Keflavik, Iceland: At 14:44 local and GMT time (2:44pm) at Iceland’s largest international airport and gateway airport to the country, Keflavik, a United Airlines Boeing 767-300 made an emergency landing. The United Airlines Flight Number 949 flying en route London Heathrow to Chicago O’hare (ORD) when the flight crew and pilots witnessed smoke coming from the cockpit. As per standard procedures, the pilots declared an emergency and diverted to the closest airfield from the present location which was Keflavik, Iceland.
The pilot then decided to clear everyone off the airplane. Icelandair Ground Services (IGS) handled the passengers and moved them into the terminal while the airplane is being checked and serviced to find out what the problem is. According to Fridthor Eydal, Public Relations Liason at Keflavik Airport, all passengers are safe without any injuries or fatalities. After finding out what caused the problem, the media will be the notified.
The United Airlines boeing 767-300 Flight Number 949 touched down safely at 14:44 on runway 02 (runway heading northerly) and parked and evacuated passengers on taxiway K-1 (kilo one), according to sources at Keflavik Airport. As stated above, all passengers are alive and no injuries have been reported. The plane departed London Heathrow at 12:39pm local time and flew for 3 hours and 5 minutes until touching down at Keflavik.
Keflavik Aiport is the main international airport of Iceland. Most jet airline operators service Keflavik including Icelandair, Iceland Express, Lufthansa, Esotnian Air, and other airlines. Keflavik often serves as a fuel stopover for private planes en route to and from USA and Europe. It is also common for planes that need to divert due to any reason to land at Keflavik. Keflavik is located roughly 45km west of the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik.
The plane is still at Keflavik today (21 July). Another plane is being sent to Keflavik to pick up the passengers and there is a scheduled departure according to Keflavik Airport website at 14:30 today, under the same flight number UA949. The cause of the smoke was from an electrical problem.
(Photo/United Airlines Parked at Keflavik K-1 Taxiway)
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They are safe because of master lushenyen =)
Great job by the pilots, I didn’t see this one in the papers but must have been very stresful to say the least, well don guys. If you are on an atlantis crossing how difficult is it to co-ordinate the change of plan with ATC? Great job.
kina 123…Your fears are understandable, I am not going to call you stupid. I am a former aircraft mechanic with United, and my family has been in aviation for 60 years. I’ll try and help you with some perspective. The Air France tragedy may have had a lot more to do with inop weather radar, therefore the pilot unable to “see” through thunderstorms in what is called a “squall line” higher than his altitude. Pilots use the radar to pick out the cells, or actual thunderstorms, that you can’t see imbedded in a wall of clouds, day or night. Thunderstorms over the continental US and tropical regions can reach 70,000 ft. 50,000 being more common. Flying an airliner above 50,000 is a tricky proposition due to aerodynamics and engine performance. 50,000 is typically the ceiling for such aircraft, so pilots go through the sqaull line using the radar. As said in other comments, instruments are very reliable, but you could lose your orientation very quickly if your horizon (actual or artificial) is lost. This can happen over open ocean during the day as well as night, depending on atmospheric conditions. (JFK Jr.’s death is a classic example) What must be remembered is that numerous conditions have to exist at the same time for accidents such as this to occur, this is why it’s considered rare for aircraft incidents like this, the stars just don’t align that often in relation to how many aircraft are in operation. Make no mistake though, a thunderstorm of any size, in the right circumstances, can shred any size or type of aircraft, day or night. This United crew on the 767 was fortunate to still be able to see well enough through the smoke to fly and not lose their horizon. This exact same type of incident occurred in the Valujet(Florida swamp)and SAS (Airborne fire) crashes. In fact we need to push our congress folks to push the FAA to adopt a recommendation from the NTSB after the Valuejet crash to install “Clear View” inflateable tubes that work like an airbag and allow the pilots to see their instrument panel in dense smoke. I hope this helps. I hope your future journeys are safe ones.
Anyway… the flight from Iceland to Chicago was uneventful after taking off. Thanks for being there Iceland!
wrong kina123… even during the day disorintation can lead to mixing sea/sky up.. so in theory, your no safer… instrument failure is rare… flying is still safer than jumping into your car…
you must be an armchair pilot ;-).
Kina123. Your comments show your fundamental lack of understanding of modern aircraft. Instruments do not go “haywire regularly” and aircraft have a huge level of redundancy built into their systems. More often than not aircraft will fly through dense layers of cloud during their approach to land, in which case it makes absolutely no difference whether daylight is present. Regards, Henry P (B744/FO).
I spoke with the pilot when I was getting on the flight to retrieve my carry on bag… there was an electrical fire under the cockpit floor. The pilots were having a hard time breathing and could not see the controls. They used their masks to help them guide the plane. The worry was that the fire would cut the wires that control the hydrolics. Under the cockpit are all the electrical circuits for everything on the airliner. We notice that the video/ audio system went out with a pop — very quickly. The pilots were then checking the flaps on the wings, which was strange. No one on the flight was worried until the PA system was left on (the pilots could not see the switch to turn it off), and we heard, “we need to get down now.” This was 25 mins from Iceland. Thank God we were where we were. Had we beed further out into the Alantic the fire would have probably killed the controls and we would not have made it to land. Great job by the pilots and crew… they remainded calm in what turns out to have been a very serious situation.
Well done crew of UA949! i used to work as a flight attendant for United and I can say… their stricked training pays off in situations like this!
BRAVO flight and cabin crew!
Listen to me……..Air pilot relies on altitude, speed and plane orientation to horizon to maintain a stable flight. In normal times, pilot obtain these crucial information from flight instrument. Unfortunately, as you can see, these instruments go haywire regularly. If it was during the day, pilots may still get some clue on their altitude, speed and orientation from looking outside the cockpit. If it was at night, then it will be game over. Look at the Peru Boeing 757 tragedy a decade ago, the pilot knew they were at sea level only when the plane hit the ocean (it was a night flight). I bet they would do a better job if it was during the day.
The Air France incident taught us the rule of thumb: NEVER FLY OVER THE OCEAN ON A SUNDAY. Luckily this UA flight was on a Monday.
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I disagree kina123….it is the same….day or night……
Even if I agree with you, here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, all the flights between Rio and Europe departs on the afternoon / evening, so we must cross the OCEAN at night….
Only to Miami and NY we have a day flight at 7:00 AM.
happy that people are safe and that LUCY is alive.
kina123, I would be very interested to learn why flying over the ocean at night is a no no….
I can think of no better time to do it, actually.
Unless the Minke’s have been complaining about the noise. Air France taught us that computers don’t always know the answers…especially when it can’t communicate with sensors on the aircraft, or argues with the crew.
Personally, I have flown over the ocean for years, day and night and I love it. And, unless you are very low….you most likely won’t run into anything.
@kina123: that’s the most stupid comment ever. We are no longer living in the 1930’s. Well done to the cockpit crew and cabin crew though!
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The Air France incident taught us the rule of thumb: NEVER FLY OVER THE OCEAN AT NIGHT. Luckily this UA flight was during the day.
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