Lufthansa B735 near Amsterdam on May 25th 2014, control problems

A Lufthansa Boeing 737-500, registration D-ABIL performing flight LH-972 from Frankfurt/Main (Germany) to Aberdeen,SC (UK), was enroute at FL360 about 50nm northnortheast of Amsterdam (Netherlands) when the crew declared Mayday reporting flight control problems limiting their maneouverability. The crew rapidly descended the aircraft to FL150 performing a turn towards Amsterdam, all emergency services in the Amsterdam area were put onto major alert. Levelling off at FL150 the crew advised that it appeared their reset of the flight control systems appeared to be successful, they had full maneouverability again and both engines were running. The crew decided to abort their approach to Amsterdam and to return to Frankfurt instead, the major alert for the emergency services was subsequently cancelled. The aircraft climbed to FL230 and landed safely in Frankfurt about one hour after leaving FL360 and about 45 minutes after the decision to abort the approach to Amsterdam.

The flight was cancelled, the passengers were rebooked onto other flights.