Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 struck a seawall during a visual approach to Runway 28L at San Francisco International Airport. The flight crew mismanaged the airplane's descent and airspeed after the autothrottle entered a 'HOLD' mode that did not maintain speed. The aircraft descended below the glidepath and slowed significantly below the target approach speed. Despite late attempts to initiate a go-around, the tail of the aircraft struck the seawall, leading to the separation of the tail and a post-crash fire.

Pilot Error

A Polar Airlines Mil Mi-8T helicopter crashed into a mountain ridge in the Sakha Republic after the crew continued flight into deteriorating weather conditions under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The aircraft struck an elevated outcropping at an altitude of approximately 650 meters while operating in mountainous terrain. The impact and subsequent post-crash fire resulted in the deaths of 24 of the 28 people on board. Investigators determined the Pilot in Command failed to make a timely decision to return to the departure airfield when weather conditions fell below VFR minimums, leading to a descent below the safe flight altitude.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Zlín 526AFS-V crashed during an unauthorized aerobatic display at the Roadrunner's Paradise Race 61 festival after the engine lost power during an inverted low pass. The pilot, performing maneuvers at extremely low altitude without official permission, attempted to roll the aircraft upright following the engine failure. During the recovery attempt, the right wing tip tank struck the ground, causing the aircraft to flip and crash into a solar park. The investigation determined the engine failure was caused by fuel starvation during inverted flight, exacerbated by the pilot's decision to perform aerobatics with wing tip tanks installed, which prohibited such maneuvers.

Pilot Error

Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6517 crashed during landing at El Tari Airport after the flight crew unintentionally moved the power levers into the Beta range while still airborne. The resulting change in propeller pitch created significant drag and a sudden loss of lift, causing the aircraft to drop from approximately 90 feet and impact the runway with a vertical acceleration of 5.99 G. The airframe broke into two sections and both wings were severely damaged. While all 50 occupants survived the impact, 25 people were injured, including 5 who sustained serious injuries.

Pilot Error

Nepal Airlines Flight 555 overran the runway at Jomsom Airport after the Pilot in Command (PIC) attempted an unauthorized landing on Runway 06 with a tailwind, followed by a failed attempt to take off again after a runway excursion. Upon touchdown, the aircraft veered off the paved surface into a grass area. The PIC then applied power to attempt a go-around from the grass, but the aircraft lacked sufficient airspeed and lift because the First Officer had already retracted the flaps as part of standard post-landing checks. The aircraft plunged 20 meters down a bank into the Gandaki River. The forward fuselage was destroyed, but the rear of the aircraft remained intact and the left wing was found submerged. All 21 occupants survived, though 13 sustained injuries, including 7 or 8 reported as serious or critical.

Pilot Error

National Airlines Flight 102 crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram Air Base when its cargo of five heavy armored vehicles shifted aft, damaging critical flight control systems. The aircraft, a Boeing 747-400 converted freighter, was carrying two 12-ton M-ATVs and three 18-ton Cougar MRAPs. During the initial climb, the aft-most vehicle broke free from its restraints, rolled backward through the aft pressure bulkhead, and severed the horizontal stabilizer jackscrew and hydraulic lines. This caused an unrecoverable pitch-up, leading to an aerodynamic stall and impact within the airfield perimeter. All seven crew members perished.

Human Factors (Operational)

Lion Air Flight 904 crashed into the sea approximately 300 meters short of Runway 09 at Ngurah Rai International Airport during a rain squall. Despite the aircraft being nearly new and having no mechanical defects, the crew continued a manual descent below the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) without having the runway in sight. A late attempt to execute a go-around was initiated at only 20 feet above the water, which was insufficient to prevent impact. All 108 passengers and crew survived the ditching, although the aircraft was destroyed and written off.

Human Factors (Operational)

A Mil Mi-8P helicopter crashed in the Peruvian Amazon after an improperly stowed luggage net entangled with the tail rotor transmission, leading to a total loss of directional control. During the subsequent emergency autorotation attempt, the main rotor blades struck and severed the tail boom, causing the aircraft to fall out of control into dense forest. All 13 occupants, including Perenco oil workers and contractors, were killed.

Human Factors (Operational)

Two German Federal Police helicopters collided on the ground during a large-scale training exercise at the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The accident occurred when three helicopters attempted to land in sequence on a snow-covered field, creating intense whiteout conditions. The third helicopter, a Super Puma, lost visual reference due to recirculating snow, drifted during touchdown, and rolled over, causing its main rotor to strike the already-landed EC155. The pilot of the EC155 was killed by a piece of a rotor blade.

Human Factors (Operational) · Multi-aircraft

Alaska Central Express Flight 51, a cargo flight, crashed into the Muklung Hills while attempting an instrument approach to Dillingham, Alaska. The flight crew descended to 2,000 feet based on an ambiguous air traffic control clearance, despite the published minimum safe altitude for the area being 5,400 feet and the holding altitude being 4,300 feet. The aircraft struck a rock outcrop at about 1,996 feet while in a wings-level attitude during a holding pattern. Both crew members were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Fokker 50 cargo flight crashed into a residential area in Goma during a heavy rainstorm, approximately two minutes before its scheduled landing. The aircraft was arriving from Kananga via Lodja when it impacted a residential lot. While seven occupants (including six crew members and a loadmaster) were killed, three passengers survived the impact. The accident occurred amidst poor visibility and adverse weather conditions, leading the Congolese government to mandate a re-certification process for all domestic carriers already blacklisted by the European Union.

Weather

A hot air balloon carrying 20 passengers and one pilot caught fire and exploded during a landing attempt near Luxor, resulting in the deadliest aerostat accident since the Hindenburg disaster. As the balloon approached the ground, a fuel leak in a high-pressure hose ignited, severely burning the pilot and causing the craft to ascend rapidly and uncontrollably. The fire eventually triggered a gas canister explosion at approximately 300 meters (980 feet), causing the envelope to deflate and the basket to plunge into a sugar cane field. Nineteen occupants were killed, including tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, Britain, France, and Hungary, while the pilot and one passenger survived by jumping from the basket at low altitude.

Mechanical Failure

South Airlines Flight 8971, a charter flight carrying football fans to a UEFA Champions League match, crashed while attempting to land in dense fog at Donetsk International Airport. The aircraft struck soft ground between the runway and taxiway, flipped, and caught fire. While 47 occupants escaped through a breach in the fuselage, five passengers were killed. Investigators determined the crew was unprepared for the prevailing weather conditions and failed to execute a go-around after losing visual contact with the runway at the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA). The aircraft subsequently slowed below its minimum control speed, stalled, and impacted the ground right-wing first.

Pilot Error

SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashed into a snow-covered field approximately 1.6 kilometers short of Almaty International Airport during a missed approach in thick fog. The aircraft was performing a go-around after failing to meet the minimum visibility requirements for landing when it suddenly entered a steep dive. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) investigation determined that the elevator was deflected downward, causing the aircraft to impact the ground at a high rate of descent. While no mechanical failures were found, investigators highlighted several human factors, including the potential incapacitation of the captain due to a heart attack, the first officer's failure to monitor flight instruments while preoccupied with radio communications, and the possible influence of somatogravic illusions during the go-around maneuver.

Human Factors (CRM)

A de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Kenn Borek Air, impacted the steep slopes of Mount Elizabeth while on a VFR repositioning flight across Antarctica. The aircraft turned toward its destination earlier than planned, entering an area of rising terrain while likely obscured by cloud cover. The crew initiated a climb approximately 45 seconds before impact, possibly in response to a terrain advisory, but the aircraft's performance at high altitude was insufficient to clear the mountain. All three crew members were killed, and due to extreme environmental hazards, their bodies were never recovered.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

An Agusta A109E Power helicopter collided with a construction crane attached to the St George Wharf Tower in Vauxhall, London, during a period of poor visibility and low cloud. The pilot was attempting to divert to the London Heliport in Battersea after being unable to land at Elstree due to weather. The collision sheared off the crane's jib and sent the helicopter plunging into Wandsworth Road, where it exploded in a fireball. The pilot (the sole occupant) and one pedestrian on the ground were killed, and nine others were injured by falling debris and fire.

Pilot Error

Red Wings Airlines Flight 9268 overran the runway at Vnukovo International Airport after the aircraft failed to achieve simultaneous compression of both main landing gear struts, preventing the activation of thrust reversers and wheel brakes. During a high-speed landing in gusty crosswinds, the lack of physical compression on the right landing gear strut meant the 'weight-on-wheels' sensors were not triggered. This inhibited the safety interlocks for the braking systems, and the crew's attempt to engage maximum reverse thrust instead resulted in an increase of forward engine power, accelerating the aircraft off the end of the runway and into a highway embankment.

Mechanical Failure

Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crash-landed short of the runway at Heho Airport during a non-precision approach in foggy conditions. The aircraft struck power lines and trees approximately 0.7 nautical miles from the threshold, causing the left wing to separate and a fire to erupt. One passenger and one motorcyclist on the ground were killed. The investigation determined that the flight crew descended below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) without visual contact with the runway, failing to follow standard operating procedures for inclement weather.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

On December 25, 2012, a Kazakh military transport aircraft crashed during its descent into Shymkent, killing all 27 people on board. The flight was transporting high ranking members of the Kazakhstan Border Guard Service, including its acting director, Colonel Turganbek Stambekov. While descending in poor visibility, the aircraft experienced technical failures that led the crew to lose situational awareness of their height. Consequently, the aircraft impacted the ground about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the airport while the crew believed they were still at a safe altitude. The impact and subsequent fire completely destroyed the airframe.

Pilot Error

A United Nations Mi-8 helicopter, operated by Nizhnevartovskavia on behalf of UNMISS, was shot down by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) near Likuangole, South Sudan. The aircraft was performing a reconnaissance mission when it was engaged by SPLA artillery units who mistook it for a Sudanese government aircraft allegedly supplying rebel forces. All four Russian crew members on board were killed when the helicopter crashed and burned.

Military Action

On December 17, 2012, an Amazon Sky Antonov An-26 cargo flight crashed into the Andes mountains after both engines failed due to severe icing. The investigation determined that the crew failed to activate the aircraft's anti-icing systems in a timely manner despite flying through adverse weather conditions. After the engines shut down due to ice ingestion, the crew attempted a restart while performing a steep turn to avoid terrain, but the maneuver resulted in a rapid loss of altitude. The aircraft impacted Mount Huique at approximately 10:42 local time at an elevation of approximately 15,022 feet, killing all four crew members on board.

Pilot Error

A Learjet 25 business jet carrying Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and her entourage crashed into mountainous terrain shortly after departing Monterrey. The aircraft experienced a sudden, catastrophic loss of control while climbing through 28,000 feet, entering a near-vertical nosedive at speeds exceeding its maximum operating limits. The investigation was severely limited by the destruction of the flight data recorder and the disappearance of the cockpit voice recorder, leaving the exact cause of the upset undetermined.

Unknown

A South African Air Force Douglas C-47TP Dakota crashed into the Drakensberg Mountains while en route from AFB Waterkloof to Mthatha. The aircraft was operating in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at 11,000 feet when it struck terrain near Giant's Castle. All eleven people on board, including six crew members and five passengers, were killed. The investigation attributed the accident to pilot error, as the crew continued flight into hazardous terrain while unable to maintain visual contact with the ground.

Pilot Error

An Ilyushin Il-76T freighter crashed into a residential neighborhood while attempting to land at Maya-Maya Airport during a severe thunderstorm. The aircraft clipped trees and houses at distances of 1,080 meters and 1,015 meters short of runway 05L before coming to rest in a ravine. All six crew members were killed, along with 26 people on the ground. Initial reports were contradictory, with some officials suggesting a runway overrun after a failed go-around, while wreckage analysis confirmed the aircraft impacted short of the threshold. The investigation is ongoing, with preliminary theories citing weather conditions, including a possible lightning strike or downdraft, and potential pilot error for attempting an approach in conditions described by the Congolese President as unflyable.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)