What: Boeing 737 belonging to low cost carrier Norwegian
Where: in Trondheim in western Norway
When: September 19
Who: 107 people on board
Why: Because an indicator in the cockpit mistakenly indicated a problem with the front landing gear. the plane made an emergency landing.
No one was injured.
Virgin Atlantic flight VS-128 had to return and make an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, on September 15th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane took off for Manchester, England, but had to turn back due to an issue with the cargo fire detection system.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The Eithiopian Airlines Boeing 757 flown from Addis Ababa to Geneva instead of its intended destination Rome was commandeered by its co-pilot, who was seeking asylum in Geneva.
The co-pilot told ATC the plane was being hijacked, and after he landed, climbed down a rope from the cockpit, and told ground police forces that he was the hijacker.
Ethiopia, which has a reputation of targeting journalists, opposition and minorities, has a deteriorating human rights record, and owns Ethiopia Airlines. Charges against the co-pilot could result in a twenty year prison sentence.
No one was injured in the hijacking, but two Italian fighter jets “escorted” the plane to Geneva. Two hundred and two people were aboard.
Pictured: An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-3BG/ER
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Pieter-Jan Van De Vijver
What: Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 en route from Addis Ababa to Lagos
Where: Lagos Nigeria
When: Dec 13th 2009
Who: 180 passengers
Why: On approach, ATC communication failed. With air traffic control’s radar and communication radio out of service, the flight circled, and after two hours in a holding pattern, landed after declaring a fuel emergency.
Other flights also had the same experience.
Nigeria’s Airspace Management Agency NAMA was unavailable for two hours.
United Airlines flight UA-2001 had to reject take off from Newark, New Jersey, on March 17th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane was accelerating to take off for O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, when the crew noticed an engine problem and rejected take off.
All 164 passengers and 6 crew members remained safe.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Erezms
What: El Al 747-400 flight traveling from Tel Aviv to New York
Where: Keflavik Iceland
When: Aug 25th 2009
Who: 371 passengers
Why: When the smell of smoke was detected on the plane, the flight made an emergency landing in Iceland. After landing, the problem was found to be a short circuit in a television screen. However, there was a delay while it was decided who was to make the repairs. During the 22 hour delay, passengers were provided hotel accommodations.
Cayman Airways flight KX-792 had to return and make an emergency landing at Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, on November 26th.
The Boeing 737-300 plane took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to turn back due to issues with cabin pressurization system.
The plane landed uneventfully. All one hundred and twenty-one people aboard remained unharmed.
