Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashed into a residential neighborhood during a night approach to Albany International Airport following a mechanical failure of the left propeller cruise pitch lock. The flight crew encountered a malfunction that prevented the left propeller from reducing thrust for landing. While attempting to troubleshoot the issue, the crew successfully shut down the engine but failed to feather the propeller, resulting in high asymmetric drag. Preoccupied with the mechanical emergency, the crew allowed the aircraft to descend undetected below the prescribed minimum altitude, striking a house 3.5 miles south of the runway. The accident resulted in 17 fatalities: 16 people on board (2 crew members and 14 passengers) and one resident on the ground.

Human Factors (CRM)

JAT Flight 367 was a scheduled international flight from Stockholm to Belgrade with stopovers in Copenhagen and Zagreb. On January 26, 1972, the aircraft was destroyed mid-air by a briefcase bomb placed in the forward baggage compartment, leading to the deaths of 27 of the 28 people on board. The aircraft disintegrated at approximately 33,000 feet over the village of Srbská Kamenice in Czechoslovakia during the Copenhagen-Zagreb leg. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović was the sole survivor, falling to the ground while trapped in a section of the fuselage. The bombing was attributed to Croatian nationalist terrorists, specifically the Ustaše, who claimed responsibility for the attack the following day.

Security / Sabotage

A Turkish Airlines DC-9-32 crashed into a field during an emergency approach to Adana Sakirpasa Airport in poor visibility, resulting in one fatality. The aircraft was being repositioned from Jeddah to Ankara after a Hajj charter when the crew reported technical issues and diverted to Adana. After an initial go-around due to low visibility, the aircraft struck the ground 6 kilometres from the runway during its second attempt and caught fire.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Iberia Flight 602 crashed into the Sierra de Atalayasa mountain while on approach to Ibiza Airport, killing all 104 people on board. The aircraft, a Sud Aviation Caravelle, struck the mountain approximately 90 feet below its summit during a visual approach to Runway 07. Investigators determined the flight crew failed to maintain minimum safe altitude and were distracted by non-essential conversations with air traffic control regarding a football match.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

An Ilyushin Il-18V crashed shortly after takeoff from Sofia Airport due to a control reversal caused by incorrectly installed elevator cables. The aircraft had just undergone extensive maintenance prior to the flight, during which the elevator controls were reportedly crossed. The flight was a non-scheduled charter carrying a Bulgarian cultural delegation, including the Sofia Orchestra and the popular singer Pasha Hristova, who was among the 28 fatalities.

Human Factors (Maintenance)

Aeroflot Flight 2174 crashed during its approach to Saratov after encountering severe icing conditions that led to a loss of control. The aircraft, an Antonov An-24B, was on a domestic flight from Yekaterinburg with a stop in Ufa. During the descent, ice accumulated on the airframe, significantly increasing drag and reducing lift. Despite the crew increasing engine power to compensate, the aircraft entered a high rate of descent and struck the ground 13 kilometers northwest of the airport. Investigators found that the anti-icing systems were not activated at the time of the crash.

Weather

A Royal Air Force Lockheed Hercules C.1, operating as part of a large-scale joint training exercise, crashed into the sea near the Meloria rocks shortly after departing Pisa. All 52 personnel on board, including 46 Italian paratroopers and 6 British crew members, were killed. The accident was described as Italy's worst peacetime military air disaster at the time.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Aeroflot Flight 773 was destroyed by an explosive device shortly after departing Moscow Vnukovo Airport. The explosion, caused by a bomb containing 400 to 800 grams of TNT, occurred in the passenger cabin near seat 45. The blast severed control cables to the tail and damaged the left side of the fuselage, causing the aircraft to roll violently to the right and lose altitude. The aircraft disintegrated partially in flight before crashing near the village of Baranovo, killing all 25 people on board. The investigation concluded in 1973 without identifying the perpetrator.

Security / Sabotage

A Vickers Vanguard suffered a catastrophic structural failure of its rear pressure bulkhead while cruising at 19,000 feet. The resulting explosive decompression blew out the tailplane surfaces, causing the aircraft to enter an uncontrollable vertical dive. All 63 people on board were killed when the aircraft struck farmland near Aarsele, Belgium.

Structural Failure

A Hawker Siddeley Trident 1E carrying Lin Biao, the designated successor to Mao Zedong, crashed in eastern Mongolia while fleeing China following a failed political coup. All nine people on board were killed. The Chinese government officially attributed the crash to fuel starvation after a rushed departure, while Soviet medical experts who examined the site suggested the aircraft was in a controlled flight into terrain, possibly due to pilot error or fatigue. The incident remains one of the most significant political mysteries in the history of the People's Republic of China.

Other

Paninternational Flight 112, a charter flight originating in Hannover, crashed onto the A7 Autobahn shortly after its intermediate stop in Hamburg when both engines failed due to a maintenance fueling error. During the climb, the crew activated the engine water-injection system to boost thrust for takeoff. However, two of the canisters used to fill the aircraft's water tank had been mistakenly filled with kerosene jet fuel during maintenance in Düsseldorf the previous night. When this kerosene was injected into the engines instead of demineralized water, it caused severe overheating and catastrophic turbine damage. The pilots attempted an emergency landing on the highway, but the aircraft struck an overpass, causing the fuselage to break apart and catch fire.

Human Factors (Maintenance)

Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashed into a mountain in the Chilkat Range while on approach to Juneau International Airport, killing all 111 people on board. The investigation revealed that the crew received misleading navigational information, leading them to believe they were further along the localizer course than they actually were. This resulted in a premature descent into terrain during instrument meteorological conditions. At the time, it was the deadliest single-aircraft accident in U.S. history.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Malév Flight 731 crashed into the Øresund strait during a heavy rainstorm while on final approach to Copenhagen Airport. The aircraft suddenly nosed down and struck the water approximately 10 kilometers from the runway, breaking into three pieces. While three passengers initially survived the impact and were rescued from the wreckage, one died in the hospital three days later. The investigation initially struggled to identify the cause due to the lack of flight recorders and the crew's failure to apply power to counter the descent. It was later concluded that the aircraft likely encountered a microburst, a violent weather phenomenon that was not well understood at the time.

Weather

A mid-air collision occurred between an All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-86F Sabre fighter jet. The Boeing 727 disintegrated in mid-air, killing all 162 people on board. The student pilot of the F-86 successfully ejected and survived, while his instructor also survived.

Mid-air Collision · Multi-aircraft

Pan Am Flight 845 struck approach lighting system structures at the end of runway 01R during a heavy-weight takeoff from San Francisco. The crew had calculated takeoff speeds for a 10-degree flap setting intended for a different runway; when they switched to runway 01R and increased flaps to 20 degrees, they failed to update these speeds. This resulted in a rotation speed that was too high for the available runway length. Despite severe structural damage, including angle iron penetrating the cabin floor and the loss of three hydraulic systems, the aircraft successfully returned for an emergency landing. All 218 occupants survived, though 29 were injured, some seriously, during the impact and subsequent chaotic evacuation.

Pilot Error

Aeroflot Flight 1912 crashed during a night approach to Irkutsk Airport after a malfunction in the aircraft's airspeed indicators led the crew to fly dangerously slow. The Tupolev Tu-104B struck the ground 150 meters short of the runway, resulting in a hard landing that sheared off the left wing and ignited a massive fire. The investigation determined that the crew, misled by overstating instruments, reduced speed to approximately 270 km/h, well below the safe approach threshold, causing the aircraft to lose lift and bank sharply before impact.

Sensor / Instrument Failure

Toa Domestic Airlines Flight 63, a NAMC YS-11 named Bandai-go, crashed into the southern face of Mount Yokotsu during its approach to Hakodate. The flight crew experienced spatial disorientation due to strong southwesterly winds and severe turbulence, leading them to believe they had passed the Hakodate NDB when they were actually five nautical miles north of it. Based on this miscalculation, the crew initiated a premature descent into mountainous terrain while flying in thick clouds.

Pilot Error

Allegheny Airlines Flight 485 crashed into beach cottages during a non-precision approach to Tweed New Haven Regional Airport in dense fog. While 30 of the 31 occupants survived the initial impact, 27 of those survivors subsequently perished in the following fire because they were unable to open the rear service door. In total, 28 people died (one from impact, 27 from fire/smoke), leaving only three survivors. The NTSB determined the captain intentionally descended below the minimum descent altitude (MDA) in an attempt to establish visual contact with the runway, a decision influenced by a desire to recover time lost during previous weather delays.

Pilot Error

A Hughes Airwest DC-9 collided in mid-air with a U.S. Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II fighter jet over the San Gabriel Mountains. All 49 people aboard the DC-9 and the pilot of the F-4B were killed; the F-4B's Radar Intercept Officer successfully ejected.

Mid-air Collision · Multi-aircraft

An Aero Commander 680 Super crashed into the side of Brush Mountain during poor visibility, killing all six people on board, including Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II. The pilot, who was not instrument-rated, attempted to continue a visual flight into deteriorating weather conditions characterized by low ceilings, rain, and fog. The aircraft impacted the mountain at the 2,700-foot level while flying at high speed in a level attitude, approximately 12 miles northwest of Roanoke.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Aviogenex Flight 130 crashed during a hard landing at Rijeka Airport after the crew suffered an optical illusion caused by heavy rain and dusk. The aircraft struck the runway with excessive force, causing the right wing to detach and the fuselage to flip over. Although most occupants survived the initial impact, 78 people perished due to carbon monoxide poisoning and fire because the emergency exits were blocked by wreckage or jammed by fuselage deformation.

Human Factors (Operational)

An Aeroflot Antonov An-12B crashed during its second approach to Surgut Airport after the crew experienced a loss of control attributed to severe icing. The aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Tyumen when it encountered icing conditions that affected its aerodynamic stability during the landing configuration.

Weather

An Indian Airlines Fokker F27 named Ganga was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists, Hashim Qureshi and Ashraf Qureshi, during a domestic flight from Srinagar to Jammu. The aircraft was diverted to Lahore, Pakistan, where the 26 passengers and 6 crew members were eventually released and returned to India by road. After three days of negotiations and a meeting with Pakistani politician Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the hijackers destroyed the aircraft by fire. The incident led to India banning all Pakistani overflights, significantly hindering Pakistan's ability to transport troops to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the escalating civil unrest.

Security / Sabotage

An Aeroflot Antonov An-12B crashed during its approach to Surgut after severe wing icing caused a loss of control and aerodynamic stall. The investigation determined that the aircraft's ice protection system was ineffective because the engine bleed air valves were not fully open, preventing sufficient hot air from reaching the wing leading edges. The aircraft entered a progressive left bank and crashed into the ground near the Pochekuika River, killing all 14 people on board. This was the first of two nearly identical An-12 icing accidents at Surgut within a nine day period.

Mechanical Failure