Explore Aviation Accidents in Summary Form
BlackBoxWiki is a curated collection of aviation accident case files. Start with a quick, high-level summary, then follow the links to official reports, safety findings, and evidence.
Clear, concise summaries of aviation accidents and incidents. Each case file covers the essentials: when and where it happened, the aircraft and airline involved, what caused it, and the outcome. You’ll also find links to official reports, safety recommendations, and supporting evidence for a closer look.
Latest Added Case Files
Libyan Air Force (Al Quwwat Al-Jawwiya Al Libiyya) — 5A-DKK
An Ilyushin Il-76M of the Libyan Air Force, registration 5A-DKK, was written off in a landing accident on approach to Sebha on 8 August 1987 while flying evacuation shuttles out of the Aouzou Strip during the Chadian-Libyan conflict. Both the BAAA and ASN entries record no fatalities. The airframe is a different one from the Il-76M lost near Sebha three months later with 46 dead.
Planes of Fame Air Museum — N9MB
The only surviving Northrop N-9M flying wing prototype was destroyed when it crashed into a prison yard shortly after takeoff from Chino Airport. The pilot, who was conducting a post-maintenance test flight, was fatally injured. Witnesses observed the aircraft flying straight and level before it pitched up, banked left, and then abruptly rolled right into a diving corkscrew turn. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the probable cause to be the pilot's loss of control for undetermined reasons; the extreme fragmentation of the wreckage prevented a definitive identification of the failure mode.
Total Linhas Aéreas — 5561
Total Linhas Aéreas Flight 5561, an ATR 42 cargo flight, crashed near Paranapanema after suffering an uncommanded pitch trim runaway that sent the aircraft into a steep and high-speed descent. The investigation by CENIPA determined that a failure in the pitch trim system, likely involving relays or wiring, caused the elevator trim tabs to move to the full nose-down position. The crew, who had not been trained for a runaway trim scenario and lacked a specific emergency checklist for the event, were unable to regain control before the aircraft struck the ground at 366 knots.
Israeli Air Force (Alleged) — N/A
Two unmanned aerial vehicles, identified by Lebanese authorities as Israeli loitering munitions, crashed in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut. The first drone fell onto the roof of a Hezbollah media center after reportedly being targeted by stones thrown by local residents, while a second, explosives-laden drone exploded in mid-air approximately 45 minutes later. The explosion caused significant structural damage to the media center but resulted in no fatalities. Hezbollah denied shooting down the aircraft, characterizing the event as a suicide mission by Israel.
TAMPA Colombia — Ferry
A TAMPA Colombia Boeing 707 cargo jet crashed into a factory shortly after takeoff from Olaya Herrera Airport, killing all three crew members and 22 people on the ground for a total of 25 fatalities. The aircraft was attempting a ferry flight to Miami for repairs following an earlier engine failure caused by foreign object ingestion. During the second takeoff attempt, a second engine failed on the same side of the aircraft, causing a loss of control and a steep bank into a residential and industrial area.
Case File Archive
British Airways / Inex-Adria Aviopromet — BA476 / JP550
A mid-air collision occurred over Zagreb when a British Airways Trident and an Inex-Adria DC-9 collided at 33,000 feet due to air traffic control errors. The disaster was primarily attributed to the failure of the Zagreb Area Control Centre to maintain proper separation, exacerbated by a controller's use of Serbo-Croatian instead of English, which prevented the British crew from understanding the proximity of the other aircraft.
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