Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Air Transport International Flight 782 crashed during a three-engine ferry takeoff after the crew lost directional control and rotated the aircraft prematurely. The flight was being repositioned for maintenance after the No. 1 engine failed to start. During the second takeoff attempt, the aircraft veered left, suffered a tailstrike, and briefly became airborne before stalling and crashing with the left wing hitting the ground first. The NTSB attributed the accident to the captain's decision to continue the takeoff below the computed rotation airspeed, inadequate training for three-engine operations, and crew fatigue resulting from shortened rest periods permitted under Part 91 regulations.

Pilot Error

On February 10, 1995, the first prototype of the Antonov An-70 transport aircraft collided mid-air with its An-72V chase plane during a test flight near Borodianka, Ukraine. The An-70 was conducting its fourth test flight to evaluate stability and controllability when its crew initiated a hazardous maneuver to approach the chase plane. The An-70's tail struck the fuselage and propfan of the An-72V, which caused the An-70 to lose its left horizontal stabilizer and part of its tail unit. While the damaged An-72V managed to return to Gostomel for a safe landing, the An-70 entered an uncontrollable dive and crashed into a wooded area, killing all seven crew members on board.

Pilot Error · Multi-aircraft

A TransAsia Airways ATR 72-200 crashed into a hillside in the Guishan District while performing a ferry flight from Penghu to Taipei. The aircraft deviated from its assigned course during the approach to Songshan Airport, resulting in a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) that killed all four crew members on board. Investigators determined the crew failed to maintain situational awareness and did not cross-check their navigation aids during the flight.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Bristow Helicopters Flight 56C was a scheduled transport flight carrying 16 oil workers that was forced to ditch in the North Sea after a lightning strike destroyed the tail rotor. While flying through a localized storm, the helicopter was struck by a bolt of lightning that exploited a design vulnerability in the carbon fiber composite rotor blades. The strike caused the composite material to delaminate and explode, leading to a total loss of yaw control. The flight crew successfully performed an emergency autorotation into heavy seas. Despite 2-meter waves and freezing conditions, all 18 occupants evacuated into a life raft and were rescued by a standby vessel.

Weather

A McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashed into a marshy lagoon during a night approach to Cartagena after the crew lost situational awareness due to a faulty altimeter. The captain's altimeter was stuck at 16,200 feet, while the first officer's altimeter, though functional, was unlit and not cross-checked. The aircraft impacted the ground at high speed, leaving a nine-year-old girl as the sole survivor.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6715 disappeared while en route from Bima to Ruteng during a period of severe weather. The aircraft, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, is believed to have crashed into the Molo Strait off the coast of Flores. Despite search efforts, no wreckage or survivors were ever located, and all 14 people on board were presumed dead. Investigators cited bad weather as the most probable cause, though alternative theories regarding an in-flight explosion were also considered.

Weather

Turkish Airlines Flight 278, carrying 69 passengers and 7 crew members, crashed into a hill during a snowstorm while attempting a third VOR-DME approach to Van Ferit Melen Airport. Despite warnings from air traffic control to cease approach attempts due to deteriorating visibility, the crew continued below weather minima. The aircraft struck terrain at approximately 5,700 feet, roughly 4 kilometers from the runway, resulting in 57 fatalities. While some sources describe this as the second approach, detailed records indicate it was the third attempt.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked on the ground in Algiers by four members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) posing as presidential police. Over the course of a two day standoff, the hijackers executed three passengers to pressure Algerian authorities to allow the aircraft to depart for France. The hijackers' ultimate plan was to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. After the aircraft was permitted to fly to Marseille for refueling, French GIGN commandos stormed the plane on December 26, 1994. In the ensuing gunfight, all four hijackers were killed, and 25 people were injured, but all remaining 229 passengers and crew survived.

Security / Sabotage

Air Algérie Flight 702P, a Boeing 737-200 freighter leased to Phoenix Aviation, crashed during a Surveillance Radar Approach (SRA) to Coventry Airport in thick fog. The aircraft descended significantly below the Minimum Descent Height (MDH) and struck an 86-foot electricity transmission pylon located 1.1 miles from the runway threshold. The collision caused the aircraft to roll uncontrollably to the left, clipping houses before crashing inverted into a wooded area. All five people on board were killed, though no one on the ground was injured.

Pilot Error

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379, operating as American Eagle, crashed during an ILS approach to Raleigh-Durham International Airport after the captain mistakenly believed an engine had failed. The captain was distracted by the illumination of a left engine ignition (IGN) light, which had actually triggered due to a momentary negative torque condition when the power levers were at flight idle. Misinterpreting this as a flameout, the captain initiated a go-around but failed to follow single-engine procedures, allowing the airspeed to decay until the aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall. The aircraft impacted a wooded area 4 miles southwest of the runway, killing 15 of the 20 people on board.

Pilot Error

A small improvised explosive device detonated in the passenger cabin of Philippine Airlines Flight 434 during its second leg from Cebu to Tokyo. The bomb, planted by terrorist Ramzi Yousef during the flight's first leg, killed one passenger and severed several control cables, including those for the ailerons. Despite the loss of primary lateral control and damage to the hydraulic systems, the flight crew successfully performed an emergency landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa using asymmetrical engine thrust for steering.

Security / Sabotage

A Trans World Airlines MD-82 collided with a Cessna 441 Conquest II during its takeoff roll at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The Cessna pilot had mistakenly taxied onto Runway 30R instead of the assigned Runway 31, placing the smaller aircraft directly in the path of the departing jet. The MD-82 crew attempted an emergency stop and evasive steering, but the right wing struck the Cessna, shearing off its upper fuselage and killing both occupants. All 140 people aboard the MD-82 survived the collision and subsequent evacuation.

Pilot Error · Multi-aircraft

American Eagle Flight 4184 entered an uncommanded roll and plummeted into a soybean field after encountering severe icing conditions while in a holding pattern. The investigation revealed that supercooled large droplets (SLD) formed a ridge of ice behind the de-icing boots, causing a sudden aileron hinge moment reversal that overpowered the pilots and the autopilot.

Mechanical Failure

Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 746 crashed into a mountain near Natanz after suffering a dual engine flameout. While fuel contamination is frequently cited as the suspected cause, the official investigation did not definitively establish the trigger for the failure. The Fokker F28 was approximately 35 minutes into its flight from Isfahan to Tehran when both engines lost power simultaneously. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted terrain 47 seconds later, killing all 66 people on board.

Unknown

A Cheremshanka Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 crashed into the bank of the Chamba River following total fuel exhaustion and the simultaneous flameout of all three engines. The flight was originally bound for Tura, but after three failed landing attempts in deteriorating weather conditions that were not communicated by air traffic control, the crew attempted to divert to Vanavara. Due to poor flight planning and the selection of a distant alternate airport despite having low fuel reserves, the aircraft ran out of fuel 41 kilometers short of its destination. The crew attempted an emergency landing in a swampy area, but the aircraft struck trees, rolled inverted, and crashed, killing all 28 people on board.

Human Factors (Operational)

USAir Flight 427 entered an uncontrolled roll and plummeted into a wooded ravine while on approach to Pittsburgh. The investigation, which became the longest in NTSB history at the time, revealed a critical design flaw in the Boeing 737 rudder system. A malfunction in the Power Control Unit (PCU) caused the rudder to deflect fully in the opposite direction of the pilots' commands, a phenomenon known as rudder reversal. All 132 people on board were killed.

Mechanical Failure

Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 crashed into the Atlas Mountains approximately ten minutes after takeoff from Agadir. The investigation concluded that the captain deliberately disconnected the autopilot and placed the aircraft into a steep dive to commit suicide. All 44 people on board, including a Kuwaiti prince, were killed in the high-speed impact.

Pilot Error

Korean Air Flight 2033, an Airbus A300 carrying 152 passengers and 8 crew members, overran the runway at Jeju International Airport after a breakdown in cockpit coordination during a landing in typhoon conditions. The aircraft touched down at excessive speed nearly two-thirds of the way down the runway because the crew was divided on whether to land or execute a go-around. The aircraft crashed through the airport perimeter wall and caught fire, but all 160 occupants evacuated safely before the aircraft was destroyed.

Human Factors (CRM)

USAir Flight 1016 crashed during a missed approach at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after encountering a severe microburst-induced windshear. The aircraft transitioned from a 39-knot headwind to a 26-knot tailwind in just 14 seconds, causing a rapid loss of altitude. The flight crew failed to maintain the proper pitch and thrust settings required for windshear recovery, and the onboard warning system failed to activate due to software logic issues during flap transition. The aircraft struck trees and a residential carport, breaking into four sections.

Human Factors (Operational)

An Airbus A330-321 crashed during a certification test flight at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, killing all seven people on board. The flight was intended to test the autopilot's performance during a simulated engine failure at takeoff with an extreme aft center of gravity. Following rotation, the aircraft entered a steep climb that the crew failed to manage effectively, leading to a low-speed stall and a roll into the ground. The investigation cited a combination of factors including inappropriate thrust and trim settings, autopilot mode confusion, and crew fatigue.

Pilot Error

A Boeing B-52H Stratofortress crashed during a practice flight for an upcoming airshow after the pilot maneuvered the aircraft beyond its operational limits. During a steeply banked 360-degree turn at low altitude to avoid restricted airspace, the aircraft stalled, rolled past 90 degrees, and struck the ground. The investigation highlighted a long-standing history of dangerous piloting by the aircraft commander, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur 'Bud' Holland, and a failure by USAF leadership to take corrective action despite numerous previous safety violations.

Pilot Error

China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup just minutes after departing Xi'an. The aircraft began experiencing violent oscillations and erratic behavior shortly after takeoff. When the crew engaged the autopilot to stabilize the flight, the system exacerbated the movements, leading to extreme aerodynamic loads that exceeded the airframe's structural limits. The aircraft disintegrated in mid-air, killing all 160 people on board. It remains the deadliest aviation accident in mainland China.

Human Factors (Maintenance)

A Royal Air Force Chinook HC.2 carrying 4 crew and 25 senior intelligence and security personnel crashed into a fog-shrouded hillside on the Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29 people on board. The initial RAF Board of Inquiry controversially blamed the pilots for gross negligence, alleging they flew into the hillside while in cloud. This verdict was formally overturned in 2011 after decades of campaigning and multiple inquiries highlighted significant concerns regarding the airworthiness of the Chinook Mk2 and its FADEC engine control software. The exact cause remains a subject of intense debate, with theories ranging from pilot error to catastrophic mechanical failure.

Other

China Airlines Flight 140 crashed during approach to Nagoya Airport after the First Officer inadvertently triggered the Take-Off/Go-Around (TO/GA) mode. The flight crew attempted to override the autopilot's resulting climb by pushing forward on the control columns, leading to a fatal 'dual-input' conflict where the horizontal stabilizer moved to a full nose-up position, causing a stall.

Human Factors (Operational)