On Jan 11, 2013, Flight 1868, an American Airlines MD-80 en route from Las Vegas to Dallas was in the air when a problem developed in a plane generator. There were 150 passengers and 5 crew.
The Captain told passengers that the backup generator failed, so they had to divert to Albuquerque International where they made a safe landing at 8:30 a.m.
No injuries were reported.
Passengers were informed the plane was going to maintenance and they were placed on alternative flights to Dallas.
JetBlue flight B6-2828 made an emergency landing in Orlando, Florida, on December 3rd.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Newark, New Jersey, but had to turn back due to a medical emergency.
The plane landed safely.
The DBS Helicopters Bell 206L-3 LongRanger III helicopter in Silt, Colorado, that got tangled in power cables doing Holy Cross Energy powerline inspections crashed, killing the pilot and crew.
The accident occurred at 11:20 a.m. where the shared Holy Cross and Xcel Energy power lines cross Dry Hollow Road about 1.6 miles south of Silt. There were witnesses who saw the accident and attempted to help.
The poles that were being inspected were fifty feet high, and the helicopter was supposed to be flying thirty feet over that.
The small fifty-foot debris field is on rough hilly terrain.
Owner and chief pilot for DBS Helicopters, Doug Sheffer died in the accident. He had 22 years and 8,000 hours of flight time. Larry Shaffer who worked for Holy Cross Energy and Christopher Gaskill who worked for HotShot Infrared Inspections were also fatalities. They were filming the trouble spots along the route, and recording the locations on GPS.
I do not want to diminish the tragedy of this accident by saying that helicopter accidents such as this are common, but I will say they happen too frequently, even when the pilot has significant experience flying in mountain terrain, and rescue.
British Airways flight BA-118 made an emergency landing in Munich, Germany, on April 12th.
The Boeing 777-200 plane heading from Bangalore, India, to Heathrow Airport, England, was diverted due to an engine issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
American Airlines flight AA-671 made an emergency landing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on February 16th.
The plane heading from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, to McCarran International Airport, Nevada, was diverted as it needed refueling due to weather-related delays at the destination airport.
The plane landed safely and departed for McCarran International Airport shortly afterwards.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Bostjan Henigaman
What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-232 en route from Ataturk airport Istanbul, Turkey to Cairo airport Cairo, Egypt
Where: Turkey
When: Nov 4, 2009
Who: 103 passengers, 7 crew
Why: On takeoff, the left engine cover fell on to the runway. Another pilot saw the debris, and reported it. ATC recalled the Airbus, and it made a no-fuss emergency landing, after which it was taken to the maintenance hanger for repairs. Another plane was sent to provide transportation for the passengers.
A small plane crash landed in a field near Strasburg, eastern Colorado, on the night of November 20.
The Authorities said the pilot was making an emergency landing due to engine failure when the plane flipped onto its top.
The pilot and his only passenger were shifted to hospital for examination. It is believed that none of them suffered any major injuries.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.