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.
All Nippon Airways flight NH-204 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Krasnojarsk, Russia, on January 1st.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Frankfurt, Germany, to Tokyo, Japan, was diverted due to an engine failure.
The plane landed safely. All 147 people aboard remained unharmed.
Delta Airlines flight DL-2651 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 29th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane heading from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Taban Air flight HH-6295 had to return and make an emergency landing at Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran, Iran, on December 31st.
The plane took off for Shiraz, Iran, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported a mechanical problem with one of the engines and had to shut it down.
The plane landed back uneventfully. All 130 people aboard remained safe.
Qatar Airways flight QR-141 had to return for an emergency landing in Doha, Qatar, on December 30th.
The plane took off for Barcelona, Spain, but had to turn back due to a suspected fuel leak.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
Qatar Airways flight QR-817 had to return and make an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on December 30th.
The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Doha, Qatar, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew noticed a cracked windshield.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Via Airlines flight VC-841 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 29th.
The plane heading from LaGuardia Airport, New York, to Indianapolis, Indiana, was diverted due to loss of cabin pressure.
The plane, carrying Butler University’s Basketball Team, landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-1700 had to return and make an emergency landing at Raleigh–Durham International Airport, North Carolina, on December 29th.
The plane took off for San Francisco, California, but had to turn back due to a gear issue.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 145 passengers and 6 crew members remained safe.
Virgin America flight VX-501 made a safe landing following a bird strike in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 28th.
The plane flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, was on final approach when the left engine ingested a bird.
The plane continued for a safe landing. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Kenya Airways flight KQ-112 had to return and make an emergency landing in Nairobi, Kenya, on December 28th.
The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, but had to return shortly afterwards due to loss of cabin pressure.
The passenger oxygen masks were deployed as the plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Air France flight AF-1266 made an emergency landing in Florence, Italy, on December 28th.
The Airbus A318-100 plane flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, was on final approach when the crew reported a strong unusual smell throughout the aircraft.
The plane continued for a safe landing. Everyone aboard remained safe.
An American Airlines flight had to divert and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport, Illinois, on December 28th.
The plane flying from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, was diverted due to a possible mechanical problem.
The plane landed safely. All 149 passengers and 5 crew members remained safe.
AirBaltic flight BT-136 had to make an emergency landing in Riga, Latvia, on December 28th.
The plane was flying from Copenhagen, Denmark, when the crew reported a gear indication and performed a go-around to work checklists.
The plane subsequently continued for a safely landing. All 64 passengers and 4 crew members remained unharmed.
A Spirit Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport, Florida, on December 27th.
The crew declared an emergency after smoke was noticed in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
It is believed that the plane was flying from Atlantic City International Airport, New Jersey.
A small plane made an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 12 in Sauk County, Wisconsin, on December 28th.
The pilot, Stephan Arnold, 69, of Madison, was forced to land on the highway after the plane lost power.
The pilot and his only passenger remained unharmed.
The plane was flying from Sauk-Prairie Airport in Prairie Du Sac, Wisconsin, at the time.
Swiss International Air Lines flight LX-1233 had to return for an emergency landing in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 27th.
The Airbus A319-100 plane took off for Geneva, Switzerland, but had to turn back after the crew received an engine fire indication.
The crew had activated the fire suppression system before the plane landed back safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
LATAM Airlines flight JJ-8030 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on December 27th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from Sao Paulo, Brazil, to Montevideo, Uruguay, was diverted due to a cargo smoke indication.
The plane landed safely. All 220 people aboard remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-2457 made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, on December 24th.
The plane was flying from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, when it experienced a hydraulic failure, prompting the pilots to perform an alternate gear extension.
The plane landed safely. There were 145 passengers and 5 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Aeroflot flight SU-1510 had to return and make an emergency landing in Moscow, Russia, on December 27th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Surgut, Russia, but had to return shortly afterwards due to engine vibrations.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Open Skies flight BA-8004 had to divert for an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on December 26th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane, operating on behalf of British Airways, was en-route from Newark, New Jersey, to Paris Orly Airport, France, when all the toilets failed.
The crew subsequently decided to divert to Shannon where the plane landed safely.
All 172 people aboard remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-818 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Santiago, Chile, on December 25th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane heading from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Houston, Texas, was diverted due to electrical problems.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Air Canada flight AC-868 made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on December 24th.
The plane flying from Toronto, Canada, to London, United Kingdom, was diverted after a 10-year-old girl had a cardiac arrest midair.
The plane landed safely. The child was immediately taken to University Hospital Limerick where she was later pronounced dead.
Emirates Airlines flight EK-97 had to return and make an emergency landing at Dubai International Airport, Dubai, UAE, on December 25th.
The Airbus A380-800, en-route to Rome, Italy, was mid-air above Iran when the crew reported problems with the right hand engine, prompting it to return.
The plane landed uneventfully. All people onboard remained unharmed.
The passengers were accommodated in a replacement plane.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight SK-596 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Bornholm Airport, Ronne, Denmark, on December 26th.
The Airbus A320-200, flying from Keflavik, Iceland to Copenhagen, Denmark, was mid-air when the crew had to divert due to bad weather followed by a lightning strike.
The plane landed uneventfully. The flight was cancelled.
All passengers were rebooked onto other flights.
Flybe flight BE-7049 had to return and make a precautionary landing at Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, England, on December 21st.
The de Havilland Dash 8-400 was en-route to Dusseldorf, Germany, when the crew reported that there was a problem with one of the doors.
The plane landed safely. Everyone onboard remained unharmed.
The passengers were rebooked onto other flights.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-760 made a safe landing at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, Pakistan, on December 23rd.
The Boeing 777-200 flying from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was approaching the runway when its left hand engine ingested a bird.
The plane landed safely.
All people aboard remained unharmed.
