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.
Monarch Airlines flight ZB-744 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Porto Santo, Portugal, on January 23rd.
The Airbus A321-200 plane flying from Gatwick Airport, England, to Funchal, Portugal, was diverted after the crew reported issues with the flaps.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 137 passengers aboard remained safe.
Endeavor Air flight DL-4149 had to return and make an emergency landing in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 23rd.
The Canadair CRJ-200 plane took off for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Kentucky, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an engine failure.
The plane landed safely. All 51 people aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Azur Air flight ZF-6334 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Novosibirsk, Russia, on January 23rd.
The Boeing 757-200 plane heading from Phuket, Thailand, to Samara, Russia, was diverted after the airport crews found pieces of rubber on the departure runway.
The plane landed safely. All 116 passengers and 7 crew members remained safe.
TUIfly Belgium flight TB-6793 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Brussels, Belgium, on January 21st.
The Embraer ERJ-190 plane heading from Liege, Belgium, to Alicante, Spain, was diverted due to a cracked windshield.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Gol Airlines flight G3-2020 had to return and make an emergency landing in Brasilia, Brazil, on January 22nd.
The Boeing 737-700 plane took off for Boa Vista, Brazil, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew failed to retract landing gear.
The plane landed safely. There were 130 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-1201 made a safe landing following a lightning strike in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 21st.
The Airbus A321-200 plane flying from Boston, Massachusetts, was descending toward Atlanta when it experienced a lightning strike on the nose.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Ryanair flight FR-408 made an emergency landing in Cologne, Germany, on January 21st.
The Boeing 737-800 plane flying from Copenhagen, Denmark, was on approach to Cologne when the crew declared an emergency due to a flaps issue.
The plane landed safely. All 131 people aboard remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-66 had to divert for an emergency landing in Porto, Portugal, on January 22nd.
The plane was flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, to Barcelona, Spain, when the crew decided to divert due to an engine oil issue.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 151 passengers and 8 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Jetstar Asia Airways flight 3K-535 had to return and make an emergency landing in Singapore, on January 22nd.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Phuket, Thailand, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew noticed a ventilation issue.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Scandinavian Airlines flight SK-4418 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Trondheim, Norway, on January 22nd.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Oslo to Tromso, Norway, was diverted due to a technical issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Nippon Cargo Airlines flight KZ-192 had to return and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport, in Chicago, Illinois, on January 21st.
The plane took off for Frankfurt–Hahn Airport, Germany, but had to turn back after a flock of birds impacted the windscreen.
The plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
JetBlue Airways flight 893 had to make an emergency landing at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Florida, on January 21st.
The plane heading from Newark, New Jersey, to Santiago, Dominican Republic, was diverted due to a bomb threat.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
KLM flight KL-736 had to return and make an emergency landing in Curacao, on January 20th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane took off for Amsterdam, Netherlands, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
A small cargo plane owned by Alpine Air made an emergency landing at Billings Logan International Airport, Montana, on January 19th.
The plane took off for Sidney, Montana, but had to turn back after the pilot failed to fully retract the landing gear.
The plane’s landing collapsed upon landing. The pilot, who was the only one aboard, remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-946 had to divert for an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on January 20th.
The plane flying from Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, was diverted after the captain became unconscious.
The plane, carrying 82 passengers and 12 crew members, landed safely.
The captain was rushed to a hospital.
A US military helicopter made an emergency landing in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on January 20th.
The AH-1 attack helicopter was forced to land in emergency on Ikei Island due to a mechanical issue.
The U.S. Marines Corps confirmed in a statement, “there was no damage to the aircraft and no injuries.”
Tigerair Australia flight TT-612 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, on January 20th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane heading from Sydney to Coolangatta, Australia, was diverted after smoke was noticed in the cockpit and cabin.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
TUIfly Nordic flight 6B-873 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 19th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane was heading from Lulea, Sweden, to Krabi, Thailand, when the crew reported a hydraulic failure and decided to divert.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
UPS flight 5X-605 had to return and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport, Illinois, on January 18th.
The plane took off for Louisville, Kentucky, but had to return shortly afterwards due to issues with landing gear.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
IndiGo Airlines flight 6E-3645 had to divert to Kolkata, India, on January 18th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Delhi to Assam, India, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed uneventfully. There were 180 passengers and 6 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Pegas Fly Airlines flight IK-2561 had to divert for an emergency landing in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on January 18th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane heading from Perm, Russia, to Nha Trang, Vietnam, was diverted after all the toilets became inoperative.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Braathens Regional Airways flight TF-1054 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Stockholm Bromma Airport, Sweden, on January 17th.
The plane heading from Umea to Gothenburg, Sweden, was diverted after the crew reported issues with de-icing equipment.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-526 made a safe landing following a bird strike in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 17th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane flying from Omaha, Nebraska, was on approach to Phoenix when one of the engines ingested a bird.
The plane continued for a safe landing. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
A Thomson Airways flight had to make an emergency landing at Bournemouth Airport, United Kingdom, on January 17th.
The plane was flying from Tenerife, Spain, when the crew declared an emergency due to a technical problem.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Eurowings flight 117 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on January 15th.
The plane heading from Salalah, Oman, to Cologne, Germany, was diverted due to a bomb threat.
The plane landed safely. There were 299 passengers aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
The authorities confirmed that no explosives were found upon inspection.
