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Template:Lists of aviation accidents and incidents

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 Aircraft Crash Record Office or the Aviation Safety Network websites.

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[edit] 1922

• April 7 – A Daimler Airway-operated de Havilland DH.18A collides with a Compagnie des Grands Express Aériens (CGEA)-operated Farman F.60 Goliath over Picardie, France, killing 7 people. This is the first mid-air collision of airliners.

[edit] 1930

• October 5 – The British airship R101 crashes north of Paris, killing 48 people in an eruption of flames.

[edit] 1931

• March 21 – Australian National Airways Southern Cloud, an Avro 618 Ten, crashes in the Snowy Mountains while flying from Sydney to Melbourne. All 8 on board are killed in Australia's first significant airline disaster. The crash site remains undiscovered for 27 years. Severe weather at the time of the flight is the likely cause of the accident.
• March 31 – Transcontinental & Western Air Flight 599, a Fokker F-10 Trimotor, crashes near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, killing all eight aboard, including legendary University of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.

[edit] 1933

• October 10 – A United Airlines Boeing 247 is destroyed by a bomb over Chesterton, Indiana in the first proven case of air sabotage on a commercial aircraft; all seven on board are killed.

[edit] 1937

• May 6 – A Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei flight, the Zeppelin Hindenburg, bursts into flames and crashes while attempting a landing at Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst in New Jersey; of the 97 people on board, 35 are killed. One person on the ground also dies.
• November 16 – A Sabena Junkers Ju 52 crashes near Ostend, Belgium killing all 11 on board, including the Grand Duke and eight months pregnant Grand Duchess Cecilie of Hesse.

[edit] 1938

• January 10 – Northwest Airlines Flight 2, a Lockheed L14H Super Electra, crashes near Bozeman, Montana, killing all ten on board; the machine with which the manufacturer measured component vibration is found to be inaccurate, causing the aircraft to be more prone to flutter than thought.

[edit] 1939

• January 13 – Northwest Airlines Flight 1, a Lockheed L14H Super Electra, crashes 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.

[edit] 1940

• June 14 – In the Kaleva incident, an Aero Junkers Ju 52-3/mge flying from Tallinn, Estonia to Helsinki, Finland is shot down by two Soviet bombers over the Gulf of Finland during peacetime. All 9 aboard die.

[edit] 1941

• February 26 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 21, a DC-3, crashes while descending to land at Atlanta, Georgia, killing 16 of 25 aboard; World War I hero and Eastern Air Lines president Eddie Rickenbacker is among the survivors.

[edit] 1942

• January 16 – TWA Flight 3, a Douglas DC-3 returning to California, crashes into Mount Potosi thirty miles southwest of Las Vegas. All 22 passengers die, including actress Carole Lombard and her mother.

[edit] 1943

• June 1 – BOAC Flight 777, a Douglas DC-3, is shot down by Luftwaffe fighter aircraft over the Bay of Biscay, killing 17 passengers and crew, including actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that the flight is attacked because German intelligence believe that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is aboard.

[edit] 1947

• August 12 – A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian named Star Dust disappears over the Andes after transmitting an enigmatic coded message ("STENDEC"); the fate of the plane remain a mystery until the crash site is located in 2000; Four crew and nine passengers are killed.
• October 24 – United Airlines Flight 608, a DC-6, crashes near Bryce Canyon Airport, Utah, when a fire caused by a design flaw destroys the aircraft; All 52 on board die.

[edit] 1948

• January 28 – A flight chartered by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service crashes in the hills west of Coalinga, California, killing 32. The crash becomes the impetus of the Woody Guthrie song "Deportee."
• March 12 – Northwest Airlines Flight 4422, a DC-4, crashes into Mount Sanford in the Alaska Territory, killing 30.
• April 5 – In the 1948 Gatow air disaster, a British European Airways Vickers VC.1 Viking crashes near RAF Gatow, Berlin after a collision with a Soviet Air Force Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter. All 14 people on board the Viking are killed, as is the Soviet pilot.
• June 17 – United Airlines Flight 624, a DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania after errors in attempting to extinguish what is believed to be an on-board fire. All 43 on board die.
• July 17 – A Catalina seaplane named Miss Macao, operated by a Cathay Pacific subsidiary, with 23 passengers and three crew on board flying from Macau to Hong Kong, is hijacked midway over the Pearl River delta by a group of four hijackers attempting to rob the passengers on board. The pilot is attacked and loses control during the ensuing struggle in the cockpit. The subsequent crash kills all on board except one passenger, who is later identified to be the lead hijacker. This is the first known case of airliner hijack.
• October 2 – In the Bukken Bruse disaster, a flying boat crashes upon landing in Trondheim. 19 are killed, while Bertrand Russell is among the 24 survivors.
• October 20 – In the 1948 KLM Constellation air disaster, a Lockheed Constellation named Nijmegen crashes near Prestwick, Scotland, killing 40.

[edit] 1949

• May 4 – In the Superga air disaster, an Italian Airlines FIAT G212CP carrying the Torino football team crashes into the Superga hills near Turin, killing all 31 on board, including 18 players.
• September 9 – A Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas DC-3 explodes in flight en route from Quebec City to Baie-Comeau, Quebec as the result of sabotage, killing all 23 on board.
• November 1 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 537, a Douglas DC-4, on approach to Washington National Airport, suffers a mid-air collision with a Lockheed P-38. All 55 people on board the DC-4 die, including Congressman George J. Bates, New Yorker cartoonist Helen Hokinson, and former Congressman Michael J. Kennedy. The pilot and sole occupant of the P-38 is seriously injured.
• November 29 – American Airlines Flight 157, a Douglas DC-6 en route from New York City to Mexico City, veers off the runway and strikes buildings after the flight crew loses control of the aircraft during its final approach to Dallas Love Field. 26 passengers and 2 flight attendants die.

[edit] 1950

• June 24 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501, a Douglas DC-4 with 58 people on board, disappears without a trace over Lake Michigan.
• August 31 – TWA Flight 903, a Lockheed L749A Constellation, crashes in the desert about 65 miles NNW of Cairo, Egypt, while returning due to an engine fire. All 55 on board are killed.

[edit] 1951

• April 25 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 493, a Douglas DC-4 en route from Miami, Florida to Havana, Cuba, collides in mid-air with a United States Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan off Key West. All 43 aboard both aircraft are killed.
• June 22 – Pan Am Flight 151, a Lockheed L049 Constellation en route from Accra, Ghana to Monrovia, Liberia, crashes into a hill near a village called Sanoye in Bong County in Liberia, 54 miles (86 km) from the airport. All 31 passengers and nine crew members die.
• August 24 – United Airlines Flight 615, a Douglas DC-6B, crashes near De Coto (now Union City), California, while on final approach to Oakland, California. All 50 aboard are killed.

[edit] 1952

• April 28 – Pan Am Flight 202, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, crashes in a remote area of Brazil on its way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to New York City via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after a propeller failure. All 50 on board are killed.

[edit] 1953

• October 29 – British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Flight 304, a DC-6, crashes into King’s Mountain, southeast of Half Moon Bay, California, on its approach to the San Francisco International Airport. The accident kills all 11 passengers, including American pianist William Kapell, and the crew of eight.

[edit] 1954

• January 10 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland Comet flying from Rome to London on the last leg of a flight from Singapore, disintegrates in midair, killing the 29 passengers and six crew when metal fatigue from repeated pressurization cycles compromises the fuselage.
• April 8 – South African Airways Flight 201, a de Havilland Comet flying from Rome to Cairo bound for Johannesburg, disintegrates in midair, killing all 14 passengers and seven crew. As in BOAC Flight 781, metal suffered fatigue at stress risers at the corners of the square windows in the aluminum skin. Subsequently, all pressurized aircraft windows are constructed with wide radius corners.
• September 5 – KLM Flight 633, a Lockheed L1049 Super Constellation, ditches after takeoff from Shannon Airport in Ireland, killing 28 of 56 on board.

[edit] 1955

• February 19 – TWA Flight 260, a Martin 404, crashes into the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, New Mexico, killing all 16 on board.
• April 11 – An Air India aircraft named Kashmir Princess is bombed under suspicious circumstances. 16 people are killed and three survive.
• July 27 – El Al Flight 402, a Lockheed L-049 Constellation, inadvertently strays over Bulgarian territory on its way from Vienna to Tel Aviv, and is shot down by 2 Bulgarian fighter aircraft, killing all 58 on board.
• October 6 – United Airlines Flight 409 crashes near Centennial, Wyoming, killing all 66 on board.
• November 1 – United Airlines Flight 629 is bombed by Jack Gilbert Graham over Denver, Colorado. All 44 on board are killed.

[edit] 1956

• April 2 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, a Boeing Stratocruiser, ditches into Puget Sound after takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after the cowl flaps are incorrectly set for takeoff. Four passengers and a flight attendant die, probably of hypothermia, while waiting for rescue. 33 survive.
• June 30 – United Airlines Flight 718, a DC-7 collides with TWA Flight 2, a Lockheed Constellation, over the Grand Canyon, killing all 128 aboard both planes. Both planes are cleared into the Grand Canyon's airspace, but do not see each other. Eisenhower creates the Federal Aviation Administration to separate aircraft using radar in response.
• July 9 – A Trans-Canada Air Lines Vickers Viscount sheds a propeller blade over Flat Rock, Michigan. The blade enters the passenger cabin, killing one of 35 aboard. This is the first known case of a turboprop shedding a blade in passenger service.
• October 16 – Pan Am Flight 6, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, is forced to ditch in the Pacific Ocean between Hawai'i and San Francisco. All 31 on board are rescued by a nearby United States Coast Guard ship.
• December 9 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair Northstar, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board. The wreckage is located almost a year later.

[edit] 1957

• February 1 – Northeast Airlines Flight 823, a DC-6, crashes during a snowstorm shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. Twenty of the 101 occupants die.
• November 8 – Pan Am Flight 7, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, vanishes between San Francisco and Honolulu. Small pieces of wreckage and human remains are found almost a week later by the United States Navy. All 44 on board are believed to have been killed. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a suspected cause of the crash.

[edit] 1958

• February 6 – In the Munich air disaster, a British European Airways Airspeed Ambassador crashes during takeoff from Munich-Riem airport, killing 23 of 44, including eight Manchester United footballers.
• February 27 – In the Winter Hill air disaster, a Silver City Bristol 170 Freighter travelling from the Isle of Man to Manchester Ringway Airport crashes into Winter Hill, Rivington Moor, Lancashire, killing thirty-five people and injuring seven.
• April 6 – Capital Airlines Flight 67, a Vickers Aircraft 745D Viscount, crashes at Tri-City Airport (now MBS International Airport) near Freeland, Michigan, killing all 47 passengers and crew. An undiscovered ice buildup on the wing and windy conditions are possible causes.
• August 14 – KLM Flight 607-E, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation en route from Brussels, Belgium to New York, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Shannon Airport in Ireland, killing all 99 passengers and crew, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team.

[edit] 1959

• February 3 – American Airlines Flight 320, a Lockheed L-188 Super Electra, crashes into the East River, New York City, due to pilot error. Sixty five passengers and crew are killed.
• October 30 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3, crashes on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Charlottesville, Virginia, killing the crew of three and 23 of 24 passengers. The sole survivor is seriously injured. The cause is a navigational error during an ILS approach.
• November 16 – National Airlines Flight 967, a Douglas DC-7B, crashes into the Gulf of Mexico while on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a possible case of sabotage. All 40 on board perish.

[edit] 1960

• January 6 – National Airlines Flight 2511, a Douglas DC-6B bound from New York to Miami, crashes near Bolivia, North Carolina, when a bomb planted on board explodes in mid-air. All 34 people on board are killed.
• March 17 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710, a Lockheed L188 Super Electra en route from Chicago, Illinois to Miami, Florida, breaks apart at 15,000 feet and crashes near Tell City, Indiana, killing all 63 on board.
• October 4 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L188 Super Electra, crashes on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport after a bird strike (a flock of starlings) damages the engines, clogs the pitot tubes, and obstructs the pilot's view. The aircraft crashes into Winthrop Bay; 62 of 72 aboard die.
• December 16 – The 1960 New York air disaster: United Airlines Flight 826, a DC-8, and TWA Flight 266, a Super Constellation, suffer a mid-air collision over Staten Island in New York. All 128 aboard the two planes and six people on the ground are killed.

[edit] 1961

• January 3 – Aero Flight 311, a Douglas DC-3, crashes into woods near Koivulahti, Finland, killing all 25 on board.
• February 15 – Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707, crashes on approach in Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team: a runaway stabilizer is thought to be the cause of the first fatal accident involving a 707 in regular passenger service.
• September 17 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes on takeoff from Chicago as a result of a maintenance error causing the ailerons to become detached from the control wheels. All 37 on board die.

[edit] 1962

• March 1 – American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707, crashes in Jamaica Bay, Queens, New York, killing 95.
• March 4 – Caledonian Airways Flight 153, a DC-7, crashes into a jungle swamp at Douala, Cameroon, killing 111.
• March 16 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a Lockheed L1049 Super Connie chartered by the United States military, disappears over the western Pacific carrying 96 American soldiers en route to South Vietnam.
• May 22 – Continental Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 707, breaks up in mid-air after a passenger's bomb explodes in the right rear lavatory while the flight is near Unionville, Missouri. All 45 on board are killed.
• June 3 – Air France Charter Flight Chateau de Sully, a Boeing 707, skids and burns after the pilot aborts takeoff at Orly Airport, killing many of Atlanta, Georgia's civic and cultural leaders. Two flight attendants are the only survivors as 130 die in the worst one-aircraft accident to that date.
• November 23 – United Airlines Flight 297, a Vickers Aircraft 745D Viscount, crashes near Ellicott City, Maryland, following a bird strike. All 17 people on board die.
• November 30 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 512, a Douglas DC-7B, crashes due to pilot error on a missed approach into New York's Idlewild Airport. 25 of 51 on board are killed.

[edit] 1963

• July 3 – New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441, a DC-3 Skyliner flying from Whenuapai Airport, Auckland to Tauranga, crashes into the Kaimai Ranges; all 23 aboard die, making it the worst air disaster in mainland New Zealand to date.
• July 3 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 121, a Martin 404, crashes near Rochester, New York while attempting takeoff, killing seven of the 43 people on board.
• August 21 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 ditches in the Neva river in Leningrad after engine failure. There are no fatalities from 52 on board, but the aircraft is destroyed.
• November 29 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831, a DC-8, crashes shortly after takeoff from Montréal/Dorval Airport, killing all 118 people on board.
• December 8 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by positive lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.

[edit] 1964

• May 7 – Pacific Air Lines Flight 773, a Fairchild F27, crashes near San Ramon, California after a passenger shoots both the captain and first officer before turning the gun on himself, killing all 44 aboard.
• November 15 – Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, a Fairchild F27, crashes into a mountain in poor weather while on a nighttime approach to Las Vegas, Nevada. All 29 aboard perish when the plane impacts only 10 feet (3 m) below a ridge. Initially blamed on a pilot's misreading his approach chart, years later the chart maker agrees to pay a settlement of US$490,000 to some of the victims' heirs after it is shown the chart had incorrect markings.
• November 20 – Linjeflyg Flight 277, a Convair CV-340, crashes during the approach to Engelholm, Sweden, when in instrument meteorological conditions the crew abandons the set procedure and begins the landing too soon. 31 people are killed and 12 survived.
• December 24 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 282, a Lockheed Constellation, crashes near San Bruno, California after an unexplained course deviation, killing the crew of 3.

[edit] 1965

• February 8 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a Douglas DC-7B on takeoff, overreacts in avoiding Pan Am Flight 212 (a Boeing 707) on approach, loses control, and crashes into Jones Beach State Park, New York, killing all 84 on board.
• May 20 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705, a Boeing 720, crashes on descent to Cairo International Airport, killing 119.
• July 1 – Continental Airlines Flight 12, a Boeing 707, runs off the end of the runway at Kansas City Downtown Airport, breaking into three pieces. All 66 on board survive.
• November 11 – United Airlines Flight 227, a Boeing 727, crashes short of the runway during landing at Salt Lake City International Airport. Forty-three of 91 aboard are killed.

[edit] 1966

• February 4 – All Nippon Airways Flight 60, a Boeing 727-100, crashes into Tokyo Bay, Japan. All 133 aboard are killed.
• March 5 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 bound for Hong Kong, crashes at Mount Fuji near Gotenba, Japan, killing all 124 passengers and crew.
• August 6 – All 42 on board are killed when Braniff Flight 250, a BAC One-Eleven, flies into an active squall line and breaks apart in midair near Falls City, Nebraska.
• October 1 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatalities 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon, marking the first loss of a Douglas DC-9.
• November 13 – All Nippon Airways Flight 533, a NAMC YS-11, plunges into Seto Inland Sea after an overrun at Matsuyama Airport, Shikoku, Japan, killing all 50 passengers and crew.
• November 15 – Pan Am Flight 708, a Boeing 727, crashes near Berlin, Germany. All three crew members are killed.

[edit] 1967

• March 9 – TWA Flight 553, a Douglas DC-9, collides with a Beechcraft Baron near Dayton, Ohio, killing all 26 on both planes.
• June 4 – In the Stockport air disaster, a British Midland Canadair C4 Argonaut carrying passengers returning from Palma de Mallorca is on approach to Manchester Airport when an engine loses power due to a design failure in the aircraft's fuel system. 72 of 84 on board are killed.
• June 23 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, a BAC One-Eleven, crashes in Blossburg, Pennsylvania, killing all 34 people on board.
• July 19 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, a Boeing 727 departing from Asheville, North Carolina, crashes shortly after departure after a mid-air collision with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on instrument approach to Asheville. All 82 passengers and crew on both aircraft die.
• November 20 – TWA Flight 128, a Convair 880, crashes in Constance, Kentucky on approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport, killing 70 out of 82 persons on board.

[edit] 1968

• March 24 – Aer Lingus Flight 712, a Vickers 803 Viscount, crashes off the Irish coast. All 61 on board perish.
• April 8 – BOAC Flight 712, a Boeing 707, suffers an engine fire after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport. The plane makes an emergency landing at Heathrow, but 5 of 127 aboard die in the resulting fire.
• May 3 – Braniff Flight 352, a Lockheed L188A Super Electra en route from Houston, Texas to Dallas, crashes in a thunderstorm, killing its 5 crew and 80 passengers.
• July 1 – Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253, a Douglas DC-8, is forced to land in the Soviet Union. On board are over 200 American troops bound for Vietnam.
• August 14 – Los Angeles Airways Flight 417, a Sikorsky S-61L prototype, crashes in Compton, California resulting in the loss of 21 lives.
• September 11 – Air France Flight 1611, a Caravelle, crashes off Nice, France, killing 95 passengers and crew.
• October 25 – Northeast Airlines Flight 946, a Fairchild 227, crashes near Etna, New Hampshire, killing 32 passengers and crew.

[edit] 1969

• January 18 – United Airlines Flight 266, a Boeing 727-22C en route from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, Wisconsin loses all electrical power and crashes into Santa Monica Bay. Six crew and 32 passengers are killed.
• February 18 – Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708, a Douglas DC-3, crashes near Lone Pine, California, killing all 35 people on board.
• April 2 – LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO 165, an Antonov An-24, crashes in southern Poland, killing all 53 people on board.
• September 9 – Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9, collides in flight with a Piper PA-28 and crashes near Fairland, Indiana, killing all 83 occupants aboard the two aircraft.
• November 19 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 411, a Fairchild 227, crashes near Glens Falls, New York, killing all 14 people on board.

[edit] 1970

• February 15 – Contaminated fuel causes dual engine failure shortly after takeoff from Las Américas International Airport near Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the Dominicana DC-9 air disaster. All 102 on board are killed.
• February 21 – A bomb in the cargo hold of Swissair Flight 330, a Convair CV-990, detonates 9 minutes after takeoff from Zürich International Airport in Kloten, Switzerland. All 38 passengers and 9 crew perish.
• March 31 – Japan Airlines Flight 351, a Boeing 727, is hijacked to North Korea by a Japanese Red Army faction.
• May 2 – ALM Flight 980, a Douglas DC-9 operated by Overseas National Airways, ditches near St. Croix, Virgin Islands, killing 23 including 2 infants and 1 crew member; 40 including 4 crew members survive.
• July 5 – Air Canada Flight 621, a Douglas DC-8, explodes following a failed landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, with 109 fatalities.
• August 9 – LANSA Flight 502, a Lockheed Electra turboprop, crashes and burns shortly after takeoff from