United Airlines flight UA-789 had to return and make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport, Oregon, on October 13th.
The Boeing 737-900 plane took off for Denver, Colorado, but had to return shortly afterwards due to an electrical smell onboard.
The plane landed safely. There were 177 people aboard at the time; all of them remained unhurt.
IndiGo flight 6E-125 had to return and make an emergency landing in Ahmedabad, India, on June 19th.
The Airbus A320-200 plane took off for Kolkata, India, but had to turn back due to a bird strike.
The plane landed safely. All one hundred and seventy-three people aboard remained unharmed.
What: United Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Munich to Washington
Where: Logan International Airport 1:46 p.m.-
When: 3:45 p.m
Who: 245 passengers and 14 crew members
Why: When a woman aboard this flight started to feel the flu, 244 passengers and 14 crew members had to go out of their way (at a cost of how many thousands?) and land en route so she be taken by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital.
George’s Point of View
The US was founded by stalwart pilgrims. Most of our ancestors came to these shores with pennies to their name. We’re formed of hardy peasant stock born of strong roots with nothing but our bodies and brains to make us what we are. We are the survivors of freezing winters, summers spent barefoot on farms, yellow fever, wars, drought, and more war and more drama. We are the spawn of mixed melting pots, and all the harsh trials that weed out the weak. We are sturdy stock.
We are the survivors of parents or grandparents who told us stories of trudging to and from school in shoulder-high snow walking uphill both ways.
(And they didn’t have antibiotics.)
So what would our stalwart predecessors say about this current terror of the flu?
I think they’d be a little embarrassed.
Maybe I’m a little concerned about our oldest, sickest and most vulnerable, but I won’t go into the swine flu brouhaha. I’m not a doctor. I would not wish to be any of those millions of swine flu victims in rural Mexico, with access only to rudimentary medical facilities. Because the oldest, the youngest, the sickest, the weakest are the most vulnerable.
But.
Let’s face it. The air in a plane is a closed system. It has always been a closed system. That air recirculates. Maybe planes will install uv light machines in their air systems to sterilize the air. In the meantime, we’re all breathing shared air in planes.
I’m proud that even in these tough economic times, United Airlines is so solvent that it can afford to spend thousands to divert planes when a solitary patient has the sniffles. But…maybe next time, they could spend the equivalent cost of the next “sneeze-diversion” on a couple warehouses full of surgical masks. So that next time we’re in a United Airlines plane, we can rest assured that-if our neighbor sneezes-next to that airsick bag and airplane weekly magazine, we can find a “swine flu” mask, some kleenex and maybe some anti-bacterial hand cleaner.
D’ya think?
Small Plane Crashed into Residential Building in Ohio; 9 Killed
A small plane crashed into an apartment complex at 3042 Mogadore Road, near Skelton Road, in Akron, Ohio, on November 10.
Authorities said the Hawker H25 business jet was approaching Akron Fulton International Airport when it apparently hit some power lines and crashed into the four-family apartment complex. The plane was flying from Dayton Wright Brothers Airport.
There were 9 people aboard at the time; all of them were killed.
The house, that was vacant at the time, was completely destroyed.
The crash is under investigation.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer George Canciani
What: Air New Zealand Boeing 737-300 en route from Auckland to Wellington
Where: Hamilton
When: May 8, 2011
Who: 101 aboard
Why: While en route, the pilots shut down the right engine. Low oil pressure is suspected to be the problem.
Passengers heard the right engine make an explosive noise. In the plane, passengers panicked as they dropped for several seconds—screaming, crying, praying, panic attacks.
The plane rolled right, then straightened.
After a few moments, the pilot came out and reassured the passengers, explaining that they’d lost an engine, but it was a routine procedure they practiced all the time and that everything was under control.
Pilots diverted to Hamilton, where they made a safe landing. As passengers exited, the pilot told them “this was the first time an Air New Zealand 737 had had a total loss of engine.”
Passengers were bused or rented cars to go back to Auckland and engineers examined the downed plane.
Delta Airlines flight DL-5763 suffered severe turbulence on the way to Seattle, Washington, on February 13th.
The plane was flying from Santa Ana, California, when it hit turbulence which injured several people.
The crew subsequently decided to divert to Reno, Nevada, where the plane landed safely.
Eight people were injured, including seven passengers and a crew member.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Co Van Den Heuvel
What: Egypt Air Boeing 737-800 en route from Cairo to Berlin
Where: Athens
When: Jan 1st 2010
Who: 100 passengers
Why: While on route, the left engine developed a problem. The pilot shut down the engine, and diverted to Athens where it made a safe landing. Alternative transport to Berlin was provided.
