20 Times Emergency Airplane Landings Were Caught On Camera
Air travel is one of the best ways to get around the world and fast! It is much more convenient than taking the time to drive everywhere and it even allows us to travel to places we wouldn’t be able to get to by car. Planes are an amazing invention and millions of people use air travel every year to get where they need to go.
If your plane does experience an emergency landing then most likely you will land safely, however, sometimes the situation isn’t so simple. In many of the entries on this list, the emergency landings are due to malfunctions in the plane that cause the pilot to force an emergency landing. Being in these situations must be scary and thanks to the possibility of filming anywhere we get a glimpse into these situations.
20 SNAKES ON A PLANE
This entry may seem a little too good to be true. However, during a flight a passenger noticed something slithering around the overhead compartments. When the passenger looked up they saw a sizeable snake staring back at them.
The snake wasn’t doing anyone any harm but the passenger decided to film it in case something did happen.
Several other passengers noticed, eventually forcing the plane to have to perform an emergency landing according to The Washington Post. While this isn’t the set of a Hollywood movie, this happening can be very frightening to those who have a fear of snakes.
19 TURBULENCE ALMOST DEVASTATES A PLANE’S LANDING
A flight landing in Hamberg, Germany took a strange turn when winds picked up on the airstrip causing the plane to be pulled side to side before having to pull back up into the air. The landing was too dangerous to land and the plane had to circle back around and wait for the winds to die down. Not only did the weather have a factor in this scary event but the plane was also put into ground mode limiting the control the pilot has on the aircraft. Luckily the pilot was able to regain control and make a safe landing later on.
18 BI-PLANE CRASHES INTO FOREST
This video was uploaded to live leak and shows a passenger in a small bi-plane filming the descending plane. The passengers of the small bi-plane were on a hike and decided to fly their plane into the nearest town for dinner. Before taking off the pilot noticed that they had a bit of trouble taking off.
During their flight, they slowly started to lose altitude until they were heading straight into a large forest.
The group hit the forest hard and the plane went down almost instantly. Thankfully since the plane wasn’t going too fast the group was okay except for a few minor injuries. The plane crash didn’t gain wide coverage except for a few hits on YouTube so no news stations covered the crash but it can be found here.
17 PLANE CATCHES FIRE DURING TAKEOFF
In October of 2016, a plane caught fire during the takeoff process. Luckily the plane didn’t actually take off and it remained in the airport while the flames grew.
As the flames became more dangerous the over 190 passengers were asked to stay calm for an evacuation.
Of course, everyone is going to panic in this situations. One of the passengers pulled out their phone to film the exiting process and it shows just how panicked everyone was to get off the plane. According to BBC “Seven passengers and a flight attendant were slightly injured and taken to the hospital.”
16 PLANE LANDING CAUGHT ON SECURITY CAMERA
A security camera located in Arizona was filming when it suddenly caught something disturbing.
A plane can be seen swooping down and crashing in the parking lot of the security camera.
The parking lot that the plane crashed into was empty and it is unknown if the pilot was still in the plane. Before the crash, the pilot can be noted as saying “He received clearance to land and said he didn’t need any help,” according to LiveLeak. However, when the plane hits the ground it bursts into flames and covers the security camera in smoke. Whatever remains of the plane and the area around it is unknown as the security camera was inoperable after the crash. This footage just goes to show how devastating a plane crash can be.
15 EMERGENCY WATER LANDING
A small passenger plane that was heading to Honolulu, Hawaii was forced to make an emergency water landing after the plane started to lose altitude due to an engine malfunction.
A passenger aboard the plane decided to film the event and the plane can be seen rattling before hitting the water.
Once the plane hits the water the passengers are rushed out of the plane and told to hold onto the wings of the plane to wait for rescue. Luckily everyone in the emergency landing was rescued safely except for one according to The Huffington Post.
14 EMERGENCY LANDING AT THE AIR SHOW
During an airshow in Germany back in 2008, a single seater plane was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off. The plane double backed down to the ground and crash landed into the group of spectators. A few people were severely injured but overall most of the people came out okay.
A comment from the uploader to LiveLeak reveals that “According to local media, the plane was a Czech-made Z-37 single-seater formerly used for crop dusting”.
The whole thing was caught on camera by another fan of the air show simply capturing the show for memories. There was no explanation as to why the plane had to be stopped from continuing on but it happened right as the plane started to take off meaning it wasn’t securely checked before liftoff.
13 PLANE IS FORCED TO LAND ON HIGHWAY
Emergency landings can happen anywhere and the highway isn’t an exception. A few years ago cell phone footage was uploaded to the internet showing a small one engine plane landing on a highway in California. The small plane took to landing next to cars that were driving sixty to eighty miles per hour.
The plane landed in the leftmost lane and drifted over to a median where it remained until emergency services arrived.
Miraculously everyone in the situation made it out okay. The pilot was given props by people like ABCNews for how perfect the landing was executed and for keeping everyone safe.
12 WATER LANDING ALMOST GONE WRONG
Water landings are nothing new when it comes to planes and emergency landings. They are one of the most dangerous kinds of landings to perform depending on what kind of plane it is. A small bi-plane flying above Hawaii was forced to land near the coast of Hawaii as a water emergency landing. The engine was malfunctioning and the pilot had to land the plane as he was losing altitude. Nearby beachgoers filmed the plane landing and the plane came in at daring speeds. Luckily everyone made it out okay including the pilot.
11 PLANE CAUGHT ON DASH CAM
A TransAsia Airway flight back in 2014 was forced to make an emergency landing in a nearby river after the takeoff was disrupted by engine problems. This footage comes from a dash cam of a car traveling on a highway near the river. In the footage, you can see the large passenger plane flying at a dangerous angle and you can see one of the wings get clipped on the side of the highway. The plane successfully made it to the river but it didn’t turn out well for anyone in the situation. This dashcam footage shows a new perspective on plane crashes we’ve never seen before and hopefully won’t ever have to see again.
10 PLANE MISSING FRONT LANDING GEAR
Landing gear is one of the top causes of plane crashes. Malfunctioning landing gear can cause a real problem when a plane is landing. This video comes from someone who witnessed a plane landing without any front landing gear. This is obviously dangerous as the pilots don’t want the front of the plane to touch the ground until they are going slow enough not to cause any damage. Luckily the pilots were able to balance the plane enough to where it could slow down in time for the front nose of the plane to touch down without there being any danger to anyone on the plane. The maneuver was put well by The New York Post when they said “The pilot was forced to make a “hard landing” or “belly landing” after the landing wheels did not deploy while the plane was approaching the tarmac.”
9 FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE OF A RIVER LANDING
A video surfaced a few years ago that shows two people in the front seat of a small bi-plane. They aren’t too far up in the air but one notices that the propeller in the front of the plane has stopped working. The pilot decides to conduct an emergency landing in the river nearby. The passenger decides to start filming the landing and shows that the propeller has stopped moving. If that isn’t creepy enough the angle at which the passenger is filming makes it seem like the viewer is actually there. Luckily, the pilot lands the plane safely without anyone getting harmed.
8 PLANE WING CATCHES FIRE FORCING PLANE TO LAND
The last thing you want to see when you look out the window of your flight is the wing of the airplane on fire. This happened a few years ago and a cell phone video was uploaded from one of the passengers on the flight. Once the plane landed all the passengers were safely escorted off the plane and fire officials quickly put out the fire.
According to Express UK, “More than 200 people were on board the plane, and were evacuated using the emergency slide in dramatic scenes.”
Luckily everyone in the incident was safe. However, it made many scared to fly again especially due to the fact that engine and wing fires are happening more and more as of late.
7 THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MALAYSIA FLIGHT 370
This is possibly the most popular plane crashes in history. This is because it is unknown what exactly happened to the flight. The large passenger plane was carrying over 200 people and was heading for Beijing when something mysterious happened. The plane never made it to Beijing.
Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has stated that the aircraft’s flight ended somewhere in the Indian ocean, but no further explanation has been given.
6 PLANE INTERIOR CRACKS MID FLIGHT
The last thing most people expect on a flight is for the interior of the plane to literally crack wide open. Sure enough, this flight heading from San Francisco to Dallas back in 2014 had this happen mid-flight when a passenger noticed the wall of the plane next to them was coming undone in front of them.
After passengers called over flight attendants, it was discovered that both sides of the plane’s interior had cracked open.
The pilot thought since the cabin pressure remained normal that they would carry on to Dallas. However, after the plane started to shake uncontrollably the plane was forced to make an emergency landing. It is also worth noting that USA Today did a report in which they reported, “The plastic wall has no meaning to the safety of the plane. They are there so you don’t have to look at the bare walls,” said Ditchey, a former U.S. Navy pilot.”
5 TURBULENCE ISSUES MID-AIR
American Airlines Flight 280 took off from Seoul, South Korea heading to Dallas and experienced some of the worst turbulence anyone can experience in a lifetime. A passenger decided to film what they thought could be their last moments. The passenger pulled out their phone and filmed down the aisle to show just how bad the turbulence was. In the video, you can hear the nervous passengers each time they were hit with a spot of turbulence. The turbulence was so bad that several people were injured and even a few were hospitalized. The plane was then diverted to make an emergency landing after 45 antagonizing minutes in the air.
4 THE MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON
If you’ve ever wondered whether a plane has ever run into a flock of birds the answer is yes. When US Airways Flight 1549 took off nobody was expecting the horrors that awaited them next. The plane ran into a large flock of geese causing the plane’s engines to malfunction and force the plane to make an emergency landing. The pilot decided to aim for the Hudson River as it would be the best case scenario for survival. The plane landed successfully and the landing goes down in history as one of the best pilot water landings ever. There is even a movie based on the even starring Tom Hanks called Sully named after the pilot who saved the day.
3 INSIDE THE CABIN OF AN EMERGENCY LANDING
During A Cathay Pacific flight, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing due to a malfunctioning fan. A man by the name of Ethan Williams decided to film the entire process on his phone from inside the plane. This video gives us a new perspective of what it is like to be on the inside of a malfunctioning plane. The pilot prepared passengers for a water landing making everyone equip their life jackets. Luckily the plane landed safely at the nearest airport and none of the emergency preparations had to be used. The fear inside the cabin from the video is truly palpable.
2 POST MALONE’S EMERGENCY LANDING
Many people probably have heard of this entry as it happened recently and it was all over the news. Popular artist Post Malone was traveling in his private jet when the landing gear started to malfunction. The tires on Post Malone’s plane blew after takeoff from New Jersey. The plane had to burn fuel before it could make an emergency landing as it was too heavy to make an emergency landing right after takeoff. The rapper and his crew had to stay in the air for over three hours wondering if they could land safely. Luckily the skilled pilot aboard the plane landed it safely and everyone involved was safe. The news story blew up during the incident so when the plane landed many news outlets were there to cover the possible tragedy.
1 THE SUDANESE CARGO PLANE LANDING
The Sudanese Cargo Plane Crash was one of the worst cargo planes crashes ever. The plane was delivering goods to South Africa which unfortunately didn’t make it. The plane didn’t make it high into the air before it had to make an emergency landing.
Nearby spectators noticed that the plane was having trouble gaining altitude and they noted that they were scared it was going to land on the golf course where they were playing.
The pilot knew that the plane wasn’t gaining any air and tried to bank the plane to the right as a last minute attempt but sadly it didn’t work and the plane went down in flames. The video of the wreckage was covered by many news outlets and reveals just how devastating the crash was.
References: abcnews.go.com, bgr.com, ctvnews.ca, time.com.
