A drone crashed into the 40th floor of the Empire State Building in New York, on February 4.
According to the owner Sean Nivin Riddle, 29, all he wanted “was to shoot 5 seconds of video to promote a non-profit”. The drone ended up in a landing on the 35th floor.
No injuries were reported.
Riddle was taken into custody after the incident. He is facing charges of illegal aviation in and over the city, and reckless endangerment.
What: Piedmont Airlines/US Airways de Havilland Dash 8-100 en route from Philadelphia to New Haven
Where: Islip
When: Jan 7th 2011
Who: 32 passengers, 3 crew
Why: While en route near Islap, the plane was struck by lightning. When the plane experienced electrical problems, the pilots decided to divert to Islap and landed within ten minutes. Local weather included snow and thunderstorms.
Eastern Airways flight T3-1035 had to return and make an emergency landing in Aberdeen, Scotland, on June 27th.
The plane took off for Shetland, Scotland, but had to turn back after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-5622 made an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on January 1st.
The plane flying from Aspen, Colorado, was descending toward Chicago when the crew requested assistance due to a gear problem.
The plane performed a low approach for gear inspection and subsequently landed safely.
All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
A Bluebird Airways flight made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on August 14th.
Authorities said the plane heading from Budapest, Hungary, to Tel Aviv, Israel, was diverted due to a disruptive passenger.
The plane landed uneventfully in Sofia. The disruptive passenger was escorted off the plane.
Swiss International Air Lines flight LX-188 made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on June 18th.
The Airbus A340-300 plane heading from Zurich, Switzerland, to Shanghai, China, was diverted due to smoke in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andre Oferta
What: Polet Aviakompania Antonov AN-124-100 en route from Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada to Frankfurt-Hahn Germany
Where: North Atlantic
When: August 14, 2010
Who: 6 member crew
Why: 1,000km northwest of Ireland, the Antonov (world’s largest serially built cargo aircraft) developed oil pressure problems in one engine and had to shut it down. The pilots diverted to Shannon which took two hours to reach, and they made a safe landing on a 3.2km runway. No injuries reported.
