Legal pitfalls after emergency landing
I know this is not a common scenario, but it's quite scary.
Imagine that you are travelling from the UK to Australia, and you intend to respect all laws in both locations. In both, you are allowed to carry Valium, codeine, alcohol, or porn with you.
However, due to an unfortunate technical problem, you have to land in Dubai, or in any other country with quite different views on what constitutes a crime. Everybody has to exit the airplane. Wouldn't you just be in dire straits now? Either you get rid of all the stuff, in a discreet way, or, you risk imprisonment.
Could this happen in real life?
Best Answer
The most questionable part of this scenario is whether in fact "everybody has to exit the airplane." Per the International Air Services Transit Agreement of 1944, aircraft experiencing technical difficulties are allowed to land in signatory nations, however they are NOT permitted to deplane passengers or cargo.
In the situation you describe, passengers would be confined to the aircraft until it could be repaired, or a replacement vessel could be provided. They would not be allowed to enter the airport, or proceed to customs.
Pictures about "Legal pitfalls after emergency landing"
What happens after emergency landing?
It typically involves a forced diversion to the nearest or most suitable airport or airbase, or an off airport landing or ditching if the flight cannot reach an airfield. Flights under air traffic control will be given priority over all other aircraft operations upon the declaration of the emergency.What are the three types of emergency landings?
There are three types of off-airport landings. Precautionary landings are made with power in anticipation of a real emergency. Forced landings are made with a dead engine. And a ditching is a forced landing in water.What is the difference between crash landing and emergency landing?
A controlled aircraft flown to and through touchdown is a landing. An approach which stalls the aircraft at any time prior to touchdown will result in a crash. A crash is the aircraft falling uncontrolled to the surface, even just a few feet.How do you handle emergency landing?
Emergency Approach & Landing Procedure:\
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: August de Richelieu, M Javad Nemati, Andrea Piacquadio, Pixabay