Aviation Accident Summary Archive

El Al Flight 219 was the target of an attempted hijacking by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as part of the coordinated Dawson's Field hijackings. Shortly after departing a stopover in Amsterdam, two hijackers, Patrick Argüello and Leila Khaled, attempted to storm the cockpit using grenades and pistols. Captain Uri Bar-Lev performed a violent negative-G maneuver, throwing the hijackers off balance and allowing security personnel and passengers to subdue them. One hijacker was killed during the struggle, and a flight steward was seriously wounded, but the crew successfully maintained control of the aircraft and made an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport.

Security / Sabotage

Aeroflot Flight 3630 crashed near Dnipro after a sudden loss of control at cruise altitude, resulting in the deaths of all 37 people on board. The aircraft entered a steep, high-speed dive from 9,000 meters for reasons that investigators were never able to fully determine.

Unknown

China Airlines Flight 206 crashed into a bamboo grove on Yuan Mountain while attempting to land at Taipei Songshan Airport during a severe thunderstorm. The aircraft, a year old NAMC YS-11, encountered thick fog and heavy rain that reduced visibility to near zero. The investigation determined the cause to be controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) resulting from pilot error while operating in poor weather conditions. Of the 31 people on board, 14 were killed, including two crew members and 12 passengers.

Pilot Error

LANSA Flight 502 crashed shortly after takeoff from Cusco after the number 3 engine failed during the climb. The flight was carrying a large group of American exchange students. Following the engine failure, the crew failed to follow proper engine-out procedures, retracting flaps prematurely and entering a steep bank that led to a loss of control. The aircraft struck a hill in the San Jerónimo district, killing 99 of the 100 people on board and two people on the ground. The investigation cited poor maintenance and improper loading as contributing factors.

Pilot Error

Air Canada Flight 621 crashed near Toronto after a hard landing caused by the accidental deployment of ground spoilers in flight. During the landing flare, the First Officer mistakenly deployed the spoilers instead of arming them, causing the aircraft to drop abruptly and strike the runway. The impact ruptured fuel tanks in the right wing. Despite a successful go-around, the leaking fuel ignited, leading to three explosions and the eventual structural failure of the right wing.

Pilot Error

A de Havilland Comet 4 crashed into the Serralada del Montseny mountain range during its approach to Barcelona, killing all 112 people on board. The accident occurred after the flight crew mistakenly reported passing the Sabadell NDB while they were actually 28 nautical miles north of it. A simultaneous radar echo from another aircraft near the beacon led air traffic controllers to confirm the Comet's position erroneously, resulting in a clearance to descend below the safety altitude of the surrounding terrain.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

ALM Flight 980 ditched in the Caribbean Sea after exhausting its fuel supply following multiple unsuccessful landing attempts at St. Maarten. The aircraft, operated by Overseas National Airways (ONA) for ALM, encountered poor weather at its destination, leading to three missed approaches. Despite a late decision to divert to St. Croix, the engines flamed out due to fuel exhaustion, forcing a water landing in rough seas. While 40 occupants were rescued by helicopter, 23 others perished, largely due to poor cabin preparation and the failure of emergency equipment to deploy correctly.

Pilot Error

Philippine Airlines Flight 215 was destroyed in mid-air following the detonation of an explosive device in the rear lavatory. The explosion caused a rapid decompression and the complete separation of the tail section, leading to an uncontrolled descent and in-flight breakup. All 36 people on board were killed.

Security / Sabotage

Aeroflot Flight 1661 crashed after a mid-air collision with a meteorological radiosonde balloon assembly. The impact severed the aircraft's nose cone and destroyed the weather radar, leading to an uncontrolled high-speed descent and subsequent structural failure.

Other · Multi-aircraft

Swissair Flight 330 was destroyed by a barometric-triggered bomb hidden in the aft cargo hold shortly after departure from Zurich. The explosion caused a severe in-flight fire and smoke that eventually blinded the crew and disabled the aircraft's electrical systems. Despite a desperate attempt to return to the airport, the pilots lost control and crashed into a wooded area near Würenlingen, killing all 47 people on board. The attack was attributed to Palestinian extremists, though no one was ever brought to justice.

Security / Sabotage

Dominicana de Aviación Flight 603 crashed into the Caribbean Sea shortly after takeoff from Santo Domingo following a total loss of power in both engines. The investigation determined that the engines failed sequentially due to fuel contamination by water. All 102 people on board were killed, including the Dominican world lightweight boxing champion Carlos Teo Cruz and members of the Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team.

Engine Failure

Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 707 crashed near Loma Alta after encountering severe turbulence within a cumulonimbus cloud. The aircraft, an Avro 748, lost control during its third leg between Corrientes and Rosario, resulting in a steep dive and the death of all 37 people on board.

Weather

A Convair F-106A Delta Dart, nicknamed the Cornfield Bomber, performed an unpiloted belly landing in a snow-covered field after its pilot ejected during an unrecoverable flat spin. The aircraft recovered from the spin due to the change in weight, center of gravity, and the physical force of the ejection seat rocket blast. It settled into a stable glide and landed with only minor damage, eventually being repaired and returned to active service for another 16 years.

Other

A Spantax Convair CV-990 Coronado crashed shortly after takeoff from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport during a three-engine ferry flight to Zurich. The aircraft encountered a combination of severe weather conditions, including a temperature inversion and wind shear, while the crew struggled with directional control during the transition from visual to instrument flight in low clouds. The aircraft banked right, lost airspeed, and struck treetops approximately 1,800 meters from the point of lift-off. Five of the ten people on board were killed; all fatalities were crew members (specifically cabin crew and a ground engineer), while the three flight crew members in the cockpit and two other occupants survived. The deaths were attributed to the extreme cold (-27°C) and a delayed rescue response.

Human Factors (Operational)

Olympic Airways Flight 954, a Douglas DC-6B, crashed into Mount Paneio during an instrument approach to Athens in poor weather. The aircraft struck the mountain at approximately 2,000 feet with its landing gear still retracted, killing all 90 people on board. Investigators determined the crew had deviated from the prescribed approach track and descended below the minimum safe altitude.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Air France Flight 212 plunged into the Caribbean Sea shortly after departing Caracas, Venezuela, killing all 62 people on board. While the official French investigation remains classified until 2029, forensic evidence discovered in 1970 strongly suggests the aircraft was destroyed by an explosive device placed in the left main landing gear wheel well.

Security / Sabotage

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