Landing made with priority because of an emergency on board, usually at the nearest suitable airport and with rescue services standing by.
What it is
In everyday language the term is used for almost any early arrival prompted by a problem, and the vast majority are ordinary landings on a runway, with fire crews waiting alongside as a precaution. Professionals distinguish degrees: a precautionary landing, when it is wise to land soon even though the aircraft is still flying well; a forced landing, when the aircraft cannot stay airborne and must land wherever it can; and a ditching, when that landing is made on water.
Weight is an important technical factor. A long-haul aircraft returning shortly after take-off may be well above its maximum landing weight. Some types can jettison fuel in flight to lighten the load; many others, especially single-aisle aircraft, cannot, and in an emergency they land overweight, which they are designed to cope with, and are inspected afterwards.
For example: shortly after take-off, a twin-engine aircraft loses an engine; the crew declares an emergency, works through the checklists and returns to the airport on one engine, which it is certified to do, landing with the rescue services in position.
Related terms
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Emergency landing. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing
MLA
“Emergency landing.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Emergency landing.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Emergency landing. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_emergency_landing,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Emergency landing}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing}},
urldate = {2026-10-18},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/emergency-landing |title=Emergency landing |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-18 |language=en}}