Swiss International Airlines flight LX-647 made an emergency landing in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 13th.
The plane flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, was on approach to Zurich when the crew needed to shut down one of the engines.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
An Emirates plane had to make an emergency landing in Perth, Western Australia, on December 1st.
The A380 plane was en-route from Auckland, New Zealand, to Dubai, UAE, when a passenger went into labor. There were two doctors on-board who helped her through her contractions while the pilot diverted to Perth.
The passengers said the woman did not speak English and the doctors had to use Google translate to communicate with her.
The plane landed safely. The passenger was rushed to hospital where she gave birth to a baby girl.
The delayed flight reached Dubai the next day.
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Contact photographer Klaus Ecker
What: American Airlines Boeing 737-800 en route from Dallas to Seattle,WA
Where: Dallas
When: Sep 22nd 2009
Who: 95 passengers
Why: While en route, a hydraulic system malfunctioned and the flight was forced to return to Dallas.
What: Easyjet Airbus A320-200 en route from Athens Greece to Manchester
Where: Manchester
When: Jan 27th 2012
Why: On approach to Manchester, at 1300 feet the plane was struck by lightning, burning the fuselage under the cockpit window.
The first approach was aborted due (apparently) to snow on the runway. The plane circled for less than half an hour before making a safe landing.
What: DHL-chartered/Polish transport firm Exin Co twin-engine Antonov AN-26 turboprop cargo plane en route from Tallinn to Helsinki
When: August 25, 2010
Who: 4 crew members
Why: The landing gear retracted before the plane was airborne and made an emergency landing on a frozen lake—apparently not the first time this has happened.
An Estonian politician asked the Estonian Civil Aviation Authority “how it is possible that the same company with a same type of plane could fall victim to two almost identical accidents at the same airport within a short time.”
China Eastern flight MU-5577 made a safe emergency landing at Wenzhou Longwan International Airport, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China, on March 20th.
The Airbus A320-200, flying from Shanghai to Wenzhou, China, was about to land when the crew faced some visual difficulties disabling them to see the runway.
The plane received substantial damage to its landing gear and flaps after impacting treetops outside the airport perimeter.
All people onboard remained unharmed.
The incident remains under investigation.
Thomas Cook flight MT-2152 had to return and make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport, England, on April 9th.
The Airbus A321-200, en-route to Paphos, Cyprus, had to return due to a hydraulic problem. The plane entered a hold to burn off the fuel before landing.
The plane landed safely.
No injuries were reported.
