What Happens If Your Plane Has to Make an Emergency Landing?

The Short Answer: The Crew Has Trained for This

If your plane needs to make an emergency landing, you're in better hands than you probably think. Pilots train for emergencies constantly — in simulators, in classrooms, and in recurrent checkrides. Every conceivable failure scenario has a checklist, and flight crews practice them until the responses are automatic.

The vast majority of emergency landings end with everyone walking off the plane. Precautionary landings — the most common type — have a fatality rate of just 0.06%. Even forced landings, which are more serious, have a survival rate around 90%.

Three Types of Emergency Landings

Not all emergency landings are created equal. Aviation classifies them into three categories, and the differences matter:

Precautionary Landing

This is the most common type. The pilot chooses to land early as a safety measure, even though the plane could technically keep flying. Think of it as the pilot being cautious rather than desperate.

Common reasons include:

• A warning light indicating a potential mechanical issue
• A medical emergency requiring a passenger to get to a hospital
• Smoke or unusual smells in the cabin
• Weather conditions deteriorating faster than expected
• A disruptive passenger who needs to be removed

The plane lands normally at the nearest suitable airport. It's essentially a diversion, not a crash landing.

Forced Landing

This is more serious. The plane must land immediately because something has gone wrong that makes continued flight unsafe. Engine failure, severe structural damage, or catastrophic system failures fall into this category.

The pilot has no choice about whether to land — only where. If an airport is within reach, they'll go there. If not, they'll pick the best available surface: a highway, a field, a dry lakebed.

Ditching

A ditching is a forced or precautionary landing on water. It's the rarest type and the most dangerous, with a fatality rate around 20%. The famous "Miracle on the Hudson" in 2009, when Captain Sully Sullenberger landed a US Airways A320 on the Hudson River with zero fatalities, is the gold standard for how a ditching can go right.

What the Pilots Are Doing

From the moment something goes wrong, the cockpit follows a precise sequence:

• Aviate, navigate, communicate — this is drilled into every pilot. Fly the plane first, figure out where to go second, talk to people third.
• Declare an emergency — the pilot radios air traffic control with either "PAN-PAN" (urgent situation) or "MAYDAY" (immediate threat to the aircraft or lives). A MAYDAY call gives the flight priority over all other traffic.
• Run the checklist — every emergency has a corresponding checklist. Engine fire? There's a checklist. Hydraulic failure? Checklist. Pressurization loss? Checklist. The first officer reads while the captain executes.
• Pick a landing spot — air traffic control helps by clearing runways and vectoring other planes out of the way
• Brief the cabin crew — the captain tells the flight attendants what's happening and how much time they have to prepare

What You'll Experience in the Cabin

As a passenger, here's what you can expect:

• The captain will make an announcement. It might be brief and calm, something like: "Folks, the captain here. We've got a situation that requires us to divert to [nearest airport]. The flight attendants will give you further instructions."
• Flight attendants will secure the cabin. Tray tables up, seats upright, loose items stowed. They'll collect any service items quickly.
• You may be told to assume the brace position. This only happens in serious emergencies where a hard landing is expected. Lean forward, head down, hands behind your head or on the seat in front of you.
• The cabin lights may dim. This isn't a malfunction — it's intentional. Dimming the lights before landing helps your eyes adjust to darkness in case you need to evacuate.
• You may see emergency vehicles on the ground. When a pilot declares an emergency, airports roll out fire trucks, ambulances, and rescue crews to meet the plane. Seeing them doesn't mean things are dire — it's standard protocol.

What "Full Emergency" Means on the Ground

When an airport receives an emergency declaration, it triggers a well-rehearsed response:

• All available rescue and firefighting vehicles are dispatched to the runway
• Other departures may be halted and arriving flights delayed or diverted
• The runway is cleared and foamed if there's a risk of fire (landing gear problems, fuel leaks)
• Medical teams stage at the terminal or on the tarmac
• Airport management and airline operations are notified immediately

The plane gets absolute priority. Every other aircraft gets out of the way.

After You're on the Ground

What happens next depends on the severity of the emergency:

If It Was a Precautionary Diversion

You'll taxi to a gate normally. The airline will either fix the problem and continue the flight, put you on a different aircraft, or rebook you on another flight. Expect delays of a few hours to a full day. If it's overnight, the airline should provide hotel accommodations and meal vouchers.

If It Was a Forced or Hard Landing

You may need to evacuate using the emergency slides. Flight attendants will shout commands: "Leave everything! Come this way! Jump and slide!" Do not grab your carry-on bags. Every second counts in an evacuation — the FAA requires planes to be fully evacuated within 90 seconds.

After evacuation, you'll be taken to a secure area in the terminal or a temporary staging location. The airline will have crisis response teams on-site to help with rebooking, communication, and immediate needs.

Your Rights as a Passenger

If your flight diverts for an emergency, the airline is responsible for getting you to your final destination. Here's what you're entitled to:

• Rebooking on the next available flight at no additional cost
• Meals and refreshments during extended delays
• Hotel accommodation if an overnight stay is required
• A full refund if you choose not to continue the trip
• Communication — access to phone calls or messaging to contact family

If you're flying within or from the EU, Regulation EC 261 provides additional protections, including potential compensation of up to 600 euros depending on the circumstances.

Can You Sue the Airline?

If you're injured during an emergency landing, you may have legal recourse. Airlines have a duty of care, and if negligence contributed to the emergency or the injuries, passengers can pursue claims. The Montreal Convention governs international flights and caps airline liability, though the specifics vary by situation.

For emotional distress alone — being scared but not physically injured — the legal bar is much higher and varies by jurisdiction.

How Rare Are Emergency Landings?

More common than you'd think, but almost never catastrophic. Most emergency landings are precautionary diversions for minor mechanical issues or medical emergencies. They happen multiple times per day across the global aviation system. The ones that make the news are extreme outliers.

Commercial aviation remains the safest form of transportation. You're statistically more at risk on the drive to the airport than on the flight itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do passengers have to pay for anything during an emergency diversion?

No. If the airline diverts your flight for any reason, they're responsible for getting you to your destination and covering meals, hotel, and ground transportation if needed. You should never have to pay out of pocket because a plane had to make an unscheduled stop.

What should you do during an emergency landing?

Listen to the flight attendants and follow their instructions exactly. Tighten your seatbelt as low and tight as possible. If told to brace, lean forward with your head down. Leave your belongings behind if you need to evacuate. Stay calm and move quickly toward the nearest exit.

Can a plane land safely with one engine?

Yes. All commercial aircraft are designed and certified to fly and land safely on a single engine. Pilots train extensively for single-engine operations. In fact, the plane can often continue to the intended destination on one engine, though most pilots will choose to land at the nearest suitable airport as a precaution.

Why do they dim the cabin lights before an emergency landing?

Dimming the lights allows your eyes to adjust to low-light conditions. If you need to evacuate in darkness or with smoke in the cabin, pre-adjusted eyes help you see exit signs, floor lighting, and obstacles more clearly. It's a small but important safety measure.

How long does it take for a plane to land in an emergency?

It depends on altitude and how far the plane is from a suitable airport. At cruising altitude, a commercial jet can descend and land in roughly 15 to 30 minutes. If the plane is already at lower altitude or close to an airport, it can be on the ground in under 10 minutes. Pilots will descend as rapidly as safely possible.