- List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
This list of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft is grouped by the years in which the accidents and incidents occurred. For more exhaustive lists, see the [http://www.baaa-acro.com/ Aircraft Crash Record Office] or the [http://aviation-safety.net Aviation Safety Network] websites.
1922 *
April 7 – ADaimler Airway -operated de Havilland DH.18A collided with a Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA)-operatedFarman F.60 Goliath overPicardie ,France , killing seven people. This was thefirst mid-air collision of airliners .1930 *
October 5 – The British airshipR101 crashed north ofParis , killing 48 people in an eruption of flames.1931 *
March 21 – Australian National AirwaysSouthern Cloud , anAvro 618 Ten , crashed in theSnowy Mountains while flying fromSydney toMelbourne . All eight on board were killed in Australia's first significant airline disaster. The crash site remained undiscovered for 27 years. Severe weather at the time of the flight was the likely cause of the accident.
*March 31 – Transcontinental & Western Air Flight 599, aFokker F-10 Trimotor, crashed near Cottonwood Falls,Kansas , killing all eight aboard, includingUniversity of Notre Dame football coachKnute Rockne .1933 *
October 10 – AUnited Airlines Boeing 247 was destroyed by a bomb over Chesterton,Indiana in the first proven case of air sabotage on a commercial aircraft; all seven on board were killed.1934 *
December 20 – TheKLM DouglasDC-2 PH-AJU called "Uiver" ran into bad weather on its way fromThe Netherlands to theDutch East Indies and crashed in the Syrian desert. All four crew and three passengers were killed.1935 *
May 18 – TheTupolev ANT-20 known as "Maxim Gorky" during a demonstration flight in Moscow is touched by the wing from anIlyushin Il-5, falling into a residential district ofMoscow killing 45 including 11 crew.1937 *
January 12 - AWestern Air Express twin-engine Boeing 247D (NC13315), crashed into Pinetos Peak northeast ofSan Fernando , near Saugus,Newhall, California . Western Air Express flight No 7 was en route fromSalt Lake City ,Utah , to the Union Air Terminal,Burbank California . It had a crew of three plus ten passengers. There were five fatalities (four passengers and one crew member). [http://members.aol.com/jaydeebee1/crash30s.html Notable California Air Disasters of the 1930s] ]
*May 6 – A Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei flight, theZeppelin "Hindenburg", burst into flames and crashed while attempting a landing atNaval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst inNew Jersey ; of the 97 people on board, 35 were killed. One person on the ground also died.
*November 16 – ASabena Junkers Ju 52 crashed nearOstend ,Belgium , killing all 11 on board, including the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Cecilie ofHesse , who was eight months pregnant.1938 *
January 10 –Northwest Airlines Flight 2, a Lockheed L14H Super Electra, crashed near Bozeman,Montana , killing all ten on board; the machine with which the manufacturer measured component vibration was found to be inaccurate, causing the aircraft to be more prone to flutter than thought.
*October 25 – AnAustralian National Airways Douglas DC-2 crashed in heavyfog into Mount Dandenong in Victoria,Australia , killing all 18 people on board.1939 *
January 13 –Northwest Airlines Flight 1, a Lockheed L14H Super Electra, crashed on takeoff from Miles City,Montana , killing all four on board. The aircraft's cross-feed fuel valve leaked fuel into the cockpit and an intense fire broke out.1940 *
June 14 – In the Kaleva shootdown, an Aero Junkers Ju 52-3/mge flying fromTallinn ,Estonia toHelsinki ,Finland was shot down by two Soviet bombers over theGulf of Finland duringpeacetime . All nine aboard died.1941 *
February 26 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 21, a DC-3, crashed while descending to land atAtlanta, Georgia , killing 16 of 25 aboard;World War I hero and Eastern Air Lines presidentEddie Rickenbacker was among the survivors.1942 *
January 16 –TWA Flight 3 , aDouglas DC-3 returning toCalifornia , crashed intoMount Potosi 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas. All 22 passengers died, including actressCarole Lombard and her mother.1943 *
June 1 –BOAC Flight 777, aDouglas DC-3 , was shot down byLuftwaffe fighter aircraft over theBay of Biscay , killing 17 passengers and crew, including actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that the flight was attacked because Germanintelligence believed that BritishPrime Minister Winston Churchill was aboard.1947 *
August 12 – ABritish South American Airways Avro Lancastrian named "Star Dust" disappeared over theAndes after transmitting an enigmatic coded message ("STENDEC"); the fate of the plane remained a mystery until the crash site was located in2000 ; Four crew and nine passengers were killed.
*October 24 –United Airlines Flight 608, a DC-6, crashed nearBryce Canyon Airport ,Utah , when a fire caused by a design flaw destroyed the aircraft; all 52 on board died.1948 *
January 28 – A flight chartered by theUnited States Immigration and Naturalization Service crashed in the hills west ofCoalinga, California , killing 32. The crash became the impetus of theWoody Guthrie song "Deportee."
*March 12 –Northwest Airlines Flight 4422, a DC-4, crashed into Mount Sanford in theAlaska Territory , killing 30.
*April 5 – In the1948 Gatow air disaster , aBritish European Airways Vickers VC.1 Viking crashed nearRAF Gatow ,Berlin after a collision with aSoviet Air Force Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter. All 14 people on board the Viking were killed, as was the Soviet pilot.
*June 17 –United Airlines Flight 624, a DC-6, crashed near Mount Carmel,Pennsylvania after errors in attempting to extinguish what is believed to have been an on-board fire. All 43 on board died.
*July 17 – A Catalina seaplane named "Miss Macao ", operated by aCathay Pacific subsidiary, with 23 passengers and three crew on board flying fromMacau toHong Kong , was hijacked midway over thePearl River delta by a group of four hijackers attempting to rob the passengers on board. The pilot was attacked and lost control during the ensuing struggle in the cockpit. The subsequent crash killed all on board except one passenger, who was later identified to be the lead hijacker. This was the first known case of airliner hijacking.
*October 2 – In theBukken Bruse disaster , aflying boat crashed upon landing inTrondheim ,Norway . 19 were killed;Bertrand Russell was among the 24 survivors.
*October 20 – In the1948 KLM Constellation air disaster , aLockheed Constellation named "Nijmegen" crashed near Prestwick,Scotland , killing 40.1949 *
May 4 – In theSuperga air disaster , an Italian AirlinesFIAT G212CP carrying the Torino football team crashed into the Superga hills nearTurin , killing all 31 on board, including 18 players.
*September 9 – ACanadian Pacific Airlines DouglasDC-3 exploded in flight en route fromQuebec City toBaie-Comeau, Quebec as the result of sabotage, killing all 23 on board.
*November 1 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 537, a DouglasDC-4 , on approach to Washington National Airport, suffered amid-air collision with aLockheed P-38 . All 55 people on board the DC-4 died, including CongressmanGeorge J. Bates , "New Yorker" cartoonistHelen E. Hokinson , and former CongressmanMichael J. Kennedy . The pilot and sole occupant of the P-38 was seriously injured.
*November 29 –American Airlines Flight 157, aDouglas DC-6 en route fromNew York City toMexico City , veered off the runway and struck buildings after the flight crew lost control of the aircraft during its final approach toDallas Love Field . 26 passengers and two flight attendants died.1950 *
June 24 –Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501, a DouglasDC-4 with 58 people on board, disappeared without a trace overLake Michigan .
*August 31 – TWA Flight 903, aLockheed L749A Constellation, crashed because of an engine fire, in the desert about 65 miles NNW ofCairo ,Egypt . All 55 on board were killed.1951 *
April 25 –Cubana de Aviación Flight 493, a DouglasDC-4 en route from Miami,Florida toHavana ,Cuba , collided in mid-air with aUnited States Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan offKey West . All 43 aboard both aircraft were killed.
*June 22 – Pan Am Flight 151, aLockheed L049 Constellation en route from Accra,Ghana to Monrovia,Liberia , crashed into a hill near Sanoye inBong County , Liberia, 54 miles (86 km) from the airport. All 31 passengers and nine crew members died.
*August 24 –United Airlines Flight 615, a Douglas DC-6B, crashed near De Coto (now Union City),California , while on final approach toOakland, California . All 50 aboard were killed.1952 *
April 28 – Pan Am Flight 202, aBoeing 377 Stratocruiser , crashed after a propeller failure in a remote area of Brazil on its way from Buenos Aires,Argentina toNew York City viaRio de Janeiro ,Brazil . All 50 on board were killed.1953 *
May 2 - a BOACde Havilland Comet 1A aircraft crashes 6 minutes after takeoff (in severe tropical storm) fromKolkata Airport , killing all 43 passengers and crew
*October 29 –British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Flight 304, aDC-6 , crashed into King's Mountain, southeast of Half Moon Bay,California , on its approach to theSan Francisco International Airport . The accident killed all 11 passengers, including American pianistWilliam Kapell , and the crew of eight.1954 *
January 10 –BOAC Flight 781, ade Havilland Comet flying fromRome toLondon on the last leg of a flight fromSingapore , disintegrated in midair, whenmetal fatigue from repeated pressurization cycles compromised thefuselage , killing the 29 passengers and six crew.
*April 8 –South African Airways Flight 201, ade Havilland Comet flying from Rome toCairo bound forJohannesburg , disintegrated in midair, killing all 14 passengers and seven crew. As inBOAC Flight 781 , metal suffered fatigue atstress risers at the corners of the square windows in the aluminum skin. Subsequently, all pressurized aircraft windows have been constructed with wide radius corners.
*September 5 –KLM Flight 633, aLockheed L1049 Super Constellation, ditched after takeoff fromShannon Airport inIreland , killing 28 of 56 on board.1955 *
February 19 – TWA Flight 260, aMartin 404 , crashed into theSandia Mountains nearAlbuquerque, New Mexico , killing all 16 on board.
*March 26 –Pan American World Airways Flight 845/26, aBoeing 377 , ditched into thePacific Ocean off theOregon coast.
*April 11 – AnAir India aircraft namedKashmir Princess was bombed under suspicious circumstances. 16 people were killed and three survived.
*July 27 –El Al Flight 402, a Lockheed L-049 Constellation, inadvertently strayed overBulgaria n territory on its way fromVienna toTel Aviv , and was shot down by two Bulgarian fighter aircraft, killing all 58 on board.
*October 6 –United Airlines Flight 409 crashed near Centennial,Wyoming , killing all 66 on board.
*November 1 –United Airlines Flight 629 was bombed byJack Gilbert Graham overDenver ,Colorado . All 44 on board were killed.1956 *
April 2 –Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, aBoeing Stratocruiser , ditched intoPuget Sound after takeoff fromSeattle-Tacoma International Airport after the cowl flaps were incorrectly set for takeoff. Four passengers and a flight attendant died, probably ofhypothermia , while waiting for rescue; 33 survived.
*June 30 –United Airlines Flight 718, aDC-7 , collided with TWA Flight 2, aLockheed Constellation , over theGrand Canyon , killing all 128 aboard both planes. Operating under VFR, the planes failed to see each other. TheFederal Aviation Administration was created in the aftermath. The FAA established new rules for passenger carriers, among them the requirement to operate under IFR, even in good weather.
*July 9 – ATrans-Canada Air Lines Vickers Viscount shed a propeller blade over Flat Rock,Michigan . The blade entered the passenger cabin, killing one of 35 aboard. This was the first known case of aturboprop shedding a blade in passenger service.
*October 16 – Pan Am Flight 6, aBoeing 377 Stratocruiser , was forced to ditch in thePacific Ocean betweenHawai'i andSan Francisco . All 31 on board were rescued by a nearbyUnited States Coast Guard ship.
*December 9 –Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair Northstar, crashed near Hope,British Columbia ,Canada , killing all 62 people on board. The wreckage was located almost a year later.1957 *
February 1 –Northeast Airlines Flight 823, aDC-6 , crashed during a snowstorm shortly after takeoff fromLaGuardia Airport . Twenty of the 101 occupants died.
*November 8 – Pan Am Flight 7, aBoeing 377 Stratocruiser , vanished betweenSan Francisco andHonolulu . Small pieces of wreckage and human remains were found almost a week later by theUnited States Navy . All 44 on board are believed to have been killed.Carbon monoxide poisoning was a suspected cause of the crash.1958 *
February 6 – In theMunich air disaster , aBritish European Airways Airspeed Ambassador crashed during takeoff fromMunich-Riem airport , killing 23 of 44, including eight Manchester United footballers.
*February 27 – In the Winter Hill air disaster, a Silver CityBristol 170 Freighter travelling from theIsle of Man to Manchester Ringway Airport crashed into Winter Hill, Rivington Moor, Lancashire, killing 35 people and injuring seven.
*April 6 –Capital Airlines Flight 67, aVickers Aircraft 745D Viscount, crashed at Tri-City Airport (nowMBS International Airport ) nearFreeland, Michigan , killing all 47 passengers and crew. An undiscovered ice buildup on the wing and windy conditions were possible causes.
*August 14 –KLM Flight 607-E, aLockheed L-1049 Super Constellation en route fromBrussels ,Belgium toNew York , crashed into theAtlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff fromShannon Airport inIreland , killing all 99 passengers and crew, including six members of theEgypt ian fencing team.1959 *
February 3 –American Airlines Flight 320, aLockheed L-188 Super Electra, crashed into theEast River ,New York City , as a result of pilot error. Sixty-five passengers and crew were killed.
*October 30 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a DouglasDC-3 , crashed on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Charlottesville,Virginia , killing the crew of three and 23 of 24 passengers. The sole survivor was seriously injured. The cause was a navigational error during an ILS approach.
*November 16 – National Airlines Flight 967, a DouglasDC-7 B, crashed into theGulf of Mexico while on a flight from Tampa,Florida toNew Orleans ,Louisiana , in a possible case of sabotage. All 40 on board perished.1960 *
January 6 – National Airlines Flight 2511, a Douglas DC-6B bound fromNew York to Miami, crashed near Bolivia,North Carolina , when a bomb planted on board exploded in mid-air. All 34 people on board were killed.
*January 18 -Capital Airlines Flight 20, aVickers Viscount flying from Washington to Norfolk crashed near Holdcroft, Virginia due to engine failure caused by icing conditions, all 50 on board killed.
*March 17 –Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710, aLockheed L188 Super Electra en route from Chicago,Illinois to Miami,Florida , broke apart at 15,000 feet and crashed near Tell City,Indiana , killing all 63 on board.
*October 4 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, aLockheed L188 Super Electra, crashed on takeoff from Boston'sLogan International Airport after abird strike (a flock ofstarling s) damaged the engines, clogged thepitot tube s, and obstructed the pilot's view. The aircraft crashed into Winthrop Bay; 62 of 72 aboard died.
*December 16 – The1960 New York air disaster :United Airlines Flight 826, aDC-8 , and TWA Flight 266, a Super Constellation, suffered amid-air collision overStaten Island inNew York . All 128 aboard the two planes and six people on the ground were killed.1961 *
January 3 – Aero Flight 311, aDouglas DC-3 , crashed into woods near Koivulahti,Finland , killing all 25 on board.
*February 15 –Sabena Flight 548, aBoeing 707 , crashed on approach inBrussels ,Belgium , killing 73, including the entireUnited States figure skating team: a runaway stabilizer is thought to have been the cause of the first fatal accident involving a 707 in regular passenger service.
*September 17 –Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706, aLockheed L-188 Electra , crashed on takeoff from Chicago as a result of a maintenance error causing theaileron s to become detached from the control wheels. All 37 on board died.1962 *
March 1 –American Airlines Flight 1, aBoeing 707 , crashed inJamaica Bay ,Queens ,New York , killing 95.
*March 4 –Caledonian Airways Flight 153, aDC-7 , crashed into a jungle swamp atDouala ,Cameroon , killing 111.
*March 16 –Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, aLockheed L1049 Super Connie chartered by theUnited States military, and carrying 96 American soldiers en route to SouthVietnam , disappeared over the western Pacific.
*May 22 –Continental Airlines Flight 11, aBoeing 707 , breaks up in mid-air after a passenger's bomb exploded in the lavatory while the flight was near Unionville,Missouri . All 45 on board were killed.
*June 3 –Air France Charter Flight Chateau de Sully, aBoeing 707 , skidded and burned after the pilot aborted takeoff atOrly Airport , killing many ofAtlanta, Georgia 's civic and cultural leaders. Twoflight attendant s were the only survivors, as 130 died in the worst one-aircraft accident to that date.
*November 23 –United Airlines Flight 297, aVickers Aircraft 745D Viscount, crashed near Ellicott City,Maryland , following abird strike . All 17 people on board died.
*November 30 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 512, a DouglasDC-7 B, crashed as a result ofpilot error on a missed approach into New York's Idlewild Airport. 25 of 51 on board were killed.1963 *
July 3 – New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441, a DC-3 Skyliner flying fromWhenuapai Airport , Auckland to Tauranga, crashed into theKaimai Ranges ; all 23 aboard died, making it the worst air disaster in mainland New Zealand to date.
*July 3 –Mohawk Airlines Flight 121, aMartin 404 , crashed near Rochester,New York while attemptingtakeoff , killing seven of the 43 people on board.
*August 21 – AnAeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 ditched in the Neva river inLeningrad after engine failure. There were no fatalities among the 52 on board, but the aircraft was destroyed.
*November 29 –Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831, a DC-8, crashed shortly after takeoff from Montréal/Dorval Airport, killing all 118 people on board.
*December 8 – Pan Am Flight 214, aBoeing 707 , was struck by positive lightning and crashed near Elkton,Maryland , killing all 81 people on board.1964 *
February 25 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 304, was a Douglas DC-8 flying from New Orleans International Airport to Washington Reagan National Aiport. It crashed into Lake Pontchartrain killing all 51 passengers and seven crew aboard.
*May 7 –Pacific Air Lines Flight 773, aFairchild F27 , crashed nearSan Ramon, California , killing all 44 aboard, after a passenger shot both the captain and first officer before turning the gun on himself.
*November 15 –Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, aFairchild F27 , crashed into a mountain in poor weather while on a nighttime approach toLas Vegas, Nevada . All 29 aboard perished when the plane crashed only 10 feet (3 m) below a ridge. Initially blamed on a pilot's misreading his approach chart, years later the chart maker agreed to pay a settlement of US$490,000 to some of the victims' heirs after it was shown the chart had incorrect markings.
*November 20 –Linjeflyg Flight 277, aConvair CV-340, crashed during the approach toEngelholm ,Sweden , when ininstrument meteorological conditions the crew abandoned the set procedure and began the landing too soon. 31 people were killed and 12 survived.
*December 24 –Flying Tiger Line Flight 282, aLockheed Constellation, crashed nearSan Bruno, California after an unexplained course deviation, killing the crew of three.1965 *
February 8 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a DouglasDC-7 B on takeoff, overreacted in avoiding Pan Am Flight 212 (aBoeing 707 ) on approach, lost control, and crashed into the ocean several miles offJones Beach State Park ,New York , killing all 84 on board.
*May 20 –Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705, aBoeing 720 , crashed on descent toCairo International Airport , killing 119.
*July 1 –Continental Airlines Flight 12, aBoeing 707 , ran off the end of the runway atKansas City Downtown Airport , breaking into three pieces. All 66 on board survived.
*July 8 –Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 , aDouglas DC-6 , crashed near100 Mile House, British Columbia after the explosion of a device in the lavatory. All 46 passengers and six crew aboard perished.
*November 11 –United Airlines Flight 227, aBoeing 727 , crashed short of the runway during landing atSalt Lake City International Airport . Forty-three of 91 aboard were killed.1966 *
February 4 –All Nippon Airways Flight 60, a Boeing 727-100, crashed intoTokyo Bay ,Japan . All 133 aboard were killed.
*March 4 -Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 (CP402), a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-43 crashed on landing atTokyo International Airport inJapan , killing 64 passengers and crew, eight passengers survived.
*March 5 – BOAC Flight 911, aBoeing 707 bound forHong Kong , crashed atMount Fuji nearGotenba ,Japan , killing all 124 passengers and crew.
*August 6 – All 42 on board were killed whenBraniff Flight 250, aBAC One-Eleven , flew into an activesquall line and broke apart in mid-air nearFalls City, Nebraska .
*October 1 –West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashed with 18 fatalities 5.5 miles south ofWemme, Oregon , marking the first loss of aDouglas DC-9 .
*November 13 –All Nippon Airways Flight 533, aNAMC YS-11 , plunged intoSeto Inland Sea after an overrun atMatsuyama Airport ,Shikoku , Japan, killing all 50 passengers and crew.
*November 15 – Pan Am Flight 708, aBoeing 727 , crashed nearBerlin ,Germany . All three crew members were killed.1967 *
March 9 – TWA Flight 553, aDouglas DC-9 , collided with aBeechcraft Baron nearDayton, Ohio , killing all 26 on both planes.
*June 4 – In the Stockport air disaster, a British Midland Canadair C4 Argonaut carrying passengers returning fromPalma de Mallorca was on approach toManchester Airport when an engine lost power because of a design failure in the aircraft's fuel system. 72 of 84 on board were killed.
*June 23 –Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, aBAC One-Eleven , crashed in Blossburg,Pennsylvania , killing all 34 people on board.
*July 19 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, aBoeing 727 departing from Asheville,North Carolina , crashed shortly after departure after amid-air collision with a twin-engineCessna 310 oninstrument approach to Asheville. All 82 passengers and crew on both aircraft died.
*November 4th -Iberia Airlines Flight 062, aSud Aviation Caravelle , crashed at Black Down Hill Sussex, United Kingdom. All 37 passengers and crew were killed, including actressJune Thorburn , who was six months pregnant.
*November 20 – TWA Flight 128, aConvair 880 , crashed inConstance, Kentucky on approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport, killing 70 of 82 persons on board.1968 *
March 24 –Aer Lingus Flight 712, a Vickers 803 Viscount, crashed off the Irish coast. All 61 on board perished.
*April 8 –BOAC Flight 712, aBoeing 707 , suffered an engine fire after takeoff fromLondon Heathrow Airport . The plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow, but five of 127 aboard died in the resulting fire.
*May 3 –Braniff Flight 352, aLockheed L188A Super Electra en route fromHouston, Texas toDallas , crashed in athunderstorm , killing its five crew and 80 passengers.
*May 22 -Los Angeles Airways Flight 841, aSikorsky S-61L , crashed nearParamount, California resulting in the loss of 23 lives.
*July 1 –Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253, a DouglasDC-8 , was forced to land in theSoviet Union . On board were over 200 American troops bound forVietnam .
*August 14 –Los Angeles Airways Flight 417, aSikorsky S-61L prototype, crashed inCompton, California resulting in the loss of 21 lives.
*September 11 –Air France Flight 1611, a Caravelle, crashed offNice, France , killing 95 passengers and crew.
*October 25 –Northeast Airlines Flight 946, a Fairchild 227, crashed nearEtna, New Hampshire , killing 32 passengers and crew.1969 *
January 18 –United Airlines Flight 266, a Boeing 727-22C en route fromLos Angeles toMilwaukee, Wisconsin lost all electrical power and crashed intoSanta Monica Bay . Six crew and 32 passengers were killed.
*February 18 –Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708, aDouglas DC-3 , crashed near Lone Pine,California , killing all 35 people on board.
*April 2 –LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO 165, anAntonov An-24 , crashed in southern Poland, killing all 53 people on board.
*September 9 –Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9, collided in flight with aPiper PA-28 and crashed near Fairland,Indiana , killing all 83 occupants aboard the two aircraft.
*November 19 –Mohawk Airlines Flight 411, a Fairchild 227, crashed near Glens Falls,New York , killing all 14 people on board.1970 *
February 15 – Contaminated fuel caused dual engine failure shortly after takeoff fromLas Américas International Airport nearSanto Domingo ,Dominican Republic in the Dominicana DC-9 air disaster. All 102 on board were killed.
*February 21 – A bomb in the cargo hold ofSwissair Flight 330, a Convair CV-990, detonated nine minutes after takeoff fromZürich International Airport in Kloten, Switzerland. All 38 passengers and nine crew perished.
*March 31 –Japan Airlines Flight 351, aBoeing 727 , was hijacked toNorth Korea by aJapanese Red Army faction.
*May 2 – ALM Flight 980, aDouglas DC-9 operated byOverseas National Airways , ditched nearSt. Croix ,Virgin Islands , killing 23, including two infants and one crew member; 40, including 4 crew members, survived.
*July 5 –Air Canada Flight 621, aDouglas DC-8 , exploded following a failed landing atToronto Pearson International Airport , with 109 fatalities.
*August 9 – LANSA Flight 502, a Lockheed Electra turboprop, crashed and burned shortly after takeoff fromCuzco ,Peru , killing 99 people on the plane and two on the ground; among the dead were 49 American high school exchange students.
*August 12 –China Airlines Flight 206, aNAMC YS-11 , crashed in thick fog and a severe thunderstorm into Yuan Mountain, nearTaipei Airport , killing 14 of 31 people on board.
*September 6 – ThePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine orchestrated theDawson's Field hijackings ofEl Al Flight 219, Pan Am Flight 93,Swissair Flight 100, TWA Flight 741, and (onSeptember 9 )BOAC Flight 775. The unprecedented scale of the incident drew international outrage and played a major role in instigating the eventual widespread implementation of air passenger screening, heretofore done only haphazardly and inconsistently.
*October 2 - In what is known as the Wichita State Crash, aMartin 4-0-4 aircraft crashed nearSilver Plume, Colorado . It was one of two planes carrying theWichita State University football team toLogan, Utah for a game. Twenty-eight passengers, the plane's captain and a flight attendant died out of forty passengers on board.
*November 14 –Southern Airways Flight 932, a charteredDouglas DC-9 -31, crashed on approach atTri-State Airport inHuntington, West Virginia , killing all 75 on board, including 37 players of theMarshall University football team and all but one of the coaching staff.1971 *
June 6 – Following amid-air collision with aUnited States Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II jet fighter,Hughes Airwest Flight 706, aDC-9 , crashed into theSan Gabriel Mountains nearDuarte, California , killing all 49 people aboard. The pilot of the Phantom also died. The radar intercept officer on the Phantom successfully bailed out.
*July 3 – Toa Domestic Airlines Flight 64, aNAMC YS-11 , hitYokotsudake nearHakodate Airport ,Hokkaidō ,Japan , killing all 68 passengers and crew.
*July 30 – ANA Flight 58, aBoeing 727-200 , collided with a JSDF F-86 fighter jet atShizukuishi nearMorioka ,Japan , killing all 162 passengers and crew; the JSDF pilot parachuted to safety, and was later arrested by local police on suspicion of colliding with a civilian aircraft.
*November 24 – A man using the nameD.B. Cooper hijackedNorthwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, aBoeing 727 , out ofPortland, Oregon . He released the passengers in exchange for US$200,000 and fourparachute s. The crew took off with Cooper on board, and he parachuted from the plane. Cooper was never found and his fate is still unknown, although a roll of bills from his ransom was found in a riverbed many years later.
*December 24 – LANSA Flight 508, a Lockheed Electra en route from Lima toPucallpa ,Peru , broke apart in mid-air after being set aflame by lightning. It crashed in theAmazon Rainforest and 91 people died; the sole survivor wasJuliane Koepcke , a 17-year old girl who survived a fall from 2 miles and a 10-day walk through the jungle before being found by hunters. Her mother, famous ornithologistMaria Koepcke , died; cinema directorWerner Herzog had narrowly missed being on the same flight.1972 *
January 26 –JAT Yugoslav Flight 367, aDC-9 , suffered abomb explosion while en route fromCopenhagen toZagreb . Twenty-seven of twenty-eight on board were killed.Vesna Vulović , the only survivor, was entered in theGuinness Book of World Records for surviving the longest fall without a parachute, over ten thousand meters.
*March 3 –Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, aFairchild FH227B twin-engineturboprop , crashed nearAlbany, New York while descending to land, killing 16 of the 48 people on board and 1 on the ground.
*May 5 –Alitalia Flight 112, was aDouglas DC-8 scheduled flight fromLeonardo da Vinci Airport , inRome ,Italy , to Palermo International Airport inPalermo ,Italy , with 115 on board. It crashed into Mount Longa, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south-west of Palermo while on approach. All passengers and crew died. Investigators believe that the crew had 3 miles visibility and did not adhere to the established vectors issued by air traffic control. It remains the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
*May 30 –Delta Air Lines Flight 9570, a DouglasDC-9 , crashed atGreater Southwest International Airport because ofwake turbulence from a leading DC-10. All four on board perished.
*June 12 –American Airlines Flight 96, a DC-10, sufferedexplosive decompression when one of its cargo doors failed in flight. The crew managed an emergency landing at Detroit,Michigan , and all 67 on board evacuated safely.
*June 15 – A carry-on suitcase bomb exploded onCathay Pacific Flight 700Z, aConvair CV-880 , at 29,000 feet over Vietnam. All 81 on board perished.
*June 18 –British European Airways Flight 548 went through a series of stalls as a result of pilot error, followed by a deep stall and crashed nearStaines ,United Kingdom . All 118 on board were killed.
*June 24 –Prinair Flight 191 was over-rotated because of pilot error and crashed inPonce, Puerto Rico , killing 5 of 20 people on board.
*December 8 –United Airlines Flight 553 crashed after aborting its landing attempt atChicago Midway International Airport , killing 43 of 60 people on board and 2 people on the ground. Among those killed wasDorothy Hunt , wife of Watergate conspiratorE. Howard Hunt .
*December 23 –Braathens Flight 239 crashed inAsker upon landing atFornebu airport,Oslo , Norway, killing 40 of 45 people on board. The aircraft was four nmi off course in bad weather conditions.
*December 29 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, aLockheed L-1011 , crashed in theFlorida Everglades , killing 103 of 176 people on board. The crew was distracted by a faulty gear-down light, resulting incontrolled flight into terrain . This was the first crash of awidebody aircraft.1973 *
February 21 –Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, aBoeing 727 , flew off course and was shot down by Israeli jets in the Sinai war zone, killing 108 of 113 people on board.
*July 11 –Varig Flight 820, aBoeing 707 , experienced an on-board fire and crashed nearParis ,France , killing 123 out of 134 on board.
*July 23 –Japan Air Lines Flight 404, aBoeing 747 , was hijacked after takeoff fromAmsterdam Schiphol Airport inthe Netherlands . One terrorist was killed and the flight's purser injured by a grenade blast during the hijacking. After several days and multiple flight legs, the passengers were released inBenghazi ,Libya and the aircraft was blown up on the ground.
*July 31 –Delta Air Lines Flight 723, aDouglas DC-9 , hit a seawall with main landing gear on the final approach toBoston Logan International Airport . A defective instrument gave misleading guidance during the instrument approach in visibility less than a half mile with 500 foot cloud ceilings.
*August 13 -Aviaco Flight 118, a SE210Caravelle en-route fromMadrid toLa Coruña crashed while approaching La CoruñaAlvedro airport, in Montrove, 2km from the airport. 84 of 85 died.
*December 17 – Pan Am Flight 110, aBoeing 707 , was firebombed byPalestinian militants while at gate inRome ,Italy killing 29 of 68 passengers and crew. They then hijacked aLufthansa Boeing 737 toAthens . In total, 33 died as a result of the firebombing and hijacking.1974 *
March 3 –Turkish Airlines Flight 981, aDC-10 , crashed in theErmenonville forest near Senlis, France after the rear underfloor cargo door opened during flight; all 346 on board died.
*September 8 – A bomb in the cargo hold of TWA Flight 841 plunged it into theIonian Sea , killing all 88 on board.
*September 11 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 212, aDC-9 , crashed on approach to Charlotte,North Carolina ; 72 of 82 people on board were killed.
*September 15 –Air Vietnam Flight 706 was hijacked and crashed in Phan Rang, Vietnam; all 75 on board died.
*November 20 –Lufthansa Flight 540 crashed shortly after takeoff inNairobi ,Kenya ; 59 of 157 on board were killed in the first crash of aBoeing 747 .
*December 1 – TWA Flight 514, aBoeing 727 in-bound toDulles International Airport , crashed intoMount Weather inBluemont, Virginia , killing all 85 passengers and 7 crew.1975 *
June 24 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 66, aBoeing 727 , encountered wind shear on final approach and struck approach lights atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport , killing 112 of 124 people on board.
*September 30 –Malév Flight 240, aTupolev Tu-154 , crashed on approach near Lebanon, killing all 60 people on board.1976 *
January 1 –Middle East Airlines Flight 438, aBoeing 720 , crashed inSaudi Arabia when a bomb exploded in the forward baggage compartment, killing all 81 people on board.
*April 27 –American Airlines Flight 625, aBoeing 727 , crashed on approach to St. Thomas,Virgin Islands , killing 37 of 88 people on board.
*June 27 –Air France Flight 139, anAirbus A300 , was hijacked from Athens by twoPalestinians and twoGermans who diverted the flight toLibya and then toUganda , where the plane was met by pro-Palestinian forces from Idi Amin's government.Israeli troops eventually stormed the airport inOperation Entebbe , killing hijackers and Ugandan soldiers and freeing all but three of the hostages. Israeli colonelYonatan Netanyahu , brother ofBenjamin Netanyahu , was also killed in the raid.
*July 28 – ČSA Flight OK-NAB, anIlyushin Il-18 , crashed nearBratislava inCzechoslovakia , killing 76 of 78 people on board.
*August 15 –SAETA Flight 232, a Vickers Viscount 785D, went missing mid-route fromQuinto toCuenca, Ecuador . All 4 crew members and 55 passengers were killed, but the scene went undiscovered for 26 years untilOctober 17 ,2002 , when climbers on the eastern face of the stratovolcanoChimborazo came upon the site.
*September 10 – A mid-air collision occurred between aBritish Airways Trident and anInex-Adria DC-9 nearZagreb , Yugoslavia, killing all 176 people on board both aircraft.
*October 6 – Cubana Flight 455, aDouglas DC-8 , was bombed by anti-Castro terrorists and crashed nearBridgetown, Barbados , killing all 73 people on board.1977 *
January 15 – ASkyline Sweden Vickers Viscount 838 crashed inKälvesta ,Sweden just outsideStockholm , killing all 22 on board.
*March 27 –KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, bothBoeing 747 s, collided in theTenerife disaster . This accident, the worst in the history of commercial aviation, killed 583 of 644 people on board both aircraft.
*April 4 –Southern Airways Flight 242, a DC-9, crash-landed on a highway nearNew Hope, Georgia after dual engine failure encountered in a thunderstorm. 62 out of 85 aboard were killed, along with 8 people on the ground.
*April 28 – AnAviateca Convair 240 crashed nearGuatemala City ,Guatemala , killing all 28 people on board
*May 14 – ADan-Air /IAS Cargo Boeing 707 crashed nearLusaka ,Zambia , killing all 6 on board.
*May 27 – AnAeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashed on approach inHavana ,Cuba . It remains the second-worst air accident in Cuba's history.
*September 28 –Japan Air Lines Flight 472, aDouglas DC-8 , was hijacked after taking off fromMumbai ,India byJapanese Red Army (JRA) terrorists. The terrorists forced the plane to land inDhaka ,Bangladesh , where they demanded US$6,000,000 and the release of nine imprisoned JRA members being held inJapan . The Japanese government complied and all of the hostages were eventually released.
*October 13 –Lufthansa Flight 181, aBoeing 737 , was hijacked by fourPalestinian members of thePFLP . The hijackers killed the captain; subsequently, German police commandos fromGSG 9 stormed the aircraft, killing three of the hijackers and capturing the fourth, with no other casualties.
*October 20 –Lynyrd Skynyrd 's charteredConvair 240 airliner ran out of fuel en route toBaton Rouge ,Louisiana , crashing five miles north of Gillsburg,Mississippi in a swampy pine forest while trying to reach an alternate airport. Four members of the band and crew were killed, as were both pilots. Lead singer and founder of the band,Ronnie Van Zant , died at the crash site.
*November 19 –TAP Portugal Flight 425, aBoeing 727 , overran the runway atMadeira Airport and plunged over a steep bank, bursting into flames and killing 131 of the 164 people on board.
*December 4 –Malaysia Airlines Flight 653, aBoeing 737 , was hijacked under mysterious circumstances; minutes later, the airliner crashed into a swamp nearTanjung Kupang ,Malaysia at a steep angle, killing all 100 people aboard.
*December 18 –SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10R, crashed into the sea while on final approach toMadeira Airport , killing 36 people.1978 *
January 1 –Air-India Flight 855, aBoeing 747 , crashed into theArabian Sea as a result of instrument malfunction and pilot error. All 213 passengers and crew died.
*April 20 –Korean Air Lines Flight 902, aBoeing 707 , was shot down by Soviet fighter planes. The plane crash-landed near theSoviet Union 's border withFinland ; 2 of the 109 people on board were killed. The rest were subsequently released.
*May 8 – National Airlines Flight 193, aBoeing 727 , landed short on approach toPensacola, Florida ,United States inEscambia Bay , as a result of pilot error. Three passengers out of fifty-eight people on board drowned.
*June 26 –Air Canada Flight 189, a DC-9, crashed on takeoff inToronto, Ontario ,Canada because of tire failure. Two died out of 107 passengers on board.
*September 3 –Air Rhodesia Flight RH825, a scheduled flight flying fromKariba toSalisbury was shot down by aSA-7 surface-to-air missile, killing all 59 aboard.
*September 25 –Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, aBoeing 727 , collided with aCessna 172 overSan Diego ,California ,United States . All 135 aboard the airliner, both pilots of the Cessna, and 7 people on the ground were killed, making this the worst aviation disaster inCalifornia history.
*November 15 – Icelandic Airlines Flight LL 001, a DC-8 on a charter flight, crashed into a coconut plantation while on approach toKatunayake ,Sri Lanka for a refueling stop. 184 out of 264 people on board were killed.
*December 28 –United Airlines Flight 173, a DC-8, ran out of fuel while circling nearPortland, Oregon ,United States so that the crew could investigate a light indicating a problem with thelanding gear . The plane crashed in a wooded area, killing 10 and injuring 24 of the 181 on board.1979 *
May 25 –American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10, crashed on takeoff fromO'Hare International Airport after catastrophic mechanical failure, killing all 271 on board and 2 on the ground. Prior to theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks , this was the worst airliner incident in American history, and it remains the worst single-aircraft airliner "accident" on US soil.
*July 11 – AGaruda Indonesia Fokker F28 struck a volcano on approach toMedan Airport ,Indonesia , killing all 61 on board.
*October 31 –Western Airlines Flight 2605, aMcDonnell-Douglas DC-10 , struck a vehicle on a closed runway in dense fog atMexico City, Mexico . 72 died.
*November 26 –Pakistan International Airlines Flight 740, aBoeing 707 , crashed after a fire in the cabin inJeddah, Saudi Arabia . All 145 passengers and 11 crew died.
*November 28 –Air New Zealand Flight 901, a DC-10, hit high ground onMount Erebus ,Antarctica during a sightseeing flight, killing all 257 people on board. This is also known as theMount Erebus disaster .1980 *
January 21 -Iran Air Boeing 727 -86 crashed nearTehran ,Iran hitting high ground in a snowstorm during the approach to land. All 128 aboard were killed.
*March 14 –LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007, anIlyushin Il-62 , crashed nearWarsaw ,Poland after the No. 2 engine disintegrated and severed the elevator and rudder control lines. All 87 on board were killed.
*June 27 –Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 crashed into the sea nearItaly in controversial circumstances, killing all 81 people on board.
*August 19 – Saudia Flight 163 landed atKing Khalid International Airport inRiyadh ,Saudi Arabia when afire broke out on board. The evacuation of the plane upon landing was delayed and all 301 on board died.1981 *
August 22 –Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103, aBoeing 737 , disintegrated during flight and crashed nearTaipei, Taiwan . Severecorrosion in thefuselage structure led toexplosive decompression and disintegration at high altitude; all 110 on board were killed.
*October 6 –NLM Cityhopper Flight 431 was destroyed by atornado nearRotterdam , killing all 17 people on board.
*December 1 –Inex-Adria McDonnell Douglas MD-81 crashed in the mountains while approaching Campo dell'Oro Airport inAjaccio ,Corsica , killing all 180 on board.1982 *
January 13 –Air Florida Flight 90, aBoeing 737 , crashed into the frozenPotomac River after takeoff fromWashington National Airport . Five on board survived; 78 on board and 4 on the ground died, including one initial survivor who died after ensuring that the other crash survivors were rescued from the frozen river.
*January 23 –World Airways Flight 30, aDC-10 , overshot the runway at Boston,Massachusetts . Two passengers were ejected from the aircraft; their bodies were never found.
*February 9 –Japan Air Lines Flight 350, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61, crashed on approach toTokyo International Airport (Haneda). Among the 166 passengers and 8 crew, 24 passengers were killed.
*March 11 –Widerøe Flight 933 crashed into theBarents Sea nearMehamn , killing all 15 on board. This incident remains highly controversial inNorway .
*March 20 – AGaruda Indonesia Fokker F28 overran the runway in bad weather at Tanjung Karang-Branti Airport; all 27 were killed when the aircraft burst into flames.
*June 8 –VASP Flight 168, aBoeing 727 , crashed into a hillside in Brazil, killing all 137 on board.
*June 23 –British Airways Flight 009, a Boeing 747-200, flew through a cloud of volcanic ash south of Java; all engines failed in flight, forcing the plane to glide. The crew was able to restart the engines and make a safe landing.
*July 6 –Aeroflot Flight 411, anIlyushin Il-62 , crashed after take-off fromSheremetyevo International Airport . All 90 on board were killed.
*July 9 – Pan Am Flight 759, crashed in Kenner,Louisiana , shortly after takeoff. All 145 on board and 8 people on the ground were killed.
*September 13 –Spantax Flight 995, a DC-10-30CF, was destroyed by fire after an aborted take-off atMalaga ,Spain . Fifty of the 294 on board died.1983 *
June 2 –Air Canada Flight 797, aDC-9 , caught fire during flight overKentucky . 23 of 46 passengers died from smoke inhalation even after the crew successfully landed the aircraft inCincinnati, Ohio . Renowned Canadian folk singerStan Rogers died while helping other passengers evacuate the aircraft.
*July 16 – ABritish Airways Sikorsky S-61 helicopter crashed into the sea off theIsles of Scilly . 20 of 26 people on board died, making the incident the worst helicopter accident in theUnited Kingdom at the time and sparking a review of helicopter safety.
*July 23 –Air Canada Flight 143, aBoeing 767 , ran out of fuel aboveManitoba because of a miscalculation. The crew successfully glided the aircraft to a safe landing at a former Air Force base atGimli, Manitoba . The aircraft became known as the "Gimli Glider".
*September 1 –Korean Air Lines Flight 007, aBoeing 747 , was shot down by Soviet fighter planes nearSakhalin after violating Soviet airspace. All 269 people on board were killed.
*September 23 –Gulf Air Flight 771, aBoeing 737 , crashed nearMina Jebel Ali in theUnited Arab Emirates after a bomb planted by theAbu Nidal Organization detonated on board. All 117 people on board perished.
*November 27 –Avianca Flight 11, aBoeing 747 , struck a hill because of a navigational error while attempting to land atMadrid ,Spain . Of the 192 passengers and crew aboard, 11 survived.1984 *
March 22 –Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501, aBoeing 737 , suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure during takeoff fromCalgary . All passengers and crew were safely evacuated, but the plane burned to the ground.1985 *
January 1 –Eastern Air Lines Flight 980, aBoeing 727 , impacts Mount Illimani inBolivia . All 29 people on board are killed.
*January 21 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203, aLockheed L-188 Electra , crashes in Reno,Nevada while attempting to return to the airport to troubleshoot a noise, killing 70 of the 71 people on board. It is later discovered that the air start door was not properly secured.
*February 19 –
**Iberia Flight 610, aBoeing 727 -256, crashes in fog, nearBilbao ,Spain , after hitting an antenna at the top of the 1024metre Mount Oiz. All the 148 on board die.
**China Airlines Flight 006, aBoeing 747SP , suffers an engineflameout off the coast ofCalifornia and dives 30,000 feet before regaining control and landing safely inSan Francisco .
*June 14 – TWA Flight 847, aBoeing 727 , is hijacked by Lebanese militants. One passenger is murdered during the three-day ordeal.
*June 23 –Air-India Flight 182, aBoeing 747 , is bombed by Sikh extremists. It crashes into the ocean nearIreland , killing all 329 people on board.
*July 10 –Aeroflot Flight 7425, a Tupolev Tu-154B, stalls while cruising at 38,000 feet (11,600 m) and enters an unrecoverable spin, killing all 200 aboard.
*August 2 –Delta Air Lines Flight 191, aLockheed Tristar , crashes on approach toDallas-Fort Worth International Airport because of wind shear from a suddenmicroburst thunderstorm. Of the 163 passengers and crew aboard, 29 survive.
*August 12 –Japan Air Lines Flight 123, aBoeing 747 , crashes intoMount Osutaka after catastrophic failure of the tailplane severs all hydraulic lines and renders the aircraft uncontrollable. 520 of 524 people on board are killed. To date, it is the worst single-aircraft disaster in history.
*August 22 –British Airtours Flight 28M, aBoeing 737 , aborts its takeoff fromManchester ,England because of an engine fire. While 63 passengers and crew escape alive, 53 are killed, most from smoke inhalation.
*August 25 –Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 crashes nearAuburn, Maine killing all 8 people on board, includingSamantha Smith and her father.
*September 6 –Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, aDC-9 , crashes after takeoff fromMilwaukee ,Wisconsin because of engine failure and pilot error. All 31 people on board are killed.
*November 23 –EgyptAir Flight 648, aBoeing 737 , is hijacked byPalestinian militants.Egypt ian special forces storm the plane on the island ofMalta . The incident kills 58 out of 90 passengers and all but one of the hijackers.
*December 12 –Arrow Air Flight 1285, aDC-8 , crashes after takeoff inGander, Newfoundland , killing all 256 passengers and crew on board, making it currently the worst air disaster to occur in Canada; the cause is determined to be a stall most likely caused by wing icing.1986 *
March 31 –Mexicana Flight 940, aBoeing 727 , crashes into high ground nearSantiago Maravatío ,Mexico . All 167 passengers and crew are killed.
*April 2 – TWA Flight 840, aBoeing 727 , is bombed byPalestinian militants, killing four out of 121 people on board. The plane manages to land safely inAthens .
*August 31 –Aeroméxico Flight 498, aDC-9 , collides with aPiper Cherokee overLos Angeles , killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft and 15 people on the ground.
*September 5 – Pan Am Flight 73, aBoeing 747 , is hijacked on the ground atJinnah International Airport inKarachi ,Pakistan , by Palestinian militants. About twenty passengers and crew out of 379 on board die during a shootout inside the plane.
*November 6 – ABoeing 234LR Chinook helicopter operated byBritish International Helicopters crashes on approach toSumburgh Airport ,Shetland Islands with the loss of 45 lives.
*December 25 –Iraqi Airways Flight 163, aBoeing 737 , is hijacked byHezbollah militants while "en route" toAmman ,Jordan . A shootout with security forces causes the plane to crash, killing 63 of the 106 people on board.1987 *
May 9 –LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055, an Ilyushin Il-62M, crashes nearWarsaw during landing because of engine failure. All 183 passengers and crew members perish.
*June 27 –Philippine Airlines Flight 206, aHawker Siddeley HS 748 , crashes on the slopes of Mount Ugo,Benguet , as it begins its approach toLoakan Airport inBaguio City ; all 50 passengers and crew are killed. Poor visibility is blamed for the crash.
*August 16 –Northwest Airlines Flight 255, an MD-82, crashes on takeoff fromDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport inRomulus, Michigan , 25 miles west ofDetroit , as a result ofpilot error . Out of 155 on board,Cecelia Cichan , a 4-year-old girl, is the only survivor.
*August 31 –Thai Airways Flight 365, aBoeing 737 , crashes into the ocean off the coast ofThailand as a result of pilot error. All 83 passengers and crew perish.
*November 15 –Continental Airlines Flight 1713, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes on take-off during a snowstorm atStapleton International Airport , inDenver .
*November 28 –South African Airways Flight 295, aBoeing 747 , crashes into theIndian Ocean after a fire in the cargo hold. All 159 aboard die.
*November 29 –Korean Air Flight 858, aBoeing 707 , crashes into theAndaman Sea after a bomb explodes on board. All 115 people on board are killed.
*December 7 –Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, aBAe 146 , is hijacked and deliberately crashed nearCayucos, California , by a disgruntled airline employee. All 43 people on board, including the hijacker, are killed.1988 *
March 17 –Avianca Flight 410, aBoeing 727 , crashes into terrain nearCúcuta ,Colombia after takeoff as a result of pilot error. All 142 people on board die.
*April 28 –Aloha Airlines Flight 243, aBoeing 737 , suffersexplosive decompression during flight but manages to land safely. Of 95 people on board, oneflight attendant is blown out of the plane and killed, and several passengers are injured.
*May 6 – AWiderøe -operatedDash 7 crashes inTorghatten , Norway in heavy fog, killing all 36 passengers in the worst-ever Dash 7 accident.
*June 26 –Air France Flight 296, anAirbus A320 , makes a low pass overMulhouse-Habsheim Airport in landing configuration during anair show and crashes into trees at the end of the runway. Of 130 passengers aboard, 3 die.
*July 3 –Iran Air Flight 655, anAirbus A300 , is shot down over Iranian waters by the missile cruiser "USS Vincennes" nearDubai . All 290 people on board are killed.
*August 31 –Delta Air Lines Flight 1141, aBoeing 727 , crashes on takeoff fromDallas-Fort Worth International Airport as a result of pilot error; of 108 people on board, 12 passengers and two crew members are killed.
*October 19 –Indian Airlines Flight 113 hits an electric mast 5 miles (8 kilometers) out on approach in poor visibility inAhemadabad ,India . All six crew members and 124 of 129 passengers are killed.
*December 21 – Pan Am Flight 103, aBoeing 747 , disintegrates in the air over Lockerbie,Scotland after a terrorist bomb explodes on board. All 259 people on board and 11 on the ground are killed. The incident is also known as the "Lockerbie air disaster".1989 *
January 8 –British Midland Flight 92, aBoeing 737 , crashes nearKegworth ,Leicestershire ,United Kingdom after one of its engines loses a fan blade and fails. Of the 118 passengers and 8 crew, 79 survive. The incident became known as the "Kegworth air disaster".
*February 8 –Independent Air Flight 1851, aBoeing 707 , crashes into a hill on approach toSanta Maria , theAzores . All 144 people on board are killed.
*February 24 –United Airlines Flight 811, aBoeing 747 , suffers anexplosive decompression shortly after takeoff fromHonolulu ,Hawaii ,United States caused by a cargo door which burst open during flight. Of 355 people on board, nine passengers are sucked out of the plane, but the crew manage to land safely at Honolulu.
*March 10 –Air Ontario Flight 1363, aFokker F28 , crashes immediately after takeoff from Dryden,Ontario ,Canada because of ice on the wings, killing 24 of 69 people on board.
*June 7 –Surinam Airways Flight PY764, aDouglas DC-8 , crashes while attempting to land in heavy fog atParamaribo ,Suriname . The plane hits trees and flips upside down, killing 176 of 187 people on board.
*July 19 –United Airlines Flight 232, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-10 , suffers a completehydraulic system failure overIowa ,United States after the tail-mounted engine disintegrates. The crew maintains partial control of the aircraft using differential throttle, bringing it to a crash landing on the runway of theSioux City, Iowa airport. Of the 296 people on board, 111 die.
*September 3 –Varig Flight 254, aBoeing 737 , runs out of fuel because of incorrect navigation and crashes in theBrazil ian jungle, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.
*September 8 –Partnair Flight 394, a Convair 580, crashes into theNorth Sea after its tail section falls off in midair. All 55 people on board perish.
*September 19 – UTA Flight 772, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-10 , explodes in mid-air over the Sahara desert when a bomb hidden in its forward cargo hold detonates. All 170 people on board are killed. Responsibility for the bombing is later traced back to Abdullah Sanussi, the brother-in-law ofLibya n leaderMuammar al-Gaddafi , whose government in 2003 agrees to pay compensation to the victims.
*November 27 –Avianca Flight 203, aBoeing 727 , explodes in mid-air overColombia , killing all 107 people on board and three people on the ground. TheMedellín Cartel claimed responsibility for the attack.
*December 15 –KLM Flight 867, aBoeing 747 flying fromAmsterdam to Anchorage,Alaska , flies through a cloud of volcanic debris, subsequently losing power from all four engines. The crew is able to restart the engines and land the plane safely.1990 *
January 25 –Avianca Flight 52, aBoeing 707 , runs out of fuel and crashes while attempting to land atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport inNew York . Of the 158 people on board, 85 survive.
*February 14 –Indian Airlines Flight 605, anAirbus A320 , crashes on its final approach toBangalore airport. 92 out of 146 people on board are killed.
*June 10 –British Airways Flight 5390, aBAC One-Eleven , suffersexplosive decompression overDidcot ,Oxfordshire ,England when one of the front windscreen panes blows out. The captain is partially sucked out of the cockpit, but a flight attendant manages to keep his unconscious body from falling from the aircraft. The first officer lands the aircraft safely atSouthampton Airport . All on board survive.
*October 2 –Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, aBoeing 737 , is hijacked. During landing at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, it clips aChina Southwest Airlines Boeing 707 and collides with aChina Southern Airlines Boeing 757 , killing a total of 128.1991 *
February 1 –USAir Flight 1493, aBoeing 737 , strikes aFairchild Metro commuter plane waiting to take off from the same runway on which the Boeing 737 was landing atLos Angeles International Airport . Of the 101 people on both aircraft, 34 people, including all 12 aboard the Metro and 22 of the Boeing 737 passengers, are killed.
*March 3 –United Airlines Flight 585, aBoeing 737 , crashes while attempting to land at Colorado Springs,Colorado , killing all 25 people on board. The cause of the crash is not identified until the investigation into the crash ofUSAir Flight 427 in 1994; both crashes are eventually attributed to defects in a valve associated with therudder .
*March 26 –Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked byPakistan i militants "en route" toSingapore , where, upon landing, it is stormed by Singapore Special Operations forces. All of the hijackers are killed in the operation, with no fatalities amongst the passengers and crew.
*April 5 –Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311, an Embraer 120RT Brasilia, rolls sharply and crashes on final approach to Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 people on board, including formerTexas senatorJohn Tower , his adult daughter, and astronautSonny Carter .
*May 26 –Lauda Air Flight 004, aBoeing 767 , disintegrates in mid-air overUthai Thani Province ,Thailand , killing all 223 people on board. Athrust reverser had accidentally deployed in flight, causing the disaster.
*July 11 –Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, aNationair DC-8-61 chartered byNigeria Airways to transport Nigerianpilgrims toMecca , crashes shortly after takeoff fromJeddah ,Saudi Arabia , because of a fire caused by tyre failure. All 261 on board die, including 14 Canadian crew members.
*August 16 –Indian Airlines Flight 257 hits high ground during descent about 30 km from theImphal airport. All six crew members and 63 passengers were killed.
*September 11 –Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes on descent in Eagle Lake,Texas , killing all 14 people on board. Maintenance crews traded work shifts during repairs to thehorizontal stabilizer , inadvertently leaving 47 bolts missing. Reformers pointed to this error and called for development of a "safety culture ".
*December 27 – Both engines of SAS Flight 751, an MD-81, fail shortly after takeoff fromStockholm ,Sweden . The pilots successfully make an emergency landing in a nearby field, injuring 25 passengers but incurring not a single fatality.1992 *
March 22 –USAir Flight 405, aFokker F-28 , crashes on takeoff from New York because of ice buildup. Twenty-seven of the 51 people on board are killed. The then-president ofCleveland, Ohio 's renownedCleveland Clinic is among the survivors.
*July 30 – TWA Flight 843 aborts takeoff atJohn F. Kennedy International Airport . TheLockheed L-1011 turns off the runway onto grass in order to avoid striking a concrete barrier. The plane is destroyed by fire shortly after all 292 passengers and crew evacuate with no loss of life.
*July 31 –Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashed on approach intoKathmandu ,Nepal , killing all 12 crew and 99 passengers on board.
*September 28 –Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268, anAirbus A300 , crashes nearKathmandu ,Nepal , killing all 12 crew and 155 passengers.
*October 4 –El Al Flight 1862, aBoeing 747 freighter, crashes into high-rise apartment buildings inAmsterdam after two of its engines detach from the wing. Forty-three people, including the plane's crew of 3, are killed. The incident became known as the "Bijlmerramp" (Bijlmer disaster).
*November 15 - AnAerocaribbean Ilyushin Il-18 en route from Santo Domingo International Airport toGregorio Luperón International Airport , crashes into the sidemount Isabel de Torres , inPuerto Plata province -Dominican Republic - while flying inIFR conditions on approach. All 34 aboard perish.
*December 21 –Martinair Flight 495 crashes in Faro,Portugal , killing 54 people and injuring 106.1993 *
April 26 –Indian Airlines Flight 491, aBoeing 737 , strikes a large vehicle on a road just outside the Aurangabad airport and crashes subsequently, killing 55 of the 118 people on board.
*July 26 –Asiana Airlines Flight 733, aBoeing 737 , crashes into a mountain inHaenam ,South Korea after failed landing attempts, killing 78 of the 110 people on board.
*September 14 –Lufthansa Flight 2904, anAirbus A320 , crashes after overrunning the runway inWarsaw ,Poland , killing 2 and injuring 68 of the 72 people on board.
*September 21 –Transair Georgian Airline Crash (21 September) : ATupolev Tu-134 A is hit on approach to Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport by asurface-to-air missile ; the plane crashes into theBlack Sea , killing all five crew members and all 22 passengers.
*September 22 –Transair Georgian Airline Crash (22 September) : Another plane, aTupolev Tu-154 A carrying refugees from a besieged city,Tbilisi , is shot down on takeoff from Sukhumi-Babusheri Airport; the plane crashes on the runway and catches fire, killing 106 of the 132 people on board.1994 *
March 23 –Aeroflot Flight 593, anAirbus A310 , crashes into a wooded hillside inSiberia . All 75 passengers and crew are killed.
*April 7 –FedEx Flight 705, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-10 , encounters an attempted hijacking by aFedEx employee. The three crew members are heavily injured, but manage to subdue the attacker and land the aircraft safely with no loss of life.
*April 26 –China Airlines Flight 140, anAirbus A300 , crashes while landing at Nagoya,Japan as a result of pilot error. 264 people of the 271 on board die.
*June 6 -China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303, aTupolev Tu-154M , breaks up in mid-air and crashes nearXian ,China killing all 160 on board. The deadliest airplane crash ever to occur in China is attributed to a maintenance error.
*July 2 –USAir Flight 1016, a DC-9, crashes while attempting to land at Charlotte,North Carolina during a thunderstorm. 37 of the 51 people on board are killed.
*July 19 –Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901, an Embraer EMB-110, explodes in mid-air overPanama , killing all 21 people on board. Investigators conclude that a suicide bomber caused the plane to explode, although motives and affiliation of the bomber remain unclear.
*September 8 –USAir Flight 427, aBoeing 737 , crashes while attempting to land at Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania , killing all 133 people on board. Investigations showed that a fault in the Boeing 737rudder was to blame for the crash.
*October 31 – American Eagle Flight 4184, anATR 72 turboprop, crashes nearRoselawn, Indiana , while waiting to land at Chicago,Illinois , because of ice buildup on its wings. All 68 people on board die.
*December 11 – A bomb explodes on boardPhilippine Airlines Flight 434, aBoeing 747 , killing one passenger, in a prelude to the terroristBojinka Plot . Despite subsequent difficulties in controlling the aircraft, the crew succeeds in making an emergency landing atNaha ,Okinawa .
*December 24 –Air France Flight 8969, anAirbus A300 , is hijacked on the tarmac atAlgiers ,Algeria by the militant group GIA. After a two-day standoff, the plane is allowed to fly toMarseille ,France , where it is stormed by French commandos who kill the hijackers.1995 *
March 31 –Tarom Flight 371, anAirbus A310 , crashes nearBaloteşti ,Romania killing all 60 on board.
*June 5 –Ansett New Zealand Flight 703, ade Havilland DHC-8 , crashes during a landing approach nearTararua Range ,New Zealand killing four of the 21 people on board.
*August 21 –Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, anEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilia , crashes in a field near Carrollton, Georgia in theUnited States , killing 10 of the 29 people on board.
*December 18 – ATrans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 Electra crashes after taking off from Jamba,Angola , because of overloading. Of the 144 people on board, 141 are killed.
*December 13 –Banat Air Flight 166, aRomavia Antonov An-24 (registered "YR-AMR"), crashes after taking off fromVerona airport, because of overloading and ice accumulation on the wings. All 4 crew and all 45 passengers die.
*December 20 –American Airlines Flight 965, aBoeing 757 , crashes into a mountain while approachingSantiago de Cali ,Colombia ; of the 164 people on board, only 4 people and a dog survive.1996 *
January 8 – An overloaded Air AfricaAntonov An-32 aborts takeoff and overruns into a market inKinshasa ,Democratic Republic of the Congo , killing 297.
*February 6 –Birgenair Flight 301, aBoeing 757 with 189 people on board, crashes into the ocean off Puerto Plata in theDominican Republic shortly after taking off. All passengers and crew are killed.
*February 29 – Compañía de Aviación Faucett Flight 251, aBoeing 737 , crashes into a hill while attempting to land atArequipa ,Peru . All 123 people on board die.
*May 11 –ValuJet Airlines Flight 592, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 , crashes in theEverglades near Miami,Florida , because of a fire in its cargo hold. All 110 people on board are killed.
*July 17 – TWA Flight 800, aBoeing 747 , explodes in mid-air above the ocean off East Moriches,New York , killing all 230 people on board.
*August 19 –Spair Airlines Flight PAR-3601, anIlyushin Il-76 , crashes nearBelgrade with twelve fatalities.
*August 29 –Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, aTupolev Tu-154 , crashes into a mountain onSpitsbergen , an island in the Norwegian archipelago ofSvalbard , killing all 141 on board.
*October 2 –Aeroperú Flight 603, aBoeing 757 , crashes into the ocean off Pasamayo,Peru , because of a maintenance error. All 70 people on board are killed.
*October 31 –TAM Airlines Flight 402, aFokker 100 , crashes shortly after takeoff from Congonhas/São Paulo International Airport,Brazil , striking an apartment building and several houses. All 90 passengers and 6 crew members on board die. Three people are killed on the ground.
*November 12 –Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, aBoeing 747 , collides in mid-air withAir Kazakhstan Flight 1907, anIlyushin Il-76 , nearCharkhi Dadri ,India . All 312 on board the Boeing 747 and all 37 on board the Ilyushin Il-76 are killed.
*November 23 –Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, aBoeing 767 , is hijacked overKenya . The aircraft runs out of fuel, and the pilot attempts to ditch the aircraft in the ocean off Moroni,Comoros . Of the 175 people on board, 123 are killed.1997 *
January 9 –Comair Flight 3272, anEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilia , crashes near Ida,Michigan during a snowstorm. All 29 on board die.
*May 8 –China Southern Airlines Flight 3456, aBoeing 737 , makes a hard landing inShenzhen ,China during poor weather and crashes, killing 35 of the 74 people on board.
*August 6 –Korean Air Flight 801, aBoeing 747 , crashes while attempting to land in heavy rain inHagåtña ,Guam . Of the 254 people on board, 228 die.
*September 3 –Vietnam Airlines Flight 815, aTupolev Tu-134 , crashes on approach toPhnom Penh International Airport in heavy rain, killing 65 of the 66 people on board.
*September 26 –Garuda Indonesia Flight 152, anAirbus A300 , crashes into a mountain near Buah Nabar,Indonesia killing all 234 on board.
*December 16 –Air Canada Flight 646, a Canadair CRJ-100, crashes after a failedgo-around attempt in Fredericton,New Brunswick . All passengers and crew survive.
*December 19 –SilkAir Flight 185, aBoeing 737 , crashes abruptly into the Musi River nearPalembang ,Indonesia , killing all 102 people on board.1998 *
February 2 –Cebu Pacific Air Flight 387, aMcDonnell-Douglas DC-9 , crashes into a mountain nearMount Sumagaya inMisamis Oriental in thePhilippines . The plane is flying an unfamiliar route not well documented in maps following an unscheduled stop in Leyte to drop off two mechanics. All 104 passengers and crew members are killed.
*February 16 –China Airlines Flight 676, anAirbus A300 , crashes into a residential area while attempting to land inTaipei ,Taiwan . All 196 people on board are killed, in addition to six on the ground.
*March 22 –Philippine Airlines Flight 137, anAirbus A320 , overshoots the end of the runway while landing atBacolod City in thePhilippines , plowing through several houses. None of the passengers were harmed, but three people on the ground were killed and several more injured.
*April 20 -TAME Airlines Flight 422, aBoeing 727 , crashed into the mountains east of Bogotá, Colombia when it was taking off from El Dorado International Airport of Bogotá at about 4:45pm local time. The plane was owned by TAME, an Ecuadoran airline, but leased to Air France. The accident was caused by foggy weather and all passengers and crew were lost, at least 53 people.
*September 2 –Swissair Flight 111, aMcDonnell Douglas MD-11 , crashes into the sea near Halifax,Nova Scotia inCanada , because of an on-board fire. All 229 people on board perish.
*December 11 –Thai Airways Flight 261, anAirbus A310 , crashes during poor weather nearSurat Thani ,Thailand . Of the 146 people on board, 102 are killed.1999 *
June 1 –American Airlines Flight 1420, aMcDonnell Douglas MD-82 , skids off the runway on landing at Little Rock,Arkansas during strong winds. Eleven of 145 on board die.
*July 24 –All Nippon Airways Flight 61, aBoeing 747 , is hijacked by a passenger,Yuji Nishizawa , wielding a knife. After fatally stabbing the captain, he is overpowered by the crew. The first officer lands the plane safely atHaneda ,Japan .
*August 22 –China Airlines Flight 642, aMcDonnell Douglas MD-11 , crashes on landing atHong Kong International Airport duringTropical Storm Sam . Of the 315 people on board, three die.
*August 31 –LAPA Flight 3142, aBoeing 737 , overshoots the runway inBuenos Aires ,Argentina and crashes into a golf course. Of the 103 people on board, 64 are killed as well as ten on the ground.
*September 14 –Britannia Airways Flight BY226A, aBoeing 757 , veers off the runway atGirona ,Catalonia (Spain ) while landing in a thunderstorm and comes to rest in a field, broken apart in two places; no fatalities.
*September 23 –Qantas Flight 1, aBoeing 747 , overshoots the runway upon landing inBangkok ,Thailand . None of the 410 people on board are seriously injured.
*October 31 –EgyptAir Flight 990, aBoeing 767 on its way toCairo ,Egypt , crashes into theAtlantic Ocean off Nantucket,Massachusetts . All 217 passengers and crew members on board are killed.
*November 9 –TAESA Flight 725, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-9 , crashes nearUruapan ,Mexico killing all 18 on board.
*December 24 –Indian Airlines Flight 814, anAirbus A300 , is hijacked "en route" toDelhi ,India . One hostage is killed.2000 *
January 10 –Crossair Flight 498, aSaab 340 , crashes two minutes after takeoff inNiederhasli ,Switzerland , killing all ten people on-board.
*January 30 –Kenya Airways Flight 431, anAirbus A310 , carrying 169 passengers and 10 crew members, crashes into theAtlantic Ocean offCôte d'Ivoire after takeoff fromAbidjan . Only ten people survive.
*January 31 –Alaska Airlines Flight 261, an MD-83, crashes into thePacific Ocean off Point Mugu,California after problems with its horizontal stabilizer. All 83 passengers and 5 crew members are killed.
*March 5 –Southwest Airlines Flight 1455, aBoeing 737 , overruns the runway in Burbank,California . Of the 142 people on board, 43 are injured, two seriously.
*April 19 –Air Philippines Flight 541, aBoeing 737-200 , crashes in a coconut grove onSamal Island ,Davao del Norte while preparing to approach theDavao International Airport , killing all 131 people on board.
*July 12 –Hapag-Lloyd Airlines Flight 3378, anAirbus A310 , lands 500 meters short of the runway inVienna after running out of fuel in flight. There are no serious injuries or fatalities.
*July 17 –Alliance Air Flight 7412, aBoeing 737 , crashes into government housing inPatna ,India as it approaches the airport, killing 55 of the 58 on board and five people on the ground.
*July 25 –Air France Flight 4590, anAerospatiale -BACConcorde , crashes during takeoff fromParis ,France after its fuel tank catches fire, killing 9 crew and 100 passengers as well as four on the ground; the entire Concorde fleet is grounded for one year, and is eventually retired.
*August 23 –Gulf Air Flight 072, anAirbus A320 , crashes into thePersian Gulf offManama ,Bahrain while attempting to land. All 143 passengers and eight crew members are killed.
*October 31 –Singapore Airlines Flight 006, aBoeing 747 , strikes construction equipment after using a closed runway for takeoff inTaipei ,Taiwan and crashes, killing 83 out of 179 people on board.2001 *
January 31 –Japan Airlines Flight 907 andJapan Airlines Flight 958 narrowly avoid colliding nearYaizu ,Japan .
*August 24 –Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over theAtlantic Ocean and makes an emergency landing in theAzores . Upon landing some of the tires blow out, causing a fire that is extinguished by emergency personnel on the ground. None of the 304 people on board theAirbus A330 are seriously injured.
*September 11 –September 11, 2001 attacks
**American Airlines Flight 11, aBoeing 767 with 92 people on board, is hijacked after taking off from Boston, and is flown into the north tower of theWorld Trade Center inNew York City . All on board are killed as well as many more on the ground and in the building.
**United Airlines Flight 175, aBoeing 767 with 65 people on board, is hijacked after taking off from Boston and is flown into the south tower of theWorld Trade Center inNew York City . All on board are killed as well as many more on the ground and in the building. The collapse of both towers brings the total death toll from the two crashes to at least 2,759 including the hijackers and 343 firefighters.
**American Airlines Flight 77, aBoeing 757 with 64 people on board, is hijacked after taking off fromDulles International Airport and is flown intothe Pentagon in Arlington County,Virginia . All on board are killed as well as 125 people in the building and on the ground.
**United Airlines Flight 93, aBoeing 757 with 44 people on board, is hijacked after taking off from Newark,New Jersey . After passengers struggle with the hijackers, the aircraft crashes in a field near Shanksville,Pennsylvania , killing all on board.
*October 4 – Siberia Airlines Flight 1812, aTupolev Tu-154 , is shot down by a Ukrainian missile over theBlack Sea . All 66 passengers and 12 crew members are killed.
*October 8 – SAS Flight 686, a MD-87, crashes into aCessna business jet on takeoff fromMilan ,Italy . TheMD-87 then swerves into a baggage handling building and catches fire. All 110 people on board Flight 686 die as well as all four in the Cessna. Four people on the ground are also killed.
*November 12 –American Airlines Flight 587, anAirbus A300 , crashes into a Queens neighborhood inNew York City when the plane's vertical tail fin snaps just after takeoff. All 251 passengers and nine crew members on board are killed as well as five people on the ground.
*November 24 –Crossair Flight 3597, aBAe 146 , crashes at Birchwil,Switzerland , while attempting to land inZürich . Of the 28 passengers and five crew members on board, 21 passengers (including pop singerMelanie Thornton ) and three crew members die.
*December 22 – On boardAmerican Airlines Flight 63, aBoeing 767 , a passenger, Richard Reid, attempts to detonate explosives hidden in his shoe, but fails and is subdued by two flight attendants and passengers. The plane lands safely in Boston.2002 *
January 14 –Lion Air Flight JT-386, aBoeing 737 , crashes while attempting to take off fromRiau ,Indonesia . All 103 on board survive.
*April 15 –Air China Flight 129, aBoeing 767 , crashes into a hill during a landing attempt atBusan ,South Korea in misty conditions. Of the 155 passengers and 11 crew, 38 survive.
*May 7 –China Northern Airlines Flight 6136, anMD-82 , crashes nearDalian ,China , after a passenger sets fire to the cabin withgasoline . All 103 passengers and 9 crew members are killed.
*May 25 –China Airlines Flight 611, aBoeing 747 , disintegrates above theTaiwan Strait , apparently because ofmetal fatigue . All 206 passengers and 19 crew members are killed.
*July 1 –Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, aTupolev Tu-154 with 57 passengers and 14 crew members on board, collides with aDHL Boeing 757 cargo plane with 2 pilots on board nearLake Constance ,Germany . All people on both planes perish.
*July 1 –America West Airlines Flight 556, an Airbus 319, is ordered back to the terminal at Miami,Florida before take-off after security screeners report that the pilots are intoxicated. The passengers are allowed to fly to Phoenix,Arizona on other airlines. The pilots are eventually given prison sentences.
*November 6 –Luxair Flight 9642, aFokker 50 , crashes short of the runway while landing nearNiederanven ,Luxembourg in foggy conditions. Of the 19 passengers and three crew members on board, only two survive.2003 *
January 8 –Air Midwest Flight 5481, aBeechcraft 1900 , crashes on takeoff from CharlotteNorth Carolina in theUnited States ; all 19 passengers and 2 pilots are killed.
*March 6 –Air Algerie Flight 6289, aBoeing 737 , veers off the runway on takeoff inTamanrasset ,Algeria ; 96 of the 97 passengers and all 6 crew members perish.
*May 29 – A man attempts to hijackQantasLink Flight 1737 inMelbourne ,Australia , intending to crash the plane inTasmania . He is overpowered by the flight crew and passengers, but injures three people.
*November 22 – ADHL Airbus A300 is struck by a missile nearBaghdad ,Iraq and loseshydraulic system function, but manages to land safely with only engine controls without any fatalities. This is the first safe landing of an airliner without control surfaces.
*December 25 –Union des Transports Aériens de Guinée Flight 141, aBoeing 727 , overshoots the runway upon landing atCotonou ,Benin and crashes onto the beach on theBight of Benin , killing 151 of the 163 occupants.2004 *
January 3 –Flash Airlines Flight 604, aBoeing 737 , crashes into theRed Sea , killing all 135 passengers and 13 crew members.
*May 9 – American Eagle Flight 5401 is damaged by high winds during landing in San Juan,Puerto Rico , injuring 13 people.
*August 13 –Air Tahoma Flight 185, aConvair 580 , crashes nearCovington, Kentucky while descending to land, killing thefirst officer .
*August 24 –Russian aircraft bombings of August 2004 :
**Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, aTupolev Tu-154 , explodes in mid-air while flying overRostov Oblast ,Russia killing all 38 passengers and 8 crew members on board.
**Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303, aTupolev Tu-134 , explodes in mid-air while flying overTula Oblast ,Russia killing all 34 passengers and 9 crew members on board.
*October 19 – Corporate Airlines Flight 5966, aHandley Page Jetstream , crashes near Kirksville,Missouri in theUnited States ; 13 of the 15 people on board die.
*November 21 –China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210, aBombardier CRJ-200LR, stalls and crashes nearBaotou ,China shortly after takeoff because of frost contamination; all 53 on board and two people on the ground are killed.
*November 30 –Lion Air Flight 538, a DC-9, crash-lands inSolo City ,Indonesia , killing 25 of the 154 people on board.2005 *
February 3 –Kam Air Flight 904, aBoeing 737 , crashes in a snowstorm inAfghanistan . All 96 passengers and eight crew members die.
*May 3 –Airwork Flight 23, aFairchild Swearingen Metroliner crashes inTaranaki ,New Zealand killing both crew members.
*June 9 –US Airways Flight 1170 andAer Lingus Flight 132 almost collide on a runway atLogan International Airport inBoston ,Massachusetts . None of the 381 people on either planes are harmed.
*August 2 –Air France Flight 358, anAirbus A340 , skids off a runway inToronto ,Ontario , while landing and catches fire; all 309 on board escape without fatalities or serious injuries, but the aircraft is completely destroyed by the fire.
*August 10 –Copterline Flight 103, aSikorsky S-76 helicopter crashes offTallinn ,Estonia killing all 14 on board.
*August 14 –Helios Airways Flight 522, aBoeing 737 , crashes near Kalamos,Greece with 115 passengers and 6 crew members on board; there are no survivors.
*August 16 –West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, anMD-82 , crashes in westernVenezuela . All on board, 152 passengers and 8 crew members, die.
*August 23 –TANS Peru Flight 204, aBoeing 737 , crashes nearPucallpa ,Peru . Forty of the 92 passengers on board, as well as four of the six crew members, perish.
*September 5 –Mandala Airlines Flight 091, aBoeing 737 , crashes in Medan,Indonesia , killing 103 of the 111 passengers and all 5 crew members on the plane and an additional 47 people on the ground.
*September 21 –JetBlue Airways Flight 292, anAirbus A320 , makes an emergency landing in Los Angeles,California in theUnited States because of landing gear steering failure. There are no injuries to the 139 passengers and six crew members.
*October 22 –Bellview Airlines Flight 210, aBoeing 737 , crashes in centralNigeria , killing all 117 people on board.
*December 7 – A passenger disembarkingAmerican Airlines Flight 924, aBoeing 757 , in Miami,Florida is shot and killed by an air marshal when the marshal believes that he hears the man say that he has a bomb.
*December 8 –Southwest Airlines Flight 1248, aBoeing 737 , slides off the runway during landing atChicago Midway International Airport in Chicago,Illinois in heavy snow. None of the people on board are injured, but the plane hits two automobiles on the ground, killing a six-year-old boy.
*December 10 –Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145, aDC-9 with 110 people on board, crashes during landing inPort Harcourt ,Nigeria . 107 people die.
*December 19 –Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101, aGrumman Mallard , crashes off the coast of Miami Beach,Florida , killing all 20 on board.2006 *
May 3 –Armavia Flight 967, anAirbus A320 , crashes into theBlack Sea near theRussia n city ofSochi , killing all 113 on board.
*July 9 –S7 Airlines Flight 778, anAirbus A310 , crashes into a concrete barricade and catches fire on landing inIrkutsk ,Russia . Of the 203 people on board, 128 are killed.
*July 10 –Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688, aFokker F27 , crashes into a wheat field nearMultan ,Pakistan ten minutes after taking off, killing all 41 passengers and 4 crew members on board.
*August 22 – Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612, aTupolev Tu-154 , crashes nearDonetsk ,Ukraine , killing all 170 people on board.
*August 27 –Comair Flight 191, a CRJ-100, crashes during takeoff near Lexington,Kentucky , killing 49 of the 50 people on board.
*September 1 – AnIran Air Tours Tu-154 carrying 148 people crashes while attempting to land inMashad ,Iran killing 28 people.
*September 29 –Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, aBoeing 737 , collides with anEmbraer Legacy business jet and crashes inMato Grosso ,Brazil . The Embraer Legacy, with seven on board, lands safely with no reported injuries. All 154 people on board the Boeing 737 perish.
*October 3 –Turkish Airlines Flight 1476, aBoeing 737 , is hijacked overGreece . The plane lands inBrindisi ,Italy . None of the 113 people on board are hurt.
*October 10 –Atlantic Airways Flight 670, aBAe 146 , slides off the runway atStord ,Norway , killing four of the 16 people on board.
*October 29 –ADC Airlines Flight 53, aBoeing 737 , crashes nearAbuja ,Nigeria , killing 97 of the 104 people on board.2007 *
January 1 –Adam Air Flight 574, aBoeing 737 with 102 people on board, crashes into the ocean off the island ofSulawesi inIndonesia , killing all on board.
*January 9 – AnAerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crashes near Balad,Iraq , killing 34 of the 35 people on board. The official cause of the crash is poor weather conditions, but other sources claim that the plane was shot down by a missile.
*January 24 –Air West Flight 612, aBoeing 737 with 103 people on board, is hijacked overSudan shortly after taking off fromKhartoum , but lands safely inN'Djamena ,Chad .
*February 15 – AnAir Mauritanie Boeing 737 is hijacked after taking off fromNouakchott ,Mauritania , but lands safely inLas Palmas ,Spain without any serious injuries among the 79 people on board.
*February 18 – AShuttle America Embraer ERJ-170 jet, operating asDelta Connection flight 6448, is substantially damaged when it overruns a snow covered runway by 150 feet on landing at theCleveland Hopkins International Airport ,Cleveland, Ohio and contacts the localizer antenna and fence. None of the 74 aboard were injured.
*February 21 –Adam Air Flight 172, aBoeing 737 , suffers structural damage while landing nearSurabaya ,Indonesia . None of the 149 people on board were seriously injured.
*March 7 –Garuda Indonesia Flight 200, aBoeing 737 , overshoots the runway and crashes while landing atYogyakarta ,Indonesia , killing 22 of the 140 people on board.
*March 17 –UTair Flight 471, aTupolev Tu-134 , suffers severe structural damage while landing in Samara,Russia , killing six of the 63 people on board.
*March 23 – ATransAVIAexport Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 crashes inMogadishu ,Somalia killing all 11 on board; the plane, which crashes during the Battle of Mogadishu, is thought to have been shot down.
*March 30 – ASudan Airways flight with 284 people on board is hijacked but lands safely inKhartoum ,Sudan .
*May 5 –Kenya Airways Flight 507, aBoeing 737 with 114 people on board, crashes nearDouala ,Cameroon killing everyone on board.
*June 3 – AParamount Airlines Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashes in Lungi,Sierra Leone killing all 22 people on board.
*June 21 – AFree Airlines Let-410 UVP crashes shortly after takeoff from Kamina Town,Democratic Republic of Congo because of severe overloading, killing 1 and injuring 4 of the 21 people on board.
*June 25 –PMTair Flight 241, anAntonov An-24 , crashes in southwesternCambodia killing all 22 on board.
*June 28 – ATAAG Angola Airlines Boeing 737 , D2-TBP, with 78 people on board, loses control while landing and crashes inM'banza-Kongo ,Angola , killing at least six people on board and injuring an unknown number of others.*
July 17 –TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes inSão Paulo ,Brazil killing all 187 people on board and 12 on the ground.
*August 9 – AnAir Moorea de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashes into the lagoon of the island ofMoorea inFrench Polynesia just 11 seconds after take off, killing all 20 on board. Suspected failure of steering equipment.
*August 20 –China Airlines Flight 120, aBoeing 737 , bursts into flames after landing at Naha,Japan . None of the 165 passengers were seriously injured.
*Scandinavian Airlines 2007 Dash 8 landing gear incidents :
**September 9 –Scandinavian Airlines Flight 1209, ade Havilland Canada Dash 8 , experiences a landing gear failure inAalborg ,Denmark . None of the 73 people on board were seriously injured, but three days later, after a similar incident, the airline grounds the type.
**September 12 –Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2748, ade Havilland Canada Dash 8 , experiences a landing gear failure inVilnius ,Lithuania . None of the 52 people on board were injured, but because of a similar incident three days earlier, all their Dash 8s are grounded.
**October 27 –Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2867, ade Havilland Canada Dash 8 , experiences a landing gear failure inCopenhagen ,Denmark . None of the 44 people on board were injured, but because of similar incidents in September, the airline "permanently" removes its Dash 8s from service. Cause is eventually ascribed to maintenance error.
*September 16 –One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 carrying 130 people, crashes and bursts into flames after attempting to land in Phuket,Thailand during poor weather conditions killing 90 people.
*October 4 – AnAfrica One Antonov An-26 crashes into a residential area inKinshasa ,Democratic Republic of the Congo , shortly after taking off. At least 50 people are killed, most of whom were on the ground.
*November 30 –Atlasjet Flight 4203, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, crashes into a mountain nearIsparta ,Turkey killing all 57 on board.2008 *
January 2 –Asian Spirit Flight 321, anNAMC YS-11 , overruns the runway while landing inMasbate City ,Philippines ; all 47 on board survive.
*January 4 – A TransavenLet L-410 Turbolet crashes near theLos Roques archipelago offVenezuela killing all 14 on board.
*January 10 –Air Canada Flight 190, an Airbus A319 experiences severe turbulence over the CanadianRocky Mountains , injuring ten of the 88 on board, and is forced to divert and make an emergency landing atCalgary International Airport .
*January 17 –British Airways Flight 38, aBoeing 777 , lands short of the runway atLondon Heathrow Airport in theUnited Kingdom . Nine of the 152 people on board are treated for minor injuries, but there are no fatalities.
*February 8 –Eagle Airways Flight 2279, a BAe Jetstream 32 is hijacked ten minutes after taking off from Blenheim,New Zealand by a passenger who attacked both pilots. The hijacker is eventually restrained by the co-pilot and the flight lands safely atChristchurch . All nine on board survive the incident.
*February 14 –Belavia Flight 1834, aBombardier CRJ200 , hits its left wing on the runway while taking off fromYerevan ,Armenia . All 21 on board escape the aircraft before it erupts into flames.
*February 21 –Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, anATR 42-300 , crashes shortly after taking off from Mérida,Venezuela killing all 46 on board.
*April 3 – AnAntonov An-28 operated byBlue Wing Airlines crashes nearBenzdorp inSuriname . All nineteen on board are killed.
*April 11 – ASudanese airlineAntonov An-32 crashes returning shortly after taking off fromChişinău International Airport ,Moldova forTurkey . All eight on board are killed.
*April 15 – A DouglasDC-9 operated byHewa Bora Airways crashes into a market nearGoma ,Democratic Republic of the Congo , killing 40 people, including three passengers.
*May 25 – AKalitta Air Boeing 747 cargo crashes atBrussels Airport and snaps in two, but without serious injury.
*May 30 –TACA Airlines Flight 390, anAirbus A320 , overruns the runway atToncontín International Airport in Tegucigalpa,Honduras , killing five (including two on ground).
*June 10 –Sudan Airways Flight 109, anAirbus A310 , crashes atKhartoum International Airport and breaks apart, catching fire. 30 deaths are confirmed, 6 passengers are listed as missing.
*July 25 –Qantas Flight 30, a Boeing 747-438 "en route" from Hong Kong toMelbourne , performs an emergency descent and lands inManila after a hull penetration results inrapid decompression . All aboard survive.
*August 20 –Spanair Flight 5022, aMcDonnell Douglas MD-82 crashes on takeoff atBarajas Airport inMadrid ,Spain . Of the 172 people on board, 154 are killed.
*August 24 –Itek Air Flight 6895Boeing 737-200 crashes just after take-off fromManas Airport in capitalBishkek ,Kyrgyzstan . Reports suggest some 71 are killed while 19 survive of the 83 passengers and 7 crew aboard.
*September 14 -Aeroflot Flight 821, aBoeing 737-500 , crashes on approach toPerm Airport from Moscow. All 88 people on board are killed.
*October 7 -Qantas Flight 72 anAirbus A330-300 makes an emergency landing in Exmouth,Australia following a rapid descent that leaves 38 people injured, 20 of them seriously.
*October 8 -Yeti Airlines Flight 103De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashes 60 NM fromMt Everest ,Nepal killing 18 of 19 people on board.ee also
*
Air safety
*Aircraft hijacking
*Aviation accidents and incidents - history, causes, etc.
*List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by airline
*List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by location
* List of aviation accidents and incidents by death toll
*List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft
*List of sole survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Investigators
External links
* [http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/accident_incident/preliminary_data/ Federal Aviation Administration (US) Preliminary Accident and Incident Reports]
* [http://www.aaib.gov.uk Air Accidents Investigation Branch (UK)]
* [http://aviation-safety.net Aviation Safety Network]
* [http://www.jacdec.de/ Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2008892.stm Timeline of air disasters] since 1998 atBBC News
* [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/ PlaneCrashInfo.com]
* [http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/database.cgi/ AirDisaster.com Accident Database]
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