Archive · 1 Oct 2026
Pilots Who Made Extraordinary Emergency Landings and Saved Lives
Sometimes airplanes have very serious problems, but trained pilots can still save many people.
Captain Smit Machchhar is described as stopping a dangerous cockpit incident and protecting 174 passengers.
Captain Sullenberger landed a powerless plane on the Hudson River after birds damaged both engines.
The Gimli Glider pilots guided a large plane to an unused runway after it ran out of fuel.
United Airlines Flight 232 lost its steering systems, but the crew and a helpful passenger helped it land in Sioux City.
A British Airways plane restarted all four engines after flying through volcanic ash.
In Patna, pilots landed a plane safely after a bird strike caused an engine fire.
Near Tiruchirappalli, pilots circled for hours to use fuel before landing normally with damaged landing gear.
These examples show how calm decisions and teamwork can help during emergencies.
Captain Smit Machchhar reportedly subdued a co-pilot and opened the cockpit door, saving 174 people.
Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after bird strikes disabled both engines; all 155 aboard survived.
Captain Robert Pearson and First Officer Maurice Quintal glided Air Canada Flight 143 to a former runway at Gimli after the plane ran out of fuel; all 69 people survived.
Pilots and instructor Dennis Fitch helped land United Airlines Flight 232 after a total hydraulic failure in Sioux City, with 184 of 296 aboard surviving.
Other successful responses included British Airways Flight 009 restarting its engines after volcanic-ash damage, SpiceJet Flight SG-273’s one-engine landing in Patna, and Air India Express IX-613’s fuel-burning circles near Tiruchirappalli.
- Who
- Commercial airline pilots and flight crews, including Smit Machchhar, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, Robert Pearson, Maurice Quintal, Dennis Fitch, Eric Moody, Monica Khanna, and Balpreet Singh Bhatia.
- What
- They handled major in-flight emergencies, including engine failures, fuel exhaustion, hydraulic failures, volcanic-ash damage, bird strikes, and landing-gear problems.
- When
- The incidents described occurred between July 23, 1983, and October 11, 2024; the article also discusses Machchhar’s more recent cockpit emergency without giving its date.
- Where
- The incidents occurred over or near the Hudson River, Gimli, Sioux City, Jakarta, Patna, and Tiruchirappalli, among other locations.
- Why
- The pilots used emergency procedures, careful calculations, teamwork, and calm decision-making to land safely or maximize survival during dangerous failures.
- Hudson landing
- US Airways Flight 1549 lost both engines after striking Canada geese; all 155 people aboard were saved.
- Gimli Glider
- Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet, and all 69 people aboard survived the landing.
- Sioux City
- United Airlines Flight 232 suffered total hydraulic failure; 184 of 296 people aboard survived.
- Volcanic ash incident
- British Airways Flight 009 temporarily lost all four engines after entering ash from Mount Galunggung; all 263 passengers and crew were saved.
- Patna emergency
- SpiceJet flight SG-273 suffered a bird strike and engine fire shortly after takeoff; 191 people were brought back safely on one engine.
- Tiruchirappalli emergency
- Air India Express flight IX-613 circled for approximately 2.5 to 3 hours after its landing gear failed to retract before landing normally.
- Film adaptations
- The incidents inspired or were depicted in films including “Sully,” “Falling from the Sky: Flight 174,” and “Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232”.