Qatar Airways flight QR-817 had to return and make an emergency landing in Hong Kong, China, on December 30th.
The Boeing 787-800 plane took off for Doha, Qatar, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew noticed a cracked windshield.
The plane landed back safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight UA-2116 had to return and make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on February 23rd.
The Boeing 767-300 plane took off for Houston, Texas, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an issue with the flaps.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
What: Air France Airbus A319-100 en route from Paris Orly to Toulouse
Where: Toulouse
When: Mar 30th 2009
Who: 115 passengers and 6 crew
Why: In flight, the left engine surged. The crew did not shut it down, but did reduce power; and the plane landed without injury with emergency crews on standby.
Nordwind Airlines flight N4-5816 made an emergency landing in Ufa, Russia, on October 13th.
The Airbus A321-200 plane flying from Antalya, Turkey, was descending toward Ufa when it suffered a hydraulic failure.
The plane landed safely and was towed to the apron.
All two hundred and twenty-seven people aboard remained unharmed.
The Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Singapore Dhaka with 105 passengers and 12 crew aboard diverted to Bangkok when they got an internal flight warning. There were no injuries.
In spite of the cargo fire suppression system, there was a burning smell and a fire.
The plane made a safe landing in Bangkok. The plane taxied to the gate, and passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations, meals and transferred to another airline.
An investigation is underway.
Singapore Airlines’ spokesman, Nicholas Ionides said that “Flight SQ446 operating between Singapore and Dhaka diverted to Bangkok as a result of indications of smoke from the aircraft’s rear cargo hold.”
When Thai authorities clear the Airbus, it will be flown back to Singapore.
But still, it is one of my least favorite things to read (especially while I’m halfway to Singapore) that there has been yet another cargo fire at all, regardless of what kind of plane it is on.
At least I had time to jot down some thoughts.
I hope that the media shines as bright a light on this airbus cargo fire as it has recently on the Dreamliner battery situation. Sure, the Dreamliner is developing new technology and Boeing is responsible for going the distance to keep new developments safe. The Dreamliner battery issue is new. But the fact that Boeing is developing new technologies and new solutions does not provide Airbus and an established plane like a A330-300 a free ticket when it comes to combustion.
Hopefully Airbus is paying attention to all problems and not getting too cocky. It should remember and respect that a plane is still an air-filled bubble hundreds of feet in the air. Until people develop their own wings, random combustion situations like cargo fires on an Airbus A330 are just as potentially hazardous situation–if not more so–than any battery incident that actually occurred on the ground.
Let us please see a fix for this problem.
A Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Athens Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing on July 5 after a bid strike.
After takeoff from Ataturk International Airport at 7:40, the plane hit a flock of birds.
The pilot returned to the airport and made a safe landing with damaged engine baffles.
Passengers disembarked and were provided an alternative flight.
Pictured: A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A330-341
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Sarmad Al-Khozaie
What: Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-500 en route from Jakarta to Banda Aceh
Where: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
When: October 30, 2009
Who: 49 passengers
Why: When the plane’s inner left wheel fell off at 500 feet, the plane returned to the airport. After the safe albeit wobbly landing, passengers debarked and boarded an alternative flight. Apparently the tire fell in an open area.