Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 crashed into the northwest slope of Pilot Knob Mountain during an unauthorized instrument approach to Glens Falls, New York. The aircraft struck a rock cliff at approximately 1,960 feet elevation after the captain exceeded his clearance limits and encountered a severe downdraft on the lee side of the mountain. All 14 occupants were killed when the aircraft fell 38 feet from the cliff face and was destroyed by a post-crash fire.

Pilot Error

Allegheny Airlines Flight 853, a DC-9-31, collided mid-air with a Piper PA-28-140 light aircraft while descending toward Indianapolis. The collision occurred at approximately 3,550 feet when the Piper's left wing struck the DC-9's tail assembly, shearing off the horizontal stabilizer. Both aircraft crashed with no survivors. The investigation highlighted the failure of the 'see and avoid' concept in mixed IFR/VFR traffic environments and the limitations of the air traffic control system at the time.

Human Factors (Operational) · Multi-aircraft

On August 31, 1969, a Cessna 172H Skyhawk crashed into a pasture near Newton, Iowa, during a VFR flight into adverse weather conditions. The accident resulted in the deaths of all three occupants, including former world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano. The pilot, who lacked experience in night flying and bad weather, attempted to divert to Newton to avoid a storm system building near Des Moines. While attempting to land, the aircraft entered a low cloud layer, and the pilot lost control during an attempted overshoot, striking a lone oak tree.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Aeroflot Flight 1770, an Ilyushin Il-18B, performed a gear-up landing at Vnukovo Airport after the crew failed to extend the landing gear during the approach. The aircraft struck the runway on its belly, causing a fire to break out. Of the 101 occupants on board, 16 passengers were killed in the resulting fire and evacuation, while 85 others survived. The accident was attributed to pilot error, specifically the failure to follow landing checklists which resulted in the aircraft arriving at the threshold in a clean configuration.

Pilot Error

A Boeing 707-331C training flight crashed during a simulated engine-out missed approach after a fatigue failure in a hydraulic line led to a total loss of hydraulic pressure. While performing a go-around with the No. 4 engine at idle, the crew discovered the flaps and landing gear were unresponsive. Upon realizing hydraulic fluid had reached zero, the crew followed a checklist to shut down all hydraulic pumps, which disabled the rudder boost. Without hydraulic assistance for the rudder and with asymmetric thrust from the simulated engine failure, the pilots lost directional control at low speed. The aircraft entered a steep right bank and impacted the ground near the airport ramp.

Human Factors (Operational)

A U.S. Navy EC-121M Warning Star reconnaissance aircraft, call sign Deep Sea 129, was shot down by North Korean MiG-21 fighters while flying a routine intelligence mission in international airspace. All 31 crew members on board were killed, marking the largest single loss of American aircrew during the Cold War. The aircraft was unarmed and lacked a fighter escort at the time of the attack, despite recent warnings of increased North Korean hostility.

Military Action

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashed into the northern slope of Polica mountain during a snowstorm while on approach to Kraków. The aircraft was approximately 50 kilometers south of its intended destination and flying at an altitude of 1,200 meters when it struck the terrain. All 53 passengers and crew members were killed. The official investigation concluded that the crew had become lost, though the specific reasons for the significant navigational deviation remained largely classified for decades.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A United Arab Airlines Ilyushin Il-18D crashed during its third landing attempt at Aswan International Airport in darkness and poor visibility caused by a sandstorm. The aircraft was returning Muslim pilgrims from the Hajj in Mecca when it descended below the minimum safe altitude, struck the runway with its starboard wing, and burst into flames. Investigators cited pilot fatigue and the decision to continue the approach without visual contact with the runway as the primary causes.

Pilot Error

Viasa Flight 742 crashed shortly after takeoff from Maracaibo's Grano de Oro Airport, striking power lines and plunging into the La Trinidad residential district. The aircraft was severely overloaded for the prevailing high temperatures, a condition caused by faulty runway temperature sensors that provided the crew with erroneous performance data. All 84 people on board and 71 people on the ground were killed, making it the deadliest aviation disaster in the world at the time.

Human Factors (Operational)

Prinair Flight 277 crashed into the Sierra de Luquillo mountains after an air traffic control trainee mistakenly identified the aircraft's position, vectoring it into high terrain at an unsafe altitude. The controller believed the aircraft was three miles east of the Isla Verde intersection, when it was actually three miles east of the Fajardo intersection, approximately 10 miles further east than assumed. Following the controller's instructions to descend to 3,000 feet while on a heading for the final approach, the pilots flew into a mountain peak at an elevation of approximately 2,400 feet. All 19 people on board were killed.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 struck a sheer cliff face on the eastern slope of Mount Whitney during a night flight in deteriorating weather. The crew had deviated from their FAA-authorized route to fly a more direct path through the Owens Valley. Encountering unforecast headwinds and poor visibility, the pilots likely miscalculated their position using dead reckoning and turned toward their destination prematurely, flying directly into high mountainous terrain. The wreckage remained undiscovered for nearly six months due to heavy snow and the remote location.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

United Airlines Flight 266 crashed into Santa Monica Bay following a total loss of electrical power shortly after takeoff. The aircraft was operating with one inoperative generator under MEL provisions when a fire warning on engine #1 prompted the crew to shut it down, losing a second generator. The final remaining generator then failed for undetermined reasons. In total darkness and without functioning attitude instruments, the crew suffered spatial disorientation and lost control of the aircraft, which impacted the water in a steep nose-down attitude.

Sensor / Instrument Failure

Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933 crashed into the Santa Monica Bay during an instrument approach to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after the crew became distracted by a landing gear indicator malfunction. While descending toward runway 07R in darkness and fog, the pilots failed to monitor their altitude as they attempted to troubleshoot a nose gear light that remained red. The aircraft struck the water approximately six nautical miles west of the airport, breaking into three sections. Of the 45 people on board, 15 perished, primarily due to drowning as sections of the fuselage sank.

Human Factors (CRM)

Allegheny Airlines Flight 737 crashed while attempting an instrument approach to Bradford Regional Airport, coming to rest inverted on a snow-covered golf course. The accident occurred just 13 days after another Allegheny CV-580, Flight 736, crashed while approaching the same airport under similar conditions. Despite an extensive investigation, the NTSB was unable to determine a definitive cause, narrowing the possibilities to three undetermined factors: a misread altimeter, a mechanical altimeter malfunction, or a misinterpretation of the approach chart. The crash resulted in the deaths of both pilots and nine passengers.

Unknown

Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashed into a house in Fernhill while attempting a low-visibility approach to London-Gatwick Airport in freezing fog. The aircraft descended below the glide slope after the captain disconnected the autopilot and incorrectly configured the flaps, leading to a rapid loss of altitude that was not detected until it was too late to recover. The accident resulted in the deaths of 48 people on board and two residents on the ground.

Pilot Error

MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 suffered a catastrophic structural failure of the right wing during its descent into Port Hedland, resulting in the deaths of all 26 people on board. The starboard outer wing separated in flight, followed by the tail section and the remaining engines due to extreme aerodynamic loads. Investigators determined that a maintenance error involving the improper installation of a steel bush had introduced severe scoring and eliminated the necessary interference fit in the wing's main spar lower boom. This defect accelerated metal fatigue, causing the spar to fracture at only 70% of its mandated retirement life.

Structural Failure

North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashed into a hangar during an instrument approach to Chicago O'Hare International Airport in low visibility conditions. The aircraft was performing a normal approach until it reached approximately 210 feet above the ground, at which point it entered a sustained climb. The captain eventually initiated a go-around, but the aircraft stalled, rolled nearly inverted, and struck a hangar door. The investigation determined the captain suffered spatial disorientation caused by atmospheric refraction of the approach or landing lights while transitioning from instrument to visual flight. Of the 45 people on board, 27 were killed (24 passengers and 3 crew members). Additionally, one person on the ground died from their injuries, resulting in a total of 28 fatalities.

Human Factors (Operational)

Pan Am Flight 799, a Boeing 707 cargo flight, crashed shortly after takeoff from Elmendorf Air Force Base when the crew attempted to depart with the flaps fully retracted. The aircraft stalled immediately after liftoff, banked right, and struck the ground less than a minute into the flight. The investigation revealed that the flaps had been retracted by the captain to prevent icing during taxi, but the crew failed to re-extend them because the 'lower flaps' item was missing from the pre-takeoff checklist. Additionally, the aircraft's takeoff warning system failed to sound because the airline had not implemented a manufacturer service bulletin that would have ensured the warning triggered under cold-weather thrust settings.

Human Factors (Operational)

Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashed into a wooded ridge during a non-precision approach to Bradford Regional Airport in a snowstorm. The aircraft descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA) while both pilots were looking outside the cockpit to establish visual contact with the runway. The Convair CV-580 struck trees approximately 2.1 nautical miles short of the runway and came to rest inverted. Despite the severity of the impact and a blinding snowstorm that delayed rescuers, 27 occupants survived, many by huddling around a bonfire made from luggage and seat cushions.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Pan Am Flight 217 crashed into the Caribbean Sea during a night visual approach to Caracas, killing all 51 people on board. The aircraft disappeared from radar approximately 18 miles from the airport. Investigators believe the crew succumbed to an optical illusion caused by city lights on upsloping terrain, leading them to descend prematurely into the water.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 suffered a catastrophic in-flight structural failure when it encountered unforecast extreme turbulence near Pedro Bay. The right wing, weakened by pre-existing fatigue cracks that had gone undetected during maintenance, separated from the fuselage, leading to an uncontrollable spinning descent into Foxies Lake.

Structural Failure

Japan Airlines Flight 2 landed in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay, approximately 2.5 miles short of the runway, during a heavy fog approach. The captain, attempting an automatic-coupled ILS approach for the first time in a DC-8-62, failed to follow prescribed procedures and descended below the glide slope without realizing the aircraft's proximity to the water. All 107 occupants evacuated without injury, and the nearly new aircraft was successfully salvaged, repaired, and returned to service. The event is famously remembered for Captain Kohei Asoh's candid admission of responsibility, often referred to as the Asoh Defense.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A United States Air Force B-52D Stratofortress crashed and exploded during an aborted takeoff at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. The aircraft, heavily laden with fuel and 30,000 pounds of conventional bombs for an Operation Arc Light mission, overran the runway and caught fire. The subsequent detonation of the bomb load created a massive crater and caused significant damage to surrounding civilian structures. Two crew members, the Electronic Warfare Officer and the Crew Chief, later died from burn injuries.

Other

Northeast Airlines Flight 946 crashed into the cloud-shrouded side of Moose Mountain during an instrument approach to Lebanon Municipal Airport, killing 32 of the 42 people on board. The aircraft was flying nearly 600 feet below its required minimum altitude when it struck trees approximately 57 feet below the mountain summit. Investigators determined the crew had performed a nonstandard, abbreviated approach and initiated a premature descent based on premature navigational instrument indications of station passage. The crash remains the deadliest commercial aviation accident in New Hampshire history.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)