Vueling Airlines flight VY-8549 was intercepted by two Czech Gripen fighter jets on May 27th.
The Airbus A320-200, en-route from Helsinki, Finland, to Barcelona, Spain, was about to enter Czech Airspace, however, the crew did not establish contact with Czech Air Traffic Control. Two Gripen fighter jets were therefore dispatched that contacted the flight on emergency frequency.
The communication was restored around 15 minutes after the plane entered Czech Airspace.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Andreas Fietz
What: Air Europa Airbus A330-200 en route from Madrid, to Tenerife
Where: Madrid
When: Mar 7th 2010
Why: While en route, the flight experienced a technical problem and returned to Madrid to make a safe landing. The problem turned out to be an open door indicator, which was repaired. Passengers were able to reboard the plane and continue to their destination.
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Contact photographer Paul Carlotti
What: Air Canada Airbus A319-100 en route from Toronto to Winnipeg
Where: Sault Ste Marie
When: Mar 8 2011
Who: 125 aboard
Why: While en route, the plane was over Canada when the displays quit. The loss of the displays is being attributed to an electronic power failure. (Wonder if there was a short or if it was something else?) The displays were only offline for less than a minute, and subsequently began flashing error messages. Pilots continued on to Winnipeg and managed to land safely. The plane was taken out of commission in order to have an Airbus inspection to determine what exactly was going on.
Flying an Airbus without electronic displays is, I think, tantamount to suicide. I am surprised they didn’t divert somewhere and land immediately. Is it not somewhat risky to continue flying an airbus when the display connections are flakey? This same sort of thing happened on a BMI Airbus A321. Apparently catastrophic failure in rough conditions is not unheard of. In fact, rough conditions are not required to cause the need for a reboot. The term for “rebooting” an airbus that has lost its electronics is called “recycling,” a common enough thing that there is recognizable pilot humor regarding it.
Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Johannes Klinghardt
What: Emirates Airbus A340-300 en route from Zurich to Dubai
Where: Zurich
When: Nov 26th 2010
Why: On its takeoff run, pilots reported thrust reverser issues. They rejected takeoff and the flight was cancelled for maintenance.
JetBlue flight B6-324 had to return and make an emergency landing in Los Angeles, California, on January 31st.
The Airbus A321-200 plane took off for John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, but had to turn back due to a lightning strike.
The plane landed back safely. All one hundred and fifty-three passengers and six crew members remained unharmed.
Dec 20, 2012, 20:38; Air Berlin Airbus A330-223 was en route from Phuket to Abu Dhabi. Not long after takeoff, the plane developed engine problems. Smoke was detected in the cabin.
Witnesses on the ground heard three “explosions” when the flight took off, and saw smoke.
Pilots returned to Phuket where they made a hard (fast/heavy) landing that blew three tires. Of the 249 passengers and ten crew, none were injured. The passengers, mostly German, were provided a hotel, and a flight the next day.
The plane was sprayed to cool it down and sent to be examined by maintenance.
Hawaiian Airlines flight HA-21 made an emergency landing in Seattle, Washington, on July 24th.
The Airbus A330-200 plane took off for Honolulu, Hawaii, but had to return shortly afterwards after the crew reported an issue with windshield heating.
The plane landed uneventfully. No injuries were reported.