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.
Air New Zealand flight NZ-605 made an emergency landing in Christchurch, New Zealand, on May 20th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Wellington to Queenstown, New Zealand, was diverted due to a lightning strike.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-135 had to return and make an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 20th.
The Boeing 767-400 plane took off for Newark, New Jersey, but had to turn back due to a cracked windshield.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Frontier Airlines flight F9-1839 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 20th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to San Diego, California, was diverted after an unidentified odor was noticed in the aft cabin.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and twenty-nine passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
EasyJet flight U2-2716 made an emergency landing in Lyon, France, on May 19th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Lisbon, Portugal, to Milan–Malpensa Airport, Italy, was diverted due to smoke in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-5913 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 19th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane heading from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was diverted due to issues with the cabin pressure.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Ryanair flight FR-8409 made an emergency landing at Orio al Serio International Airport, Italy, on May 19th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Budapest, Hungary, was descending toward Orio al Serio International Airport when the crew reported that one of the engines was off.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Philippine Airlines flight PR-2687 made an emergency landing in Manila, Philippines, on May 19th.
The plane heading from Angeles to Busuanga, Philippines, was diverted after the crew noticed smoke in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. All fifty-five passengers aboard remained unharmed.
Pobeda Airlines flight DP-163 had to return and make an emergency landing at Vnukovo International Airport, Russia, on May 19th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Astrakhan, Russia, but had to turn back after the crew received indication of an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and seventy people aboard remained unharmed.
Wizz Air flight W6-3773 had to return and make an emergency landing in Sibiu, Romania, on May 18th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Dortmund, Germany, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Eurowings EW-4387 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Thessaloniki, Greece, on May 17th.
The plane heading from Rhodes, Greece, to Salzburg, Austria, was diverted due to a cracked windshield.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-466 made an emergency landing in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 17th.
The Airbus A340-300 plane took off for San Diego, California, but had to turn back after the crew noticed vibrations in one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and sixty-five passengers and thirteen crew members remained unharmed.
Qantas flight QF-121 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Invercargill, New Zealand, on May 16th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Sydney, Australia, to Queenstown, New Zealand, was diverted after the crew noticed an issue with the flaps.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Avianca Brazil flight O6-6376 had to return and make an emergency landing in Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil, on May 15th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Fortaleza, Brazil, but had to turn back after it suffered a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All ninety-one passengers remained unharmed.
Ural Airlines flight U6-2861 had to return and make an emergency landing in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on May 15th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Samarkand, Uzbekistan, but had to turn back due to a technical problem.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Alaska Airlines flight AS-1420 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 15th.
The Airbus A321-200N plane heading from Los Angeles, California, to John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Frontier Airlines flight F9-1286 had to return and make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado, on May 14th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane took off for Chicago, Illinois, but had to turn back due to an unidentified odor on-board.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Sichuan Airlines flight 3U-8633 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Chengdu, China, on May 14th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane heading from Chongqing to Lhasa, China, was diverted after the right-hand windshield completely shattered, partially pulling the co-pilot out of the cockpit.
The plane landed safely.
The airline said the co-pilot received skin abrasions and another crew member sustained a waist injury.
Transavia flight HV-163 made an emergency landing in Vienna, Austria, on May 13th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Antalya, Turkey, was diverted after eight passengers became sick.
The plane landed safely. Two of the sick passengers were taken to hospitals while the other six were treated at the airport.
Alaska Airlines flight AS-959 made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, on May 13th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Phoenix, Arizona, was on short final to PDX airport when the crew reported a possible fire on-board.
The plane landed safely and was attended by emergency services.
All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-2799 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Los Angeles, California, on May 13th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane heading from San Diego, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, was diverted after the crew noticed smoke in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. All sixty-eight people aboard remained unharmed.
JetBlue flight B6-517 had to return and make an emergency landing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 13th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Mexico City, Mexico, but had to turn back due to the failure of weather radar.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Qeshm Air flight QB-1227 had to return and make an emergency landing in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 12th.
The plane took off for Dasht-e Naz Airport, Iran, but had to turn back due to the failure of weather radar.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-588 made an emergency landing in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, on May 12th.
The plane flying from Karachi, Pakistan, was on final approach to Bahawalpur when the crew went around and reported an engine fire indication.
The plane subsequently landed safely on second approach. All forty-one people aboard remained safe.
Regional Express Airlines flight ZL-4768 made an emergency landing in Adelaide, Australia, on May 12th.
The plane flying from Kingscote, Australia, was on final approach to Adelaide when the crew went around and reported a hydraulic issue.
The plane subsequently landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Thai Lion Air flight SL-515 had to return and make an emergency landing in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on May 12th.
The plane took off for Bangkok, Thailand, but had to turn back after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and sixty-nine people aboard remained unharmed.
