Edelweiss Air flight WK-34 had to return and make an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 18th.
The Airbus A330-300 plane took off for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, but had to turn back after the crew noticed issues with the landing gear.
The plane landed back safely. There were two hundred and fifty-seven passengers and eleven crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.
Tasman Cargo Airlines flight HJ-1 had to return and make an emergency landing in Auckland, New Zealand, on February 5th.
The Boeing 757-200 freighter plane took off for Sydney, Australia, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a hydraulic problem.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
JetBlue Flight 115 made an emergency landing at Syracuse Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York, on October 12.
The plane took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to return shortly afterwards after the pilots noticed a burning smell.
The plane landed safely. All 105 people aboard remained unharmed.
The plane was taken for inspection.
American Airlines flight AA-20 made an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, on December 25th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, to Heathrow Airport, England, was diverted due to an issue with the lavatories.
The plane landed safely.
An Air France plane had to make an emergency landing at the Pulkovo international airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 30.
Authorities said the Boeing 777 was diverted due to apparent engine failure. The flight was en-route from Paris, France, to Beijing, China, at the time.
The plane landed safely. There were 269 passengers aboard at the time; all of the remained unhurt.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Rafael Alvarez Cacho
What: Transavia Boeing 737-BK2 En route from Sharm el-Sheikh to Amsterdam
Where: Primošten Croatia
When: Oct 20, 2012
Who: 192 aboard
Why: While the flight was en route over Croatia, smoke and the odor of burning plastic developed in the cabin. The pilot diverted to Zagreb-Pleso airport and made a safe landing although two passengers complained of breathing problems. Emergency Medical Services at the airport treated them.
Apparently there was no one available certified on Boeing, so an expert from Amsterdam was called in.
While passengers spent the night at a hotel, a replacement plane was flown in.
George’s Point of View
As opposed to Boeing, where the pilot always has the upper hand over the machine, the basic tenet of Airbus philosophy is machine knows best. That must be the case, because when all else fails, here comes the Airbus autopilot and the pilot can’t do anything. We’ve seen this bite pilots in the *** in a number of circumstances, but the first one that comes to mind, for me, is the big TAM crash in Sao Paulo. Not being a pilot, I’ve had to ask airbus pilots about this, and believe me, I’ve heard some horror stories that would curl your hair. Maybe that’s what is at the root of my negativity toward the Airbus. The other would be their tendency to crash and kill a lot of people at one time.
Anyway, Airbus recently started production of the A320 series in China. They just did a maiden flight on the first plane. I like China very much but I don’t know about getting on China-made planes. It is bad enough that they are Airbus.
