On Feb 20, a Qatar Airways Airbus A321-231 was en route from Doha to Zagreb with 158 passengers aboard when the plane developed a technical problem.
The pilots diverted to Tehran where they made a safe landing. Emergency services were on standby.
They arrived at around 10 a.m. local time
An alternative flight was provided for the passengers.
A Lufthansa plane burst four tires upon landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, on May 13th.
The Airbus A330-300 was performing flight LH-764 from Munich, Germany, when four of the ten tires burst.
There were 163 passengers aboard at the time; none of them were injured.
A Learjet 60 plane, carrying Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, made an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 21.
Prime Minister Gruevski was returning to Skopje from Strasbourg when his jet had to make an emergency landing due to technical issues. According to a government spokesperson, “The (technical) failure manifested as a strong noise, from an unknown origin, and it was followed by perturbation of the cabin pressure,”
The plane landed uneventfully. Everyone aboard remained unhurt.
Swiss International Air Lines flight LX-1957 made an emergency landing in Marseille, France, on February 22nd.
The Airbus A321-100 plane heading from Barcelona, Spain, to Zurich, Switzerland, was diverted due to an odor in the cockpit and a system malfunction indication.
The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.
Hawaiian Airlines flight HA-50 had to return and make an emergency landing at Honolulu International Airport, Honolulu, Hawaii, on May 10th.
The Airbus A330-200 flying to New York, USA, had just taken-off when the crew noticed a problem with its gear retraction.
The plane landed safely.
All 291 people aboard remained unhurt.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Terry Wade
What: Mexicana Airbus A318-100 en route from Cancun to Mexico City
Where: Cancun
When: Jan 19th 2010
Who: 45 passengers
Why: On takeoff, the left engine cowling separated, impacting the engine, wing and the rear fuselage. The flight crew returned the plane to the airport for a safe landing.
No injuries were reported.
Pictured: An Air-India Airbus A310-324 in Dubai
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Alastair T. Gardiner
What: Air India Airbus A310-300 en route from Hyderabad India to Dammam Saudi Arabia
Where: Dammam
When: Dec 29th 2009
Who: not available
Why: After having a hydraulics failure, the crew manually lowered the gear prior to landing. After a normal landing, the plane had to be towed to the gate.
* While there is bound to be a way to manually lower gears from inside the plane (safely), when I hear the crew manually lowered the gears, I can’t help picturing Burt Lancaster (in tights) or members of the Cirque du Soleil (in the off season) swinging around the undercarriage in impossible formation.
