Aeromexico flight AM-664 made an emergency landing in Guadalajara, Mexico, on August 27th.
The plane heading from San Francisco, California, to Mexico City, Mexico, was diverted after an angry “drunk” passenger started screaming and attacking the crew.
The plane landed uneventfully. The disruptive passenger was removed from the plane.
Qatar Airways flight QR-964 had to make an emergency landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India, on August 26th.
The plane heading from Doha, Qatar, to Bali, Indonesia, was diverted after one of the pilots suffered a heart attack.
The plane landed uneventfully. The pilot, Andre Dinu, 34, was rushed to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills.
A US military helicopter made an emergency landing in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on January 20th.
The AH-1 attack helicopter was forced to land in emergency on Ikei Island due to a mechanical issue.
The U.S. Marines Corps confirmed in a statement, “there was no damage to the aircraft and no injuries.”
Middle East Airlines flight 213 made an emergency landing at Sofia airport in Bulgaria, on October 9th.
The plane flying from Beirut, Lebanon, to Geneva, Switzerland, was diverted after a passenger suffered heart attack.
The plane landed safely. The patient was rushed to hospital.
The flight resumed shortly afterwards.
Cargolux flight CV-775 had to return and make an emergency landing at Calgary International Airport, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on May 28th.
The Boeing 747-400, en-route to Luxembourg, had to return shortly after the crew heard a loud bang followed by the stick shaker activating. It later turned out that an AoA (Angle of Attack) vane was missing.
The plane landed uneventfully.
All people onboard remained safe.
Qantas Airways flight QF9 had to make an emergency landing in Oman, on April 8th.
The Airbus A380 plane, heading from Melbourne, Australia, to London, United Kingdom, was diverted after a male passenger suffered a suspected heart attack.
The plane landed safely. However, authorities said the passenger had died before the plane touched down.
Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-1734 had to make an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 1st.
The plane, flying from Bisha, was on approach to Riyadh when the captain suffered a heart attack. The co-pilot Rami Ghazi Batabara took over the controls and requested an emergency landing.
The Airbus A321-200 landed uneventfully.
The medical crew examined captain Walid bin Mohammed Al Mohammed and pronounced him dead.
United Airlines flight 3461 had to make an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan, on January 7.
The plane heading from LaGuardia Airport, New York, to O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, had to be diverted due to an unruly passenger. It is believed that a woman asked to be let off the plane mid-air and when the crew members told her it was not possible, she became aggressive and attacked the passengers and crew.
The woman was restrained using scarves, belts, seat belts when the plane, carrying 69 passengers and 4 crew, landed in Detroit.
She was taken into custody by the FBI. The plane resumed its journey after a short delay.
The flight was being operated by Shuttle America.
According to UK CAA statistics, over 1.400 incidents of laser attacks on pilots were reported last year, most of which occurred at Heathrow airport.
In fact, on average four pilots are at risk of being blinded by laser light on approach to British airports every day.
The CAA has warned that if a pilot is blinded or dazzled by a laser light on approach, it could result in a catastrophic incident. According to a regulator, “An aircraft on final approach at 1,000ft has around one minute before it reaches the threshold of the runway and touches down…A pilot dazzled by a laser can be blinded for up to ten seconds followed by over a minute of impaired vision. The risks to passengers and crew are all too obvious.”