A Czech Air Force Airbus A319-115X CJ was en route in Belarus when the cockpit glass cracked—just the front top cover glass The Airbus was on an official flight with prime minister Petr Ne?as and minister of industry Martin Kuba aboard.
Pilots had to descend to a safe altitude and continued to Moscow.
What: Egyptair Airbus A320-200 en route from Cairo to Kuwait
Where: Egypt
When: Dec 3, 2012
Who: 90 aboard
Why: We have avoided this report for as long as possible, but finally decided to get it out of the way, since our mailboxes and emails are FULL of reports of:
“Snake on a plane forces emergency landing”
“Cobra Forces EgyptAir Flight to Make Emergency Landing”
“Flight Crew Finds reptile”
“Real Life Snake on a plane”
“Egyptian Cobra Bites Akram Abdul Latfi, Egypt Air Passenger”
“Cobra upgraded to First Class on Flight**”
Here’s the story: Akram Abdul Latif who was aboard this Egyptair flight was bitten by a snake. Actual snake on a plane, not the terrible movie. The Jordan Times says the snake was a cobra and that Latif owns a reptile shop where he was taking it. The snake had gotten out and the pet shop owner was bitten in the hand while trying to return the snake to the carry-on (as so many are theoretically and realistically bitten while trying to get anything back in the bag.)
The flight was diverted to Al Bahr Al Ahmar where first aid was administered to the man, and apparently none to the snake, who died. Actually, the snake did not die; it apparently was with Latif when he was refusing medical treatment. Some of the reports infer Latif was allowed to bring the snake to his shop in Kuwait. Without a crystal ball, I can’t say whether or not reports will be full of “Kuwait Reptile Store Owner Jailed for Smuggling” but according to “Newsfix” the cobra was corralled and confiscated by the cops. No one indicates if the snake was returned to Latif, or if a snake license, fine or a “snake coralling fee” was levied.
One can not help but picture the plane landing, a bouncer tossing Latif, his bag and beast out on their respective keisters*, the plane closing up and zipping down the runway before Latif can get back on.
* For the sake of the paragraph, we are endowing both the snake and the bag with honorary keisters, as they are not provided their own by nature.
** Honors for the best title of an article about the snake on a plane
*** The snake photo is clipped from the youtube video
**** No snakes were harmed in the writing of this article
*****[insert your own] Etc.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andrew Hunt
What: Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A330-200 en route from Hong Kong to Beijing
Where: Changsa
When: Mar 9th 2012
Why: While en route, the flight developed a loss of cabin pressure.
Oxygen masks were deployed.
Pilots diverted to Changsa where they made a safe landing.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Harun ORNEK
What: Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-400 en route from Batman to Istanbul
Where: Diyarbakir
When: Jun 30th 2010
Why: While en route, a windshield cracked. The flight diverted to Diyarbakir. The flight made a safe landing, but there is no information regarding the disposition of the passengers.
All Nippon Airways flight NH-1101 made an emergency landing in Nagoya, Japan, on August 3rd.
The Airbus A320-200 plane flying from Tokyo to Tottori, Japan, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed uneventfully. All one hundred and forty-four people aboard remained safe.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Travis Faudree
What: Spirit Airlines Airbus A319-100 en route from the Nicaraguan capital of Managua to Fort Lauderdale
Where: Owen Roberts International Airport, Grand Cayman
When: November 25, 2009
Who: 133 passengers
Why: While en route, a cockpit indicator signified smoke in the cockpit; the flight diverted to Owen Roberts International Airport, Grand Cayman where it landed safely.
On inspection, maintenance found neither smoke nor fire, and instead of rebooking the passengers, the flight continued on safely to its destination.