SATA Air Acores flight SP-479 made an emergency landing in Lajes, Portugal, on October 21st.
The plane flying from Pico Island, Portugal, was descending toward Lajes when the crew declared an emergency due to smoke in the cockpit.
The plane landed safely. All twenty-six people aboard remained unharmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Dominik Zimmermann
What: Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 en route from Philadelphia to Frankfurt/Main
Where: Boston
When: Mar 13th 2010
Who: 196 aboard
Why: While en route, the crew noticed smoke in the cockpit and diverted to Boston where they made a safe landing. After several hours in Boston, the flight resumed.
Envoy Air flight MQ-3594 had to return and make an emergency landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Texas, on December 25th.
The plane took off for Abilene, Texas, but had to turn back due to a possible technical issue.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
US-Bangla flight BS-315 had to return and make an emergency landing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 24th.
The Boeing 737-800 plane took off for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but had to turn back due to a fuel filter bypass indication.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and sixty-four people aboard remained unharmed.
United Airlines flight 102 had to divert and make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, Ireland, on February 12th.
The Boeing 767 plane, heading from Houston, Texas, to Munich, Germany, was diverted after the crew reported problems with one of the two engines.
The plane landed safely. There were 98 passengers and 13 crew members aboard; none of them were harmed.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Dan Miclea
What: Virgin America Airbus en route from San Francisco to New York City
Where: Grand Junction Colorado
When: September 8, 2011, 2:00 a.m.
Who: 111 passengers and 6 crew
Why: While en route, the Virgin America flight experienced problems, described by one passenger as “the engine quit” and by another as “a giant flame from the engine.” While en route, passengers were awakened by a loud noise, and according to one passenger, flight attendants rushed to the cockpit.
Pilots shut the engine down and continued the flight. Individuals with military experience were asked to assist in case of emergency.
(We don’t usually get this much detail, but it is clear that the passengers were terrified. Pilots always say these huge jets with multiple engines are built to fly without one, in case of emergency; but personally I can relate more to the anxiety of the passengers than the confidence of pilots in their machines. Though one has to admit, knowing a pilot confident in his plane is flying is more comforting to a passenger than a pilot who is hysterical.)
Pilots explained the situation to the passengers. Forty minutes later landed safely in Grand Junction.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodation, $150 for another flight, and another flight was provided within ten hours. The incident is under investigation.
Copa Airlines flight CM-238 had to reject take off from Santa Clara, Cuba, on December 11th.
The plane was accelerating to take off for Panama City, Panama, when its left.
engine emitted a loud bang and smoke was noticed in the cabin.
The crew subsequently rejected take off and deployed slides for an emergency evacuation.
All 88 passengers and 5 crew members remained unharmed.
