Aviation Accident Summary Archive

UTair Flight 471 crashed short of the runway at Kurumoch International Airport during a landing attempt in heavy fog. The aircraft struck the ground approximately 300 meters before the runway threshold and 100 meters to the right of the centerline, causing the left wing to separate and the fuselage to flip onto its back. The investigation cited a combination of pilot error, including the failure to execute a missed approach at decision height without visual contact, and organizational failures within the airport's weather and air traffic control services, which failed to relay critical visibility data that was below landing minima.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 overran the runway at Adisucipto International Airport, crashed into a rice field, and burst into flames after an unstable, high-speed approach. The Pilot in Command (PIC) attempted to land the aircraft at 221 knots, which was 80 knots above the target landing speed, despite numerous cockpit warnings and the First Officer's calls to go around. The aircraft bounced twice on the runway, causing the nose gear to collapse, and eventually plowed through the airport perimeter fence, crossing a road and a ditch before coming to rest. The accident resulted in the deaths of 21 people, including one crew member, and led to a temporary ban on all Indonesian airlines from European Union airspace.

Pilot Error

On March 5, 2007, an Aérospatiale SA 332 Super Puma helicopter and a Diamond DV20 Katana light aircraft collided in mid-air near Zell am See Airport in Austria. All eight people on board both aircraft (seven in the helicopter and one in the airplane) were killed. The collision occurred under visual flight rules (VFR) in clear weather. The investigation determined that the primary cause was the failure of both pilots to maintain adequate visual separation, exacerbated by cockpit visibility limitations and the proximity of mountainous terrain.

Pilot Error · Multi-aircraft

Adam Air Flight 172 suffered a structural failure during a hard landing at Juanda International Airport, resulting in the fuselage breaking and bending behind the wings. The Boeing 737-300 experienced a vertical acceleration of 5g upon touchdown following an unstable approach. Despite the severe damage to the airframe, which included baggage being ejected from overhead lockers into the cabin, all 155 passengers and crew survived, with two passengers sustaining minor injuries. The investigation cited an excessive sink rate and the crew's failure to maintain a sterile cockpit as primary factors.

Pilot Error

Régional Flight 7775, operating for Air France, crashed during takeoff from Pau Pyrénées Airport after wing icing caused a stall and loss of control. Immediately after liftoff, the aircraft experienced severe uncommanded rolls to the left and right, reaching bank angles of up to 67 degrees. The captain attempted to abort the takeoff, but the aircraft exited the runway, crossed a perimeter fence, and its left main landing gear struck a truck on a nearby road, killing the driver. All 54 occupants on the aircraft survived.

Weather

On January 24, 2007, Air West Flight 612 was hijacked by a lone gunman shortly after departing Khartoum for Al-Fashir. The hijacker, 26-year-old Mohamed Abdu Altif, entered the cockpit and demanded to be flown to London via Rome to seek asylum and protest the conflict in Darfur. Due to fuel limitations, the aircraft diverted to N'Djamena, Chad, where it was escorted by French fighter jets. The hijacker surrendered peacefully after negotiations, and all 103 occupants survived without injury.

Security / Sabotage

On January 9, 2007, an Antonov An-26B-100 operated by AerianTur-M crashed while attempting to land at Joint Base Balad in Iraq during heavy fog. The aircraft, chartered by the Kulak Construction Company, was transporting a multinational group of workers including Turkish, Moldovan, Russian, Ukrainian, and American nationals. The crew aborted their first landing attempt due to poor visibility. During the second approach, the plane struck the ground approximately 2.5 kilometers short of the runway, killing 34 of the 35 people on board. While the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed to have shot down the aircraft, official investigations cited weather conditions and the crew's inability to locate the runway as the primary factors.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared from radar and crashed into the Makassar Strait after the pilots became preoccupied with troubleshooting a malfunctioning Inertial Reference System (IRS). While attempting to rectify the navigation error, the pilots inadvertently disconnected the autopilot and failed to monitor the aircraft's attitude. The Boeing 737 entered an increasingly steep right bank that transitioned into a high-speed dive. The aircraft suffered a structural failure due to aerodynamic forces exceeding design limits before impacting the water at near the speed of sound.

Human Factors (CRM)

On December 27, 2006, a CHC Scotia SA 365N Dauphin 2 helicopter crashed into the Irish Sea while attempting a night visual approach to the North Morecambe gas platform. The co-pilot, who was the handling pilot, became spatially disoriented due to extremely limited visual cues on a dark, overcast night. As the helicopter entered an unusual attitude, the co-pilot requested assistance, but an imprecise transfer of control and subsequent distraction of the commander led to a continued descent into the water. All seven people on board were killed.

Human Factors (CRM)

A Bell 412SP medical helicopter crashed into mountainous terrain in the Cajon Pass during a repositioning flight under dark night conditions. The pilot, who was flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), inadvertently entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) caused by intermittent waves of fog. The aircraft diverged from its intended path along Interstate 15 and struck a ravine at approximately 4,026 feet MSL, near a 100-foot electrical transmission tower. All three crew members on board were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact and a post-crash fire.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

ADC Airlines Flight 053 crashed shortly after takeoff from Abuja during a windshear encounter. The pilot elected to take off despite deteriorating weather and warnings of a thunderstorm. Upon encountering windshear, the crew failed to follow standard recovery procedures, instead pulling back on the control column and causing a high-pitch attitude that led to a full aerodynamic stall and engine power loss. The aircraft impacted a corn field, killing 96 people, including the Sultan of Sokoto.

Pilot Error

Continental Airlines Flight 1883 landed on a 75 foot wide taxiway instead of the intended runway at Newark Liberty International Airport. The flight crew misidentified Taxiway Z as Runway 29 during a night circling approach. Despite the narrow surface and the presence of a 124 foot wingspan, the Boeing 757 touched down at 130 knots and rolled out safely without injuries or damage to the aircraft.

Pilot Error

A Swedish Coast Guard CASA C-212 crashed into the Falsterbo Canal after its port wing separated during a low-level demonstration flight. The aircraft was performing a series of fly-bys for a group of schoolchildren and coast guard personnel when, during a wing-tipping maneuver, the left wing suffered a catastrophic structural failure. All four crew members on board were killed. The investigation identified a pre-existing 84 cm fatigue crack in the wing's lower skin that had gone undetected due to an inadequate maintenance program and a design that allowed unintended vertical loads to be transmitted through the wing fairings.

Mechanical Failure

A Cirrus SR20 private aircraft carrying New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor crashed into the Belaire Apartments in Manhattan after failing to complete a 180-degree turn within the narrow East River VFR corridor. The aircraft was flying northbound at approximately 700 feet when it attempted a U-turn near the northern tip of Roosevelt Island. Due to a combination of limited turning space and a 13 knot easterly wind that pushed the aircraft toward the buildings, the pilots were unable to maintain a sufficient turning radius. The aircraft struck the 30th floor of the condominium tower, killing both occupants and causing a multi-floor fire.

Pilot Error

Atlantic Airways Flight 670 overran the runway at Stord Airport after its lift spoilers failed to deploy upon landing. The flight crew, unable to achieve expected deceleration, engaged the emergency braking system, which lacked anti-skid protection. On the damp, non-grooved runway, this caused the wheels to lock and initiated reverted rubber hydroplaning, significantly reducing braking friction. The aircraft exited the runway at low speed and slid down a steep, rocky embankment, where it burst into flames. Four of the sixteen people on board were killed in the subsequent fire.

Mechanical Failure

A mid-air collision occurred between a brand-new Gol Airlines Boeing 737 and an ExcelAire Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon rainforest. The Legacy's winglet and left horizontal stabilizer sliced through the 737's left wing, causing the airliner to spiral into the jungle; all 154 people aboard the Boeing 737 were killed. The Legacy, despite significant damage to its wing and tail assembly, managed an emergency landing at a military airbase. The investigation revealed a catastrophic failure of the air traffic control system, which placed both aircraft at the same altitude on the same airway in opposite directions, compounded by the inadvertent deactivation of the Legacy's transponder and TCAS.

Human Factors (Operational) · Multi-aircraft

A Russian Air Force Mil Mi-8 helicopter carrying high-ranking military officials crashed and caught fire near Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, resulting in 12 fatalities. The aircraft was transporting a delegation of senior officers, including three generals, when it went down in the Yuzhny district. While the Islamist terrorist group Kataib al-Khoul claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter, official Russian sources also considered adverse weather conditions as a potential factor in the crash.

Other

An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154M burst into flames during its landing roll at Mashhad International Airport, resulting in 28 fatalities. The aircraft was completing a domestic flight from Bandar Abbas when it suffered a runway excursion and fire. While the specific cause was not definitively determined by investigators, it is widely believed that a nose gear tire failure initiated the sequence of events that led to the aircraft veering off the runway and catching fire.

Other

Comair Flight 5191 crashed after attempting to take off from a runway that was too short for the aircraft. The crew mistakenly lined up on Runway 26 instead of the assigned Runway 22 in pre-dawn darkness.

Pilot Error

Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 entered an unrecoverable flat stall and crashed while attempting to fly over a severe thunderstorm. The crew's decision to climb to the aircraft's service ceiling in turbulent conditions led to an excessive angle of attack and a loss of control.

Pilot Error

Air Algérie Flight 2208, a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules cargo flight, crashed near Piacenza, Italy, following a sudden loss of control at cruising altitude. While flying at FL240, the crew reported an autopilot failure, which was followed by a rapid, steep descent that the pilots were unable to recover. The aircraft struck the ground at high speed in a sparsely populated agricultural area, narrowly avoiding residential zones. All three crew members were killed. Investigators determined the crash was likely caused by a technical malfunction in the flight control system, though the extreme fragmentation of the wreckage and the use of an obsolete flight data recorder prevented a definitive identification of the specific failed component.

Mechanical Failure

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashed into a mango orchard shortly after takeoff from Multan during a scheduled flight to Lahore, which was intended to continue to Islamabad. The crash occurred following a right-hand engine failure. The investigation revealed that the engine failed due to improper assembly during a previous overhaul, but the crash was ultimately caused by the flight crew's failure to follow emergency procedures. These errors included failing to retract the landing gear and prematurely retracting the flaps, leading to a stall at low altitude.

Human Factors (Operational)

S7 Airlines Flight 778 overran the runway at Irkutsk International Airport after the left engine inadvertently transitioned to forward thrust during the landing roll. While the crew was using the right engine's thrust reverser, the captain's hand accidentally pushed the left throttle lever forward. This caused the aircraft to accelerate, overpowered the braking systems, and disabled the ground spoilers. The aircraft crashed through a concrete perimeter wall and struck a complex of private garages, sparking a massive fire that claimed 125 lives.

Pilot Error

A Yeti Airlines Twin Otter crashed during a sudden go-around at Jumla Airport after the crew attempted a high-speed approach to the wrong runway. Despite being cleared for runway 27, the captain attempted to land on runway 09, realized the approach was unstable, and initiated a steep, low-altitude turn to reposition for runway 27. During this maneuver, the aircraft stalled at a high bank angle and impacted a paddy field 500 meters east of the airport, killing all nine people on board.

Pilot Error