing. Several individuals were removed from the plane requiring medical assistance.
The source of the fumes has not been released.
(Deicing fluid?)
What: Merpati Nusantara Fokker 100 en route from from Sampit to Surabaya
Where: Sampit
When: Feb 12th 2011
Why: Not long after takeoff from Sampit, an engine developed problems and had to be shut down.
The flight landed safely at Sampit. No injuries reported.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andreas Mueller – Spotterteam Graz
What: KLM Boeing 777-200 en route from Atlanta,GA to Amsterdam
Where: Amsterdam
When: Feb 3
Why: After a successful flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam, the flight crew reported a flat tire prior to landing.
* (The plane’s indicators include a tire pressure indicator. As a rule, when 5 of the 6 main landing gear tires are correct, the pressure is adequate for landing.)
However, they made a successful landing and taxied to the gate.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer John Padgett
What: Omni Air McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 en route from Shannon (Ireland) to Baltimore,MD
Where: Atlantic
When: Feb 6th 2011,
Who: not available
Why: While en route over the Atlantic, the plane developed engine trouble and the crew shut down an engine and dumped fuel. The flight returned to Shannon, and made a safe landing (minus an engine).
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Szabo Gabor
What: Gulf Air Airbus A330-200 en route from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to Bahrain
Where: Muscat
When: Feb 5th 2011
Who: 136 passengers
Why: While en route, the pilot’s illness forced a landing at Muscat. The flight was completed by a replacement crew, after the captain was hospitalized after a heart attack.
