Qatar Airways flight QR-778 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on November 19th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Miami, Florida, to Doha, Qatar, was diverted after the crew noticed smoke on the flight deck.
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained safe.
UPS flight 5X-15 made an emergency landing in Mumbai, India, on March 8th.
The Boeing 747-400 plane flying from Bangkok, Thailand, was descending toward Mumbai when the crew reported a hydraulic failure.
The plane burst a tire during landing and became disabled on the runway.
Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Just like it happens with cars, obscure plane parts wear out. Take for example an incident that happened in 2008, when a 747 cable burned out after the protective covering was worn off due to friction against a bolt.
Take a look at this final report on this 747 smoke event on Eva Airways Flight BR67 at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Prior to this event, Boeing had sent out a service Letter to inform operators of the potential fire hazard from the arcing of a wire bundle which might result in a fire on Corrosion Inhibiting Compound (CIC) contaminated insulation blankets. They predicted it. It happened.
So as we think about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. There is always the possibility that some small component like the one below failed, and led to something catastrophic. What if the pilots were overcome by smoke in the cabin? I am not saying that this DID happen, I am only saying there are myriad small parts that can lead to catastrophic events. It makes sense to look at any and all Boeing 777 safety advisories, in case they might predict some small event that cascaded into disaster.
Thanks to input from John King.
Swiss International Airlines flight LX-1838 had to return and make an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 9th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for Athens, Greece, but had to turn back after the crew noticed an issue with the flaps.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Lufthansa flight LH-1375 made an emergency landing in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 26th.
The plane was flying from Wroclaw, Poland, when the crew declared an emergency due to fumes in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.
Spirit Airlines flight NK-521 made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, on August 22nd.
The Airbus A321-200 plane heading from Newark, New Jersey, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was diverted due to a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed safely. All two hundred and twenty-five people aboard remained unharmed.
IndiGo Airlines flight 6E-135 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Nagpur, India, on August 16th.
The plane heading from Ahmedabad to Kolkata, India, was diverted after the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
