What: Thomas Cook Airlines Airbus A320 en route from Belfast to Tenerife
Where: Belfast International Airport
When: Feb 8 2012
Who: 175 passengers
Why: After developing problems with the gear during takeoff, the pilots returned to Belfast where they circled for an hour and a half before landing back in Belfast.
Emergency crews were on standby.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Fabrizio Gandolfo
What: Jetblue Airbus A320-200 en route from San Francisco,CA to Fort Lauderdale,FL
Where: Salt Lake City
When: Jan 24th 2011
Who: 1 unruly passenger
Why: While en route, a passenger insisted on paying cash for a headset, although Jet Blue only accepts credit cards.
The flight diverted to Salt Lake City where the passenger was taken off the plane. It is not reported if the passenger ever got his headset, nor if he was released into police custody.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gary Claridge-king
What: Emirates Airlines Airbus A380-800 en route from Sydney to Dubai
Where: Sydney
Who: 380 aboard
When: Nov 11, 2012
Why: After takeoff, one engine on the Emirates Airlines Sydney-Dubai flight developed a problem and was shut down. Passengers reported hearing a bang and saw flames from the engine. We do not know if it was a bird strike.
Pilots dumped fuel, returned to Sydney and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided alternative flights.
Pictured: An Emirates Airbus A330-243 over Dubai
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vala
What: Emirates Airlines Airbus A330-200 en route from Dubai to Durban
Where: Durban
When: Dec 19th 2009
Who: 20 injuries
Why: Two hours after takeoff, the flight plunged for about ten seconds, on encountering severe turbulence which injured twenty. Trolleys, bags, passengers and flight attendants flew about and impacted the ceiling; and interior elements of the plane incurred damage (panels, wires, seating, etc…). A passenger on board was a doctor, and he treated the injuries. On landing at Durban, a dozen individuals were treated at the airport, and eight were taken to area hospitals. Injuries included a broken hand and several spinal injuries.
Turnaround for the flight was just over 4 hours.
United Airlines flight UA-56 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Shannon, Ireland, on February 27th.
The Boeing 767-300 plane heading from Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, to Newark, New Jersey, was diverted after a crack was noticed in first officer’s windshield.
The plane landed safely. All passengers and crew members remained unharmed.
The Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 en route from Singapore Dhaka with 105 passengers and 12 crew aboard diverted to Bangkok when they got an internal flight warning. There were no injuries.
In spite of the cargo fire suppression system, there was a burning smell and a fire.
The plane made a safe landing in Bangkok. The plane taxied to the gate, and passengers disembarked and were provided hotel accommodations, meals and transferred to another airline.
An investigation is underway.
Singapore Airlines’ spokesman, Nicholas Ionides said that “Flight SQ446 operating between Singapore and Dhaka diverted to Bangkok as a result of indications of smoke from the aircraft’s rear cargo hold.”
When Thai authorities clear the Airbus, it will be flown back to Singapore.
But still, it is one of my least favorite things to read (especially while I’m halfway to Singapore) that there has been yet another cargo fire at all, regardless of what kind of plane it is on.
At least I had time to jot down some thoughts.
I hope that the media shines as bright a light on this airbus cargo fire as it has recently on the Dreamliner battery situation. Sure, the Dreamliner is developing new technology and Boeing is responsible for going the distance to keep new developments safe. The Dreamliner battery issue is new. But the fact that Boeing is developing new technologies and new solutions does not provide Airbus and an established plane like a A330-300 a free ticket when it comes to combustion.
Hopefully Airbus is paying attention to all problems and not getting too cocky. It should remember and respect that a plane is still an air-filled bubble hundreds of feet in the air. Until people develop their own wings, random combustion situations like cargo fires on an Airbus A330 are just as potentially hazardous situation–if not more so–than any battery incident that actually occurred on the ground.
Let us please see a fix for this problem.
What: Atlantic/Southwest Airlines Bombardier CRJ-200 en route from Atlanta to Baton Rouge
Where: Baton Rouge Metro Airport
When: September 1 2011, 4:35 pm
Who: 50 passengers, 3 crew
Why: Outside of Baton Rouge, the crew notified ATC of problems with the left wheel assembly, and circled over Baton Rouge. Fifteen minutes from the airport, the crew announced the emergency to passengers.
Passengers were warned to exit immediately on landing.
The pilot made an emergency landing in Baton Rouge with emergency services from metro Baton Rouge and Airport on standby.
On touchdown, the left wing collapsed. Passengers exited promptly as the plane filled up with smoke. Airport spokesman Jim Caldwell said that there were no injuries.
This was not the first problem the passengers encountered. They had boarded this plane in Atlanta after leaving another plane that encountered mechanical problems.
