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.
Beijing Capital Airlines flight JD-421 had to return and make an emergency landing in Hangzhou, China, on May 29th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Nha Trang, Vietnam, but had to turn back after the crew noticed cracks in a window.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-2192 made an emergency landing in Chicago, Illinois, on May 29th.
The Boeing 737-900 plane flying from Tampa, Florida, was on final approach to Chicago when the crew declared an emergency due to issues with flaps and slats.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Qatar Airways flight QR-1399 made an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 29th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane heading from Doha, Qatar, to Tunis, Tunisia, was diverted due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and thirty-seven passengers and fourteen crew members remained unharmed.
Scandinavian Airlines flight SK-4743 made an emergency landing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 29th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Oslo, Norway, to Brussels, Belgium, was diverted after the crew noticed smoke in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Frontier Airlines flight F9-1764 made an emergency landing in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 27th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from San Diego, California, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, was diverted after a number of passengers reported feeling unwell due to an unidentified odor on-board.
The plane landed safely. Seventeen passengers were examined by the medical teams at the airport while one passenger was taken to a hospital.
Yeti Airlines flight YT-175 had to return and make an emergency landing in Bharatpur, India, on May 27th.
The plane took off for Kathmandu, Nepal, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All twenty-two people aboard remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-1127 made an emergency landing in Kingston, Jamaica, on May 25th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane heading from Miami, Florida, to Medellin, Colombia, was diverted after smoke was noticed in the cabin.
The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Small Planet Airlines flight 5P-5963 made an emergency landing in Bergerac, France, on May 26th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Paderborn, Germany, to Fuerteventura, Spain, was diverted due to an air conditioning system problem.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Condor flight DE-1762 had to return and make an emergency landing in Dusseldorf, Germany, on May 24th.
The Boeing 737-400 plane took off for Kavala, Greece, but had to turn back due to a cracked windshield.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and fifty-five people aboard remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-3733 made an emergency landing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 24th.
The plane heading from Omaha, Nebraska, to Houston, Texas, was diverted due to a pressurization problem.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Qantas flight QF-144 had to return and make an emergency landing in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 24th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Sydney, Australia, but had to turn back after the crew noticed smoke emanating from a forward galley oven.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
JetBlue flight B6-2216 made an emergency landing in Buffalo, New York, on May 24th.
The plane took off for Boston, Massachusetts, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed uneventfully. All sixty people aboard remained safe.
Japan Airlines flight JL-632 made an emergency landing in Kumamoto, Japan, on May 24th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Tokyo, Japan, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and nine passengers and eight crew members remained unharmed.
Japan’s Ministry of Transport reported that metallic pieces from the left-hand engine were found at various locations on the ground below the flight path.
Delta Airlines flight DL-8889 had to return and make an emergency landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, on May 23rd.
The Boeing 757-200 plane took off for Newark, New Jersey, but had to turn back due to a cabin pressure problem.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Germania flight ST-3805 had to return and make an emergency landing in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 24th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Nuremberg, Germany, but had to turn back after the crew noticed smoke on board.
The plane landed safely. All eighty-nine passengers remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-17 made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on May 23rd.
The Boeing 767-400 plane heading from Heathrow Airport, England, to Newark, New Jersey, was diverted due to issues with the cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and sixteen people aboard remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-575 had to return and make an emergency landing in Newark, New Jersey, on May 22nd.
The plane took off for Atlanta, Georgia, but had to turn back due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-2160 made an emergency landing at Newark-Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, on May 22nd.
Emergency services were requested after the tower noticed smoke emanating from one of the engines of the Boeing 757-200 plane coming from San Francisco, California.
The passengers disembarked onto the taxiway. No injuries were reported.
Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-3818 made an emergency landing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on May 21st.
The plane heading from Medina, Saudi Arabia, to Dhaka, Bangladesh, was diverted due to a hydraulic failure.
On approach to Jeddah, the crew received an unsafe gear indication and entered a hold. The plane subsequently landed without nose gear.
The plane was evacuated. One passenger sustained serious injuries during evacuation while fifty-two others received minor injuries.
Danish Air Transport flight DX-349 made an emergency landing in Bratislava, Slovakia, on May 21st.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, to Billund, Denmark, was diverted due to a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and fifty-two passengers and six crew members remained safe.
Air India flight AI-662 made an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on May 21st.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Goa, India, was descending toward Mumbai Airport when the crew reported a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed safely and was towed to the apron.
All one hundred and forty-three passengers remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-569 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Tamanrasset, Algeria, on May 21st.
The Airbus A330-300 plane heading from Lagos, Nigeria, to Frankfurt, Germany, was diverted after an electrical odor was noticed on-board.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and four passengers remained unharmed.
Air New Zealand flight NZ-8262 made an emergency landing in Tauranga, New Zealand, on May 21st.
The plane flying from Wellington, New Zealand, was on approach to Tauranga when the crew reported an unsafe gear indication and entered a hold.
The plane subsequently landed safely. All fifty passengers and three crew members remained unharmed.
Air New Zealand flight NZ-621 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Christchurch, New Zealand, on May 20th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Auckland to Queenstown, New Zealand, was diverted after it suffered a lightning strike.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Another Air New Zealand flight had also suffered a lightning strike around the same time. See: Air New Zealand Flight Diverts to Christchurch After Lightning Strike
Onur Air flight 8Q-877 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Volgograd, Russia, on May 20th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from Antalya, Turkey, to Chelyabinsk, Russia, was diverted due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and twenty-six passengers eight crew members remained unharmed.
