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-1418 made an emergency landing in Calgary, Canada, on October 13th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane was flying from Houston, Texas, when the crew declared an emergency due to problems with autopilot system and possible issues with nose gear.
The plane landed uneventfully. All 64 people aboard remained safe.
Insel Air flight 7I-304 rejected take-off at Flamingo/ Bonaire International Airport, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands, on April 22nd.
The Fokker 50 had to reject taking-off due to a computer error.
The plane returned to the apron safely.
No injuries were reported.
EVERETT, Wash., Sept. 14 — Boeing achieved another significant milestone for the first 747-8 Intercontinental Sunday night with the assembly of the airplane’s forward fuselage. The 89-foot, 2-inch (27.2 meters) fuselage section, featuring the airplane’s signature upper deck, was moved from the assembly tool for sealing and testing before beginning systems installation.
The 747-8 features a stretched fuselage compared to that of the 747-400. It is 18 feet, 4 inches (5.6 meters) longer than its predecessor. Much of the stretch — 13 feet, 4 inches (4.1 meters) — is located in the forward fuselage. The remaining additional 5 feet (1.5 meters) are located aft of the wing. The 747-8’s stretched fuselage provides for 51 additional seats to accommodate 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration and 26 percent more cargo volume.
The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is the new, high-capacity 747 that offers the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger airplane, while providing enhanced environmental performance.
IndiGo flight 6E 293 made an emergency landing in Port Blair, India, on November 20th.
The plane was flying from Hyderabad, India, when one of the engines malfunctioned, causing the plane to tilt to the other side.
The crew managed to level the plane and continued for a safe landing. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact Photographer Tim Perkins
What: Southwest Airlines 737 en route from Nashville to Baltimore
Where: Charleston’s Yeager Airport
When: 6:30 p.m Monday July 13
Who: 126 passengers and five crew
Why: While en route, the cabin depressurized when a hole (metal fatigue?) approximately the size of a football appeared in the fuselage. The plane managed to land safely in Charleston West Virginia. The NTSB is investigating.
(News photos don’t look football sized, but it is sure big enough to see plenty of daylight through.)
George’s Point of View
The 737 is a true workhorse, built to land and takeoff almost without too much delay except to load and unload passengers.
I fly Southwest to Las Vegas all the time. It’s a short hop.
I must admit, that every time I fly in one of these planes I have begun to worry about the age and/or the fatigue of the structure. A trip like one from LA to Vegas, most times, is a beating on the passengers and the plane itself. My guess is that 4 out of 5 of these short trips encounter turbulence, sometimes bad turbulence. This beats up the plane. In this case, the plane being beaten up was manufactured in 1994. That’s a lot of years of turbulence abuse. Metal fatigue in these conditions is not surprising, and neither is it completely unexpected. An inspection on this plane last January revealed eight cracks in the frame that required repairs.
I’m just glad it was a BOEING, and that the pilot remained in control of the aircraft. And of course, it’s a good thing that Southwest is now inspecting all of their planes for fatigue. Last year Southwest was fined $7.5 million for overdue inspections. I hope this is not going to be a repeat of last year. All the timely inspections in the world aren’t going to make this plane any younger. Maybe it’s time to put this particular plane out to pasture.
Thomas Cook Airlines flight MT-2718 had to return and make an emergency landing in Manchester, England, on April 15th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Las Vegas, Nevada, but had to return shortly afterwards due to a suspected fuel leak.
The plane landed back safely. All 283 people aboard remained unharmed.
The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.
