Malaysian Airlines flight MH 179 made an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur Airport in Malaysia, on May 10.
The pilot decided to return after a drunk passenger started harassing the crew members. The flight was en-route from Malaysia to Colombo, Sri Lanka at the time.
The plane circled around Malacca Strait before landing safely in Kuala Lumpur.
What: Piper PA-24 Comanche en route to Santa Barbara Airport
Where: southbound side of U.S. Highway 101 NE of Santa Barbara
When: Sunday 10:30 a.m
Who: pilot Kris Sean Michel and wife
Why: When the plane ran out of fuel, the pilot landed on US. Highway 101. Although several cars (Chevrolet Suburban Honda Accord driven by Sanjay Mitter, Volkswagen driven by Marlene Tutogi) struck or were struck by the plane and nine people were involved, no one was killed.
A Russian transport plane had to make an emergency landing in Ulyanovsk, Russia, on October 28.
The An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, owned by Volga-Dnieper Airlines, was transporting a European communications satellite Astra 2G from Moscow, Russia, to Baikonur, Kazakhstan, when the crew noticed an increase in temperature of its 4th engine. The engine was then shut off and the plane was diverted for emergency landing, after consultation with the client.
The plane landed uneventfully and was taken for maintenance. The company confirmed that many parts of the engine were replaced.
The Astra 2G satellite is scheduled to be launched from the Baikonur space center by a Proton-M carrier rocket, in the end of November. The satellite will provide communication services to various countries in Asia, Europe and Central Africa.
British Airways flight BA-2607 had to return and make an emergency landing at Naples International Airport, Naples, Italy, on March 31.
The Airbus A320-200, en-route to London, England, was climbing out of Naples when a chemical smell was sensed onboard, prompting the plane to return. The airline reported that there was a technical issue.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All passengers and crew members onboard remained unharmed.
Brussels Airlines flight SN-515 had to return and make an emergency landing in Brussels, Belgium, on September 11th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia, but had to turn back after the crew noticed an issue with an engine fuel control computer.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and fifty-five passengers remained unharmed.
Lufthansa CityLine flight LH-1007 made an emergency landing in Frankfurt, Germany, on September 2nd.
The plane flying from Brussels, Belgium, was descending toward Frankfurt when the crew reported light smoke onboard.
The plane continued for a safe landing. All seventy-three people aboard remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer James Gardner
What: Icelandair Boeing 757-200 en route from Paris to Reykjavik
Where: emergency landing at Gatwick in London
When: Jun 4th 2009
Who: 148 passengers
Why: The engine made a loud noise and the crew declared an emergency, and shut down the engine. After the emergency landing in London, passengers waited for substitute Icelandair and Iceland Express planes to take them on to Reykjavik, while some returned to Paris.
