Emergency

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.

  • | | | | |

    Cabin smoke grounds Scandinavian Airbus in Bangor Maine


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Kyle Donagher

    What: Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Newark to Copenhagen (Denmark), diverted to Bangor Maine
    Where: Bangor Maine
    When: Jun 27th 2009
    Why: Less than an hour after takeoff, the Scandinavian Airbus filled with smoke and the crew was forced to request an emergency landing. The flight landed safely in Maine. No cause could be determined for the smoke, and three hours later, while in preparation for the rescheduled flight, the smoke reappeared, and the plane was grounded again.

    update:After getting input from a passenger, we would like to note the following: “The cabin DID NOT fill with smoke… a circuit breaker blew out on one of the air circulation systems and it smelled like something might be burning.

    Many thanks to shartkopf for the valuable input. Read the comments below for the full story.

  • | | | |

    Airbus out of London Depressurizes


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Tommy Desmet

    What: British Airways Airbus A319-100 en route from London Heathrow UK to Oslo Norway
    Where: en route
    When: Jun 27th 2009
    Who: 70 passengers, 6 crew
    Why: 40 minutes from London, the flight experienced a loss of cabin pressure, so they turned back and made a safe landing. British Airways rebooked the passengers for a flight Sunday and provided hotel accommodations.

  • | | | | |

    Air Canada Bird Strike over Montreal


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mark Kryst

    What: Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Orlando to Montreal
    Where: Montreal
    When: Jun 21st 2009
    Who: 85 people on board
    Why: After a normal lift-off and flight, on approach to Montreal, birds struck the plane’s right wing lodging the flaps in an extended position. Despite the slat problem, the plane landed safely within 20 minutes of the strike.

  • | | | |

    Delta Emergency Landing In Ontario

    What: Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Atlanta GA to Ontario CA
    Where: Ontario
    When: Jun 23rd 2009
    Who: 190 passengers
    Why: Forty minutes before landing, the Boeing’s right engine ingested ice from the fuselage and started vibrating. The crew shut down the right engine, descended to a lower altitude and flew on the left engine successfully to Ontario.

  • | | | |

    Embraer Emergency Landing in Cincinnati


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mark Kryst

    What: (Jetlink) Continental Express Embraer en route from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J
    Where: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
    When: Sunday June 21 5 pm
    Who: (not released)
    Why: After takeoff, the landing gear would not retract, so the pilot landed the plane at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and passengers transferred to another plane.

  • | | | | |

    BMI Airbus Grounded by Mystery Smoke


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Rui Miguel

    What: BMI British Midland Airbus A319-100 en route from London Heathrow to Edinburgh
    Where: London
    When: Jun 21st 2009
    Who: 126 passengers,
    Why: After the scent of smoke was detected in the cabin, the plane returned to London. The plane was replaced, but no source of smoke or fire was ever found.

    George’s Point of View

    When I read of accounts like this one, sometimes I wonder if someone snuck a smoke in the bathroom. Not that I would defend such a thing, but if that were the case, it would be better than there being an on-going problem with the electrics.

  • |

    Cessna Emergency Landing

    What: 1965 Cessna 172G
    Where: Inglefield Rd., just north of Darmstadt
    When: June 21
    Who: pilot
    Why: When his engine lost power, the pilot landed in a convenient field three miles north of the airport.

  • | | |

    Scifi Space Plane of the future lands in Mesa

    What: Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnight Two four-engine, twin-fuselage “mother ship.” (experimental plane owned by Richard Branson) en route from Mohave, California to Las Cruces, N.M
    Where: Mesa
    When: Friday Jun. 19, 2009
    Who: 2 pilots
    Why: The plane landed unexpectedly in Mesa after a cockpit alarm sounded.

    Plans to launch the plane into space in 2012 are intact.

    George’s Point of View

    Smart Cookie

  • | | | |

    Pinnacle Emergency Landing in Jackson

    What: Pinnacle Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 on behalf of Northwest Airlines, flight from Nashville to Memphis,TN
    Where: Diverted to Jackson’s McKellar-Sipes Airport
    When: Jun 19th 2009
    Who: 31 passengers
    Why: A sensor reported a fire in the cargo bay, but after the plane diverted to Jackson, no smoke or fire was found.

    The plane will continue to Memphis on Saturday.

    The temperature in Jackson was 93, and the heat index was 101.`

  • | | |

    Romanian Flight: Emergency landing in Madrid


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Matthias Bindseil

    What: Tarom Romanian Air Transport Airbus A310-300 en route from Bucharest Otopeni (Romania) to Tenerife Sur Reina,CI (Spain)
    Where: Madrid
    When: Jun 18th 200p
    Who: 201 passengers and 10 crew members
    Why: En route the windshield cracked, and the flight was diverted safely to Madrid. No injuries were reported though the cockpit depressurized.

  • | | | | | |

    Northwest Airbus Double-diversion


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Martin Woudstra

    What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Rome Fiumicino Italy to Atlanta,GA
    Where: Shannon, Ireland/Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky
    When: Jun 12th 2009
    Who: 285 people on board
    Why: En route, smoke developed in the cabin supposedly from the galley. On landing, Shannon fire services sprayed the right hand main gear. Passengers debarked and re-embarked. The flight reached Atlanta but after circling, weather-caused traffic congestion in Atlanta forced the flight to land in Cincinnati.

  • | | |

    Airbus Oil Leak Downs Lisbon Flight


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Michael Schmidt

    What: SATA International Airbus A310-300 en route from Lisbon Portugal to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
    Where: Lisbon
    When: Jun 15th 2009
    Who: 222 passengers
    Why: After takeoff, an oil leak was detected in the Airbus and it returned to the airport. Passengers debarked and eventually took an alternative airbus. One passenger was ill.

  • | | | |

    Southwest Emergency Landing


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Manas Barooah

    What: Southwest Airlines Flight 1040 Boeing 737-500 en route from Chicago to Fort Myers
    Where: Columbus, Ga
    When: Jun 14th 2009
    Who: 122 people on board
    Why: Over Columbus, the plane experienced low cabin pressure and performed an emergency landing. 5 hours later, the replacement Boeing picked up the stranded passengers and continued the flight. Maintenance did not release a public report of what caused the low cabin pressure, but if they tell me why, you’ll be the first to know.

  • | |

    Iberia Airbus has Navigation Issues

    What: Iberia Airbus A321-200 en route from Madrid to Copenhagen, Denmark
    Where: Madrid’s Barajas Airport
    When: Jun 13th 2009
    Who: 190 passengers
    Why: After 40 minutes struggling with technical problem with the navigation instruments, the Airbus returned to land safely in Madrid. The passengers were accommodated with a replacement plane, while this plane was examined by maintenance crews. No injuries were reported.

    George’s Point of View

    Please note there was a similar incident that happened the day before with another model of airbus but there was even less information available so we didn’t write it up.

  • | | |

    Shannon Emergency Landing

    What: Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 light 821
    Where: Shannon Airport
    When: 1.20pm
    Who: 285 passengers
    Why: smokey stench in the forward galley. The plane made a successful emergency landing, without further incident.

    George’s Point of View

    I’m glad there were no injuries involved; but I chuckle picturing the chargeback on some flight attendant’s chit because the airline was forced to land the plane when she 1. burned the toast or
    2. accidentally toasted the microwave or
    3. tried to sneak in a smoke:

    June 1-15: +$1080.00
    Taxes: – XXXX
    Emergency -140,008.72
    Landing

  • | | | |

    Delta Emergency Landing

    What: Delta (Skywest Airlines Canadair CRJ-200) en route from Kalispell to Salt Lake
    Where: Missoula International airport
    When: June 12, 2009 3 pm
    Who: 49 passengers and 3 crew members
    Why: While on route to Salt Lake, the plane experienced problems with its landing gear. After making efforts to deal with the problem and carry on, they decided to make an emergency landing at the Missoula International Airport 45 minutes after take-off. The gear lowered and locked and the plane landed without injury to anyone.

  • | | |

    Jetstar A332 Cockpit Fire


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer John Richard Thomson

    What: Australian Jetstar (division of Qantas) Airbus A330-200 en route from Japan to Australia (Osaka Kansai to Bilinga Gold Coast)
    Where: emergency landing on the island of Guam
    When: June 10th
    Who: 203 mostly Japanese passengers and crew
    Why: When a fire broke out in the cockpit when the plane was over the Pacific Ocean, one of the pilots used a fire extinguisher to control the fire.

    Passengers debarked normally.

    The plane is only two years old; and will be held in Guam as the incident is investigated. 4 investigators will be sent to examine the aircraft.

  • | |

    CRJ-200 Partial Gear Landing

    What: Delta /Atlantic Southeast Airlines 50-seat CRJ-200 Bombardier en route from Columbus to Atlanta
    Where: Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
    When: June 11, 2009
    Who: 19 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: On approach to Atlanta, the left main gear failed to extend, in spite of extended efforts. After a partial gear landing, the plane ended up off runway 27 right. No one was reported to be injured.

  • | |

    Pinnacle CRJ Emergency Landing in Memphis

    What: Pinnacle/Northwest Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 en route from Detroit I to Huntsville
    Where: Memphis International Airport
    When: Jun 11th 2009
    Who: 36 passengers and 3 crew
    Why: The plane flew into an area of severe turbulence and diverted to Memphis. Weather may have been an issue.

  • |

    Airbus Emergency Landing in Russia

    What: Aeroflot Airbus A320-200 en route from Irkutsk to Moscow
    Where: Novosibirsk
    When: Jun 11th 2009
    Who: 116 passengers and six crew members
    Why: The Airbus made an emergency landing at Novosibirsk when the windshield cracked.

  • |

    Iberworld Airbus Engine Failure in Canary Islands

    What: Spanish Tour group Iberworld Airbus A320-200 en route from Gran Canaria island to Oslo
    Where: Canary Islands
    When: Wednesday
    Who: 180 passengers and 9 crew
    Why: After takeoff, the engine began banging and showering sparks. The flight returned to the Las Palmas airport, where the passengers debarked to wait for alternative transportation.

  • | | | | |

    Airbus Diverts for hole in the road


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Lukas Bluth

    What: Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 en route from Frankfurt to Kolkata, India
    Where: Hyderabad
    When: Jun 8th 2009
    Who: 225 passengers
    Why: When the pilot spotted a hole in the runway, strong winds prevented it from landing at the other runway, so the approach was aborted. The airbus circled, then diverted to Hyderabad where it landed safely.

    After the runway was repaired, the plane returned with 174 passengers.

    George’s Point of View

    I’ve talked about Aircraft maintenance before, but not that much about airport maintenance. It’s obviously important that runways be kept in tip-top shape. Taking them for granted results in accidents like the the TAM disaster.

    Lufthansa is to be commended for NOT having an accident–in spite of the Kolkata airport’s disrepair.

  • | | | |

    Airbus Engine Failure


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Wim Callaert

    What: Air China Airbus 340-300 en route from Milan Italy to Beijing China
    Where: Moscow
    When: Tuesday 9.07pm
    Who: 155 passengers 18 crew
    Why: When one of the Airbus’s 4 engines failed, the crew requested an immediate emergency landing in Russia.

    85 passengers were booked to continue to Beijing on Aeroflot and others were being booked elsewhere, later.

    George’s Point of View

    Slow boat to china?
    How about taking a broken airbus to China?
    Let’s not.

  • | | | | |

    Smoke Gets In Your Eyes … in AA Boeing 767 over Nova Scotia


    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact Photographer Mick Bajcar

    What: American Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from New York JFK airport to Switzerland
    Where: Halifax Nova Scotia
    When: June 9 2009 Tuesday night 8:20 p.m (45 minutes after takeoff)
    Who: 206 on board: 194 passengers and 12 crew
    Why: After takeoff, smoke was detected in the cabin. The flight requested an emergency landing in Halifax. The cause of the smoke was determined to be an electrical fire in the plane’s bathroom ceiling fan which had caught fire after overheating

    A replacement jet was arranged to take the passengers to Zurich.