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.
United Airlines flight UA-1721 had to return and make an emergency landing in San Francisco, California, on April 16th.
The Boeing 737-900 plane heading to Kona, Hawaii, had to turn back due to a mechanical issue.
The plane landed back safely. All 183 people aboard remained unharmed.
Scandinavian Airlines flight SK-944 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, on April 16th.
The Airbus A340-300 plane heading from Chicago, Illinois, to Copenhagen, Denmark, was diverted due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 196 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU-721 had to return and make an emergency landing in Shanghai, China, on April 15th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Hong Kong, China, but had to return shortly afterwards after a burning odor and haze was noticed in the cabin.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Hong Kong Express Airways flight UO-1845 had to return for an emergency landing in Osaka, Japan, on April 15th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Hong Kong, China, but had to turn back after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely.
There were 194 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Thomas Cook Airlines flight MT-2718 had to return and make an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on April 15th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Las Vegas, Nevada, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a suspected fuel leak.
The plane landed back safely. All 283 people aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Air France flight AF-443 had to return and make an emergency landing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 14th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane took off for Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, but had to turn back after the crew reported issues with the weather radar.
The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Thomson Airways flight BY-6606 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on April 15th.
The Boeing 757-200 plane heading from Bristol, England, to Las Palmas, Spain, was diverted due to an issue with the flaps.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
British Airways flight BA-438 made an emergency landing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on April 14th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane flying from Heathrow Airport, England, was on final approach to Amsterdam when the crew reported a nose gear steering issue and went around.
The plane subsequently landed uneventfully and was towed to the apron.
Everyone aboard remained safe.
TUI fly flight 6B-271 had to return and make an emergency landing in Malmo, Sweden, on April 14th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Las Palmas, Spain, but had to return shortly afterwards after the tower reported seeing a leak or smoke trailing it.
The plane landed back safely. All 175 people aboard remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-1270 had to make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, on April 14th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Jacksonville, Florida, was on final approach to Chicago when the crew went around reporting an issue with the flaps.
The crew worked the checklists and subsequently landed at higher than normal speed.
All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Eastern Airways flight T3-1763 made an emergency landing in Toulouse, France, on April 13th.
The plane flying from Bristol, England, was on final approach to Toulouse when the crew received an unsafe gear indication and went around to work the checklists.
The plane landed safely on second approach. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Cayman Airways flight KX-793 had to make an emergency landing in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, on April 13th.
The Boeing 737-300 plane was flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, when the crew declared an emergency due to an electrical odor in the cabin.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-62 had to return and make an emergency landing in Miami, Florida, on April 12th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane took off for Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine problem.
The plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Southwest Airlines flight WN-4266 made an emergency landing in Oakland, California, on April 11th.
The Boeing 737-700 plane flying from Denver, Colorado, was descending toward San Francisco, California, when the crew reported a blown tire and decided to divert.
The plane landed safely. All 119 people aboard remained safe.
Alitalia flight AZ-608 had to return and make an emergency landing at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Italy, on April 10th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a hydraulic leak.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
SkyWest Airlines flight OO-3391 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Modesto, California, on April 9th.
The Embraer ERJ-175 plane heading from Sacramento to San Diego, California, was diverted due to a cargo smoke indication.
The plane landed safely. There were 55 passengers and 4 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-600 made a safe landing following bird strikes near Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Iran, on April 8th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane flying from Frankfurt, Germany, was on final approach to Tehran when it received multiple bird strikes.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Mount Cook Airlines flight NZ-5075 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Palmerston North, New Zealand, on April 9th.
The plane heading from Auckland to Nelson, New Zealand, was diverted due to an issue with the landing gear.
The plane landed safely. All 64 passengers and 5 crew members remained safe.
Indigo Airlines flight 6E-252 made an emergency landing in Raipur, India, on April 9th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Kolkata, India, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Mango Airlines flight JE-348 had to return for an emergency landing in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 9th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Durban, South Africa, but had to turn back after a pelican hit it.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Fedex Federal Express flight FX-2415 had to return and make an emergency landing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 8th.
The Airbus A300-600 plane took off for Appleton, Wisconsin, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back safely. There were 2 crew members aboard at the time; both of them remained unharmed.
Air France flight AF-1390 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on April 8th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane heading form Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, to Istanbul, Turkey, was diverted due to a suspected fuel leak.
The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Qantas Airways flight QF-495 made an emergency landing in Melbourne, Australia, on April 7th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Sydney, Australia, was on approach to Melbourne when the crew reported an unsafe gear indication.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
DHL Aero Expreso flight D5-5455 had to return and make an emergency landing in Miami, Florida, on April 7th.
The Boeing 757-200 plane took off for Guatemala City, Guatemala, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported they had an issue with a horse on-board.
The plane landed back safely. No injuries were reported.
Nordic Regional Airlines flight AY-203 had to return and make an emergency landing in Helsinki, Finland, on April 7th.
The plane took off for Kokkola, Finland, but had to turn back after the crew reported a gear problem.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
