Aviation Accident Summary Archive

An Indonesian Air Force KC-130B Hercules crashed into a residential neighborhood in Medan shortly after takeoff, killing all 122 people on board and 17 people on the ground. Approximately one minute after departure from Soewondo Air Force Base, the number four engine suffered a mechanical failure. The crew requested a return to base, but the aircraft, heavily loaded with military personnel, their families, and cargo, was unable to maintain altitude. The Hercules banked steeply to the right, clipped a 30-meter radio antenna, and struck several buildings, including a hotel and a massage parlor, before exploding.

Mechanical Failure

A U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter crashed into rugged terrain north of Charikot while conducting casualty evacuation missions following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. The aircraft was carrying six U.S. Marines, two Nepalese soldiers, and five injured civilians when it encountered rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. The investigation determined that the crew opted for a direct route to Kathmandu due to the urgent medical needs of the passengers, which led them into unfamiliar terrain and unstable meteorological conditions. The helicopter was enveloped by clouds, causing the pilots to lose visual reference and impact a mountainside.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

An Airbus A400M Atlas crashed during its first pre-delivery test flight after three of its four engines experienced a power freeze shortly after takeoff. The aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 120 meters (390 feet) before the crew realized the engines were not responding to throttle inputs. The pilots attempted an emergency landing in a field near La Rinconada, but the aircraft struck a high-voltage power line and crashed, killing four of the six crew members on board. The investigation revealed that critical engine calibration data had been accidentally deleted during a software installation at the assembly plant, causing the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) systems to malfunction.

Human Factors (Maintenance)

Asiana Airlines Flight 162 struck a localizer array and impacted the ground short of the runway while attempting to land at Hiroshima Airport in low visibility. The Airbus A320 descended below the required glide path during an RNAV approach to runway 28. Although the crew initiated a go-around, the aircraft hit the antenna structure 325 metres before the runway threshold, skidded onto the runway, and rotated 120 degrees before coming to a stop on the grass. All 82 occupants survived the accident, though the aircraft was written off due to significant damage to the engines, left wing, and tail section.

Pilot Error

Carson Air Flight 66, a Swearingen Metro II cargo flight, suffered an in-flight breakup during a rapid, uncontrolled descent into the North Shore Mountains. The aircraft reached a peak altitude of 8,700 feet (approximately 2,650 meters) before plummeting to 5,000 feet in less than 15 seconds, at which point radar contact was lost. Post-accident toxicological examinations revealed the captain had a blood alcohol level of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit for motor vehicle operation. While the TSB confirmed the breakup was caused by aerodynamic forces during the high-speed descent, investigators could not definitively determine the specific event that initiated the dive.

Human Factors (Operational)

A deliberate controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) perpetrated by the co-pilot after locking the captain out of the cockpit.

Pilot Error

A Beechcraft B200 King Air crashed into Laguna del Sauce shortly after takeoff from Punta del Este, Uruguay. The aircraft failed to maintain altitude during the initial climb, impacting the shallow waters of the lagoon and catching fire. All ten people on board, including two crew members and eight passengers associated with a convention center project, were killed.

Pilot Error

A UH-60M Black Hawk from the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment, Louisiana Army National Guard, crashed into the Santa Rosa Sound during a night-time training exercise, killing all 11 personnel on board. The investigation determined that the pilots continued the mission despite deteriorating weather conditions that fell below established safety minimums. Upon encountering dense fog over the water, the crew suffered severe spatial disorientation and failed to transition to instrument flight, leading to an unrecoverable unusual attitude and high-speed impact with the water.

Human Factors (Operational)

Two Eurocopter AS350B3 helicopters collided mid-air shortly after takeoff during the filming of the French reality TV show Dropped. The collision occurred at an altitude of approximately 100 meters (330 feet) in clear weather conditions. All ten people on board both aircraft, including three prominent French Olympic athletes and two Argentine pilots, were killed. The investigation determined that the pilot of the filming helicopter (LQ-FJQ) had limited visibility of the lead helicopter (LQ-CGK) while attempting to film it from the outside, leading to a fatal lack of separation.

Pilot Error · Multi-aircraft

Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 veered off the left side of runway 13 during a landing in snowy conditions at LaGuardia Airport. The aircraft struck a perimeter fence and came to rest on an embankment with its nose hanging over Flushing Bay. While there were no fatalities, 29 passengers sustained minor injuries and the aircraft was written off. The NTSB determined that the captain applied excessive reverse thrust, which caused rudder blanking and a subsequent loss of directional control on the contaminated runway.

Pilot Error

TransAsia Airways Flight 235 crashed into the Keelung River shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport when the flight crew accidentally shut down the aircraft's only functioning engine. The sequence began when the number 2 (right) engine's auto-takeoff power control system (ATPCS) triggered an uncommanded autofeather due to a sensor malfunction. The pilot flying misidentified the failure and retarded the throttle of the number 1 (left) engine, eventually shutting it down completely. The aircraft stalled, struck a taxi and a viaduct with its left wing, and inverted as it impacted the river.

Pilot Error

A Hellenic Air Force F-16D crashed into a flight line shortly after takeoff at Los Llanos Air Base during a NATO Tactical Leadership Program exercise. The aircraft rolled uncontrollably to the right immediately after lifting off, striking parked aircraft and personnel. The investigation determined that the yaw trim knob had been inadvertently set to the maximum right deflection before takeoff, likely caused by loose laminated checklists jamming the control. The crash killed both pilots and nine personnel on the ground, and it destroyed or damaged several other NATO aircraft.

Human Factors (Operational)

An Olimp Air Antonov An-2P, chartered by the Kazakhmys Group, crashed into terrain during a low-visibility approach to the Shatyrkul mine landing strip. The aircraft was performing a multi-stop flight from Balkhash when it encountered worsening weather conditions, including low cloud cover and fog. The flight crew failed to maintain the minimum safe altitude, resulting in the aircraft striking the ground approximately 1.2 km south of the landing strip, which was located about 20 km from the Shatyrkul mine settlement. Six of the seven people on board were killed; the sole survivor, a geologist, managed to contact rescuers using a mobile phone retrieved from one of the victims after digging through deep snow.

Pilot Error

A Syrian Arab Air Force Antonov An-26 transport aircraft crashed while attempting to land at the besieged Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase during heavy fog. The aircraft struck an electricity pylon before impacting the ground, resulting in the deaths of all 35 personnel on board. While Syrian state media attributed the accident to weather conditions and technical issues, the Al-Nusra Front claimed they had shot down the aircraft.

Weather

Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea after a series of non-critical technical malfunctions led to a total loss of control. The sequence began with a recurring fault in the Rudder Travel Limiter Unit (RTLU). In an attempt to resolve the persistent alerts, the captain pulled circuit breakers to reset the Flight Augmentation Computers (FAC). This action disabled the aircraft's autopilot and flight envelope protections, placing the plane in 'Alternate Law.' The crew, unprepared for the manual handling requirements and suffering from poor coordination, inadvertently entered a high-altitude stall from which they did not recover.

Human Factors (Operational)

Loganair Flight 6780 was a scheduled domestic flight that nearly crashed into the North Sea after a lightning strike led to a severe conflict between the flight crew and the aircraft's autopilot. While on approach to Sumburgh, the aircraft was struck by lightning, causing the captain to instinctively take manual control. However, the autopilot remained engaged, a state the pilots did not recognize due to cognitive tunnelling and previous training on a different aircraft type. As the pilots pulled back to climb, the autopilot applied full nose-down trim to maintain its target altitude. The aircraft entered a high-speed dive, reaching a descent rate of 9,500 feet per minute and exceeding its maximum operating speed by 80 knots. The aircraft came within 1,100 feet of the water before a sensor fault caused the autopilot to disengage, finally allowing the pilots' nose-up inputs to take effect. The crew subsequently recovered the aircraft and diverted back to Aberdeen Airport, where they landed safely.

Human Factors (Operational)

On October 31, 2014, the VSS Enterprise, a SpaceShipTwo suborbital rocket, suffered a catastrophic structural failure and broke apart during a powered test flight over the Mojave Desert. The accident occurred when the co-pilot prematurely unlocked the vehicle's feathering reentry system as the craft entered the transonic region at Mach 0.92. Aerodynamic forces, which the feather actuators were not designed to withstand in an unlocked state at that speed, forced the tail booms to deploy uncommanded. The resulting aerodynamic overload caused the immediate disintegration of the vehicle. The co-pilot was killed, while the pilot, despite being thrown from the craft at high altitude, survived with serious injuries.

Human Factors (Operational)

A Beechcraft B200 King Air (manufactured in 1999) crashed into a FlightSafety International training building shortly after takeoff from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport following a partial loss of power in the left engine. The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, was killed along with three people on the ground inside the building who were trapped in a flight simulator. The NTSB determined that the pilot failed to maintain lateral control and applied inappropriate rudder input, exacerbating the asymmetrical thrust condition rather than correcting it.

Pilot Error

A Dassault Falcon 50EX business jet crashed during its take-off run at Vnukovo International Airport after striking a snow plow that had strayed onto the active runway. The collision occurred in darkness and low visibility, causing the aircraft to roll inverted and catch fire. All four occupants, including Total SA CEO Christophe de Margerie and three French crew members, were killed. The investigation revealed that the snow plow driver was intoxicated and had lost his bearings, while air traffic control failed to detect the runway incursion in time to stop the take-off.

Human Factors (Operational)

A Cessna Citation XLS+ business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in Santos while performing a missed approach in poor weather, killing all seven occupants including Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos and injuring 11 people on the ground. The flight had originated in Brasilia with a stopover in Rio de Janeiro. The investigation determined that the crew suffered from spatial disorientation after deviating from the prescribed instrument approach profile and executing a high-workload, non-standard go-around. Contributing factors included pilot fatigue, inadequate training on the specific aircraft model, and the use of a non-stabilized approach to save time.

Human Factors (Operational)

Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran when its right engine failed two seconds before rotation. The aircraft, which was overloaded and improperly configured for the high-temperature conditions, failed to maintain altitude and stalled. The investigation revealed a failure in the electronic engine control system (SAY-2000) and significant errors in the aircraft's performance manuals that led the crew to overestimate the maximum allowable takeoff weight.

Mechanical Failure

Air Algérie Flight 5017, operated by Swiftair, crashed in the Malian desert after the crew failed to activate engine anti-ice systems while flying near a storm. Ice crystals obstructed the engine pressure ratio (EPR) sensors, providing false data to the autothrottle, which subsequently reduced engine thrust. The autopilot attempted to maintain altitude by increasing the aircraft's angle of attack until it reached a deep stall. The crew did not recognize the deteriorating airspeed or the stall warnings, and the aircraft entered a high-speed spiral descent from which it never recovered.

Human Factors (Operational)

TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashed into a residential village during a failed go-around at Magong Airport, following a non-precision approach conducted in severe weather conditions. The investigation determined that the flight crew intentionally descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) without having the runway in sight. Amid heavy rain from Typhoon Matmo, the aircraft deviated from its course and struck a forest before impacting houses in Xixi Village. The crash resulted in 48 fatalities; all 10 survivors on board sustained serious injuries, and five people on the ground were also injured.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile while flying over eastern Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War. The aircraft was cruising at 33,000 feet when a 9N314M-type warhead detonated just outside the cockpit, causing the plane to break up in mid-air. All 298 passengers and crew were killed. Investigations concluded the missile was launched from territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists using a system transported from Russia.

Military Action