Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Martin Hartmann
What: Ryanair Boeing 737-800 en route from Stansted UK to Krakow
Where: Frankfurt
When: Jun 15th 2009
Who: Not listed
Why: The plane encountered turbulence and was struck by a lightning, after which it diverted to Frankfurt Hahn (Germany), where it landed safely.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Christopher Weyer
What: Continental Airlines 737 en route from Santa Ana to Houston
Where: El Paso International Airport
When: January 6, 2011
Who: 127 passengers
Why: While en route, the Continental flight developed smoke in the cockpit.
Pilots diverted to El Paso where they made a safe landing. The plane is being examined. Rescue services have not yet found a source.
United Airlines flight UA-1126 made an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado, on July 11th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Anchorage, Alaska, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and seventy-three people aboard remained unharmed.
An Alitalia flight from Ancona had to make an emergency landing at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, on November 5.
The incident happened after the right engine of the ATR 72 twin turboprop aircraft was struck by lightning while passing through a severe storm.
The plane landed uneventfully and all 51 passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The aircraft was taken for examination.
Japan Airlines flight JL-61 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Sapporo, Japan, on September 29th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Los Angeles, California, to Narita International Airport, Japan, was diverted after the crew noticed a burning odor in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and fifty-three people aboard remained unharmed.
Cargolux flight CV-775 had to return and make an emergency landing at Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on May 28th.
The Boeing 747-400, en-route to Luxembourg, had to return shortly after the crew heard a loud bang followed by the stick shaker activating. It later turned out that an AoA (Angle of Attack) vane was missing.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All people onboard remained safe.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Aleksey Lisitsyn
What: Iran Air Boeing 727-200 en route from Moscow Sheremetyevo (Russia) to Tehran Imam Khomeini
Where: Tehran
When: Oct 18th 2011
Who: 94 passengers and 19 crew
Why: On approach to Imam Khomeini Airport, the crew aborted the approach due to a landing gear issue. The crew diverted the flight to Mehrabad Airport (also in Tehran).
The fly by at Mehrabad indicated the nose gear issue was actual, and not an indicator problem.
The crew landed without the nose gear on the main gear, and the runway had been foamed. There were no reported injuries.