A small plane crashed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on November 26th.
The plane went down as it was approaching the Santa Fe Regional Airport.
The pilot, who is believed to be the only one aboard, was killed in the crash.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating.
Delta Airlines flight DL-1383 made an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport, Connecticut, on December 24th.
The plane took off from Atlanta, Georgia, but a tire deflated shortly afterwards. The crew decided to continue the flight and landed uneventfully.
All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Virgin America flight VX-865 had to return and make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado, on May 23rd.
The Airbus A320-200 took off for San Francisco, California, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a bird strike.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 136 people aboard remained safe.
What: Cessna 172H
Where: Staunton, Virginia
When: Dec 31, 2010, 2 pm
Who: 2 fatalities, 2 aboard.
Why: AirCare 5, a medical-evacuation Eurocopter EC135 bumped off the Cessna’s left wing, after which the Cessna crashed, killing the two aboard.
The registered owner of the plane is Michael W. Price of Elkton, Va. The victims were Jason Allen Long, 32, of Edinburg, and Jacob Houston Kiser, 19, of Grottoes.
Three people, pilot Paul Weve, co-pilot and flight nurse Joseph Root and flight nurse Carolyn Booke were aboard the Eurocopter, which landed safely. They had just dropped off a patient at the University of Virginia Medical Center. PHI Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana owns the helicopter which is based at Weyers Cave Airport. The helicopter pilot has been praised in the media for making an amazing landing.
Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport is 30 miles northwest of Charlottesville. SHD is an “uncontrolled airport” with no air traffic control tower.
FAA:DESCRIPTION N385PH PHI INC AIRCARE FLIGHT 5 EUROCOPTER EC135 ROTORCRAFT COLLIDED MIDAIR WITH N2876L CESSNA C172 AIRCRAFT UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS IN N2876L CESSNA C172 AIRCRAFT WERE FATALLY INJURED WHEN IT CRASHED IN A FIELD, THE N385PH ROTORCRAFT LANDED WITH NO INJURIES, SHENANDOAH VALLEY REGIONAL AIRPORT, WEYERS CAVE, VA
A Mesa Police Department helicopter had to make a hard landing in a field near Stapley Drive & Baseline Road in Gilbert, Arizona.
The incident happened at about 1 a.m. on June 8, when the chopper carrying two police pilots lost engine power and crashed.
According to Mesa Police Department Sgt. Tony Landato, “They had 10 to 15 seconds from engine failure to impact…. The preliminary information I have is that the pilot did a remarkable job avoiding homes by putting the helicopter down in a field… I’ve been told, luckily, there are no serious injuries.”
During the impact, the tail of helicopter broke off.
A small plane had to make a crash landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport, San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, on March 24.
The Plaggio P180 was seen circling over San Jose and Willow Glen, and it was reported that there was a mechanical issue, due to which the crew opted for a crash landing.
The plane landed uneventfully.
It turned out that there was a problem with the rear landing gear.
All people aboard remained unharmed.
Pictured: A Piper PA-32RT-300T Turbo Lance II
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Roberto Gorini
What: Piper PA32RT-300 en route from Lewisburg, West Virginia to Memphis
Where: near the old National Guard site off Democrat Road, Memphis
When: November 29, 2009, 4:15 p.m
Who: 4 on board, one in critical condition
Why: On approach to the runway, the plane landed 1500-2000 feet short of the runway and caught fire. No cause is given, but it is under investigation by the FAA. Co-owner Emmett O’Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.
UPDATE
The FAA confirms that O’Ryan was caught flying in 2007 in Olive Branch in an unsafe aircraft not meeting FAA standards. Records show the incident involved the same plane in this crash
The injured were transported by ambulance to the hospital. Three are non-critical.
Piloting the plane was businessman Emmett O’Ryan. Aboard was his daughter Ruth, his son Robert, and Robert’s friend Patrick Jenning.