Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Shortly after takeoff from London Heathrow, the number two engine suffered a catastrophic fatigue failure, leading to a severe fire. The crew successfully performed an emergency landing on runway 05R just minutes later, but an omission in the emergency drill allowed fuel to continue feeding the fire. Although 122 people were evacuated, five people died, including flight attendant Barbara Jane Harrison, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her heroism during the evacuation.

Pilot Error

Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock performed an unauthorized low-level flight over London, including a flight through the span of Tower Bridge, as a protest against the lack of official RAF 50th anniversary celebrations. Pollock flew his Hawker Hunter FGA.9 away from a routine ferry flight to conduct the demonstration, which also included three circuits of the Houses of Parliament. The incident resulted in no injuries or damage to the aircraft, though Pollock was subsequently discharged from the RAF on medical grounds without a court martial.

Other

Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, and flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin were killed when their MiG-15UTI trainer crashed during a routine training flight. The aircraft departed controlled flight and impacted the ground in a densely wooded area near Novosyolovo. The investigation was conducted under intense secrecy by the Soviet government, leading to decades of speculation regarding the exact cause of the loss of control. Official findings eventually suggested the crew performed a sharp maneuver, possibly to avoid a weather balloon, a bird, or another aircraft, which resulted in a stall and subsequent spin from which they could not recover due to low cloud cover.

Other

Ozark Air Lines Flight 965, a Douglas DC-9-15, collided in mid-air with a Cessna 150F while both aircraft were on approach to Runway 17 at Lambert Field. The DC-9 was performing a contact approach and overtook the Cessna from behind and above. The Cessna was destroyed upon impact with the ground, killing both occupants, while the DC-9 landed safely with no injuries to the 49 people on board (44 passengers and 5 crew). The total number of souls involved in the collision was 51. The investigation cited inadequate VFR separation standards, the DC-9 crew's failure to sight the Cessna, and the Cessna's deviation from traffic pattern instructions as primary factors.

Mid-air Collision · Multi-aircraft

Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashed into the St George's Channel after suffering a sudden loss of control and structural failure. The aircraft, a Vickers Viscount named St. Phelim, was cruising at 17,000 feet when it reported a rapid descent and spin. Despite regaining some level of control for several minutes, the aircraft eventually impacted the sea near Tuskar Rock. The investigation was hampered by missing maintenance records and delayed wreckage recovery. While early theories suggested a missile strike from a nearby British testing range, a 2002 review concluded the most likely cause was a fatigue failure in the elevator trim tab mechanism leading to uncontrollable flutter and tailplane failure.

Structural Failure

On March 9, 1968, a French military Douglas DC-6B crashed into a hill shortly after taking off from Gillot Airport in Réunion, killing 19 of the 20 people on board. Among the fatalities was General Charles Ailleret, the Chief of Staff of the French Army. The aircraft, operated by the ministerial transport unit GLAM, departed at night in light rain and failed to follow the standard departure procedure. Instead of turning left toward the ocean, the crew turned right toward the island's mountainous interior, striking trees and terrain approximately 5 kilometers from the runway. The accident remains the deadliest aviation disaster in the history of La Réunion.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Air France Flight 212 crashed into the southern slope of La Decouverte, a peak of the La Grande Soufriere volcano, during a nighttime visual approach to Pointe-a-Pitre. The flight crew incorrectly identified the lights of the town of Basse-Terre as the airport and initiated a premature descent from 9,000 feet. The aircraft struck the mountain at an elevation of approximately 3,937 feet, killing everyone on board. The accident occurred at 20:32 local time on March 5 (00:32 UTC on March 6). The aircraft was nearly brand new, having been delivered to the airline only six weeks prior; while some sources cite 33 hours since production, official records indicate 46 total airframe hours at the time of the crash.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

An Indian Air Force Antonov An-12 disappeared over the Himalayan mountains while attempting to return to Chandigarh due to deteriorating weather. The aircraft, carrying 92 Army personnel and 10 IAF crew members, struck a mountain near the Rohtang Pass. The wreckage remained undiscovered for 35 years until a mountaineering expedition found human remains on the Dhaka Glacier in 2003. Subsequent recovery operations over several decades have identified only a small fraction of the victims due to the extreme altitude and glacial terrain.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A B-52G Stratofortress carrying four B28FI thermonuclear bombs crashed onto sea ice near Thule Air Base after an intense cabin fire forced the crew to eject. The fire was ignited by foam cushions stowed against a heating vent, which overheated after a crew member opened an engine bleed valve to increase cabin warmth. The resulting crash caused the conventional explosives in the nuclear weapons to detonate, rupturing the warheads and dispersing radioactive material across the ice. One crew member, who did not have an ejection seat, was killed during a manual bailout attempt.

Human Factors (Operational)

Aeroflot Flight L-51 crashed during a botched go-around at Liepāja International Airport after an unstable approach. The crew attempted to use reverse thrust in flight to correct excessive speed and altitude, but when they initiated a go-around, the left engine remained in reverse thrust while the right engine delivered forward power. This asymmetric thrust caused the aircraft to roll left and strike the ground. After bouncing back into the air and striking a telephone pole, which severed part of the right wing, the aircraft yawed and banked sharply to the right before its final impact.

Pilot Error

TWA Flight 128 crashed into a wooded hillside during a night visual approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport in deteriorating weather. The aircraft descended below the minimum approach altitude while the ILS glide slope and approach lights were inoperative due to construction. The flight crew failed to adequately cross-reference their altimeters, leading to a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) approximately 1.5 miles short of the runway.

Pilot Error

Aeroflot Flight 2230 crashed shortly after takeoff from Sverdlovsk when an engine caught fire and its propeller failed to feather. The resulting asymmetric drag, combined with the aircraft's maximum takeoff weight, made the airliner difficult to maneuver. During the climb, the crew lost control at a low altitude, leading to a steep right bank and a high-speed impact in a plowed field. All 107 people on board were killed in what was then the deadliest aviation accident in the Russian SFSR.

Mechanical Failure

During a high-altitude test flight, the X-15-3 rocket plane suffered a structural breakup during atmospheric reentry after the pilot became disoriented and entered a Mach 5 spin. The pilot, Major Michael J. Adams, was distracted by an early electrical disturbance and likely suffered from vertigo, causing him to misinterpret his instruments and allow the aircraft to yaw 90 degrees off-heading at the peak of its trajectory. Although Adams managed to recover from the spin, the aircraft's MH-96 adaptive control system entered severe limit-cycle oscillations during the high-speed dive, subjecting the airframe to aerodynamic loads exceeding 15g and resulting in its total destruction.

Human Factors (Operational)

TWA Flight 159 overran the runway at Greater Cincinnati Airport after the crew attempted a high-speed rejected takeoff. The decision to abort was triggered when the aircraft passed a Delta Air Lines DC-9 that had become stuck in the mud just off the runway edge. As the Boeing 707 passed the DC-9, jet blast from the Delta aircraft's idling engines caused a compressor stall in TWA's number four engine and a physical jolt to the airframe. Believing they had collided with the other aircraft, the first officer initiated an abort at 145 knots, well above the V1 decision speed. The aircraft failed to stop on the remaining runway, slid down an embankment, and caught fire.

Pilot Error

Iberia Flight 062 crashed into the southern slopes of Blackdown Hill during a scheduled flight from Málaga to London. The aircraft continued a steady descent through its assigned flight level of 6,000 feet until it impacted terrain at approximately 900 feet above sea level. All 37 people on board were killed. Despite an extensive investigation, no definitive reason for the unauthorized descent was established, though the misreading of a three-pointer altimeter was considered a primary possibility.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A scheduled flight from Prague to Havana crashed shortly after a refueling stop at Gander International Airport. The aircraft failed to gain sufficient altitude during climb-out, striking a mast wire and a railway embankment before breaking apart in a marshy bog. While local records sometimes cite 35 fatalities, official reports and the site memorial commemorate 37 victims. Despite an extensive investigation involving Soviet and Czechoslovak experts, the reason for the aircraft's inability to climb remained undetermined.

Unknown

A Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727 collided mid-air with a Cessna 310 shortly after departing Asheville, North Carolina. The Cessna, which was inbound to Asheville, deviated from its assigned IFR clearance and entered the airspace reserved for the climbing jetliner. The collision occurred at approximately 6,132 feet, causing both aircraft to disintegrate and crash near Hendersonville. All 79 occupants (74 passengers and 5 crew) on the Boeing 727 and all 3 occupants of the Cessna were killed. The accident was the first major investigation conducted by the newly formed National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Human Factors (Operational) · Multi-aircraft

Thai Airways International Flight 601 crashed into the sea while attempting to land at Kai Tak Airport during a typhoon. The aircraft, a Sud Aviation Caravelle III, undershot runway 31 after the crew failed to maintain the correct glide slope during an ILS approach in heavy rain and reduced visibility. The investigation determined that the pilots descended below the decision height without visual contact and executed abrupt heading changes that exacerbated a high rate of descent. While wind shear and downdrafts from Typhoon Anita were contributing factors, the primary cause was the crew's failure to adhere to standard operating procedures for a monitored instrument approach.

Pilot Error

Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 suffered a catastrophic in-flight fire and structural failure of the tail section, leading to a total loss of control. The investigation revealed that a malfunctioning non-return valve allowed high-temperature engine bleed air to flow backward through the auxiliary power unit (APU) and into the airframe plenum chamber. This ignited the acoustic linings, and the resulting fire melted an aluminum partition, exposing pressurized hydraulic lines. The fire, fueled by Skydrol hydraulic fluid, burned through the vertical fin and destroyed the pitch control systems, causing the aircraft to dive into a wooded area near Blossburg, Pennsylvania. All 34 people on board were killed.

Mechanical Failure

A British Midland Airways Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashed in the center of Stockport during a second approach to Manchester Airport following a double engine failure. The investigation revealed a design flaw in the fuel system that allowed fuel to inadvertently transfer between tanks, leading to starvation despite sufficient total fuel on board. While 12 people were rescued from the wreckage, 72 perished, primarily due to a post-crash fire and a concertina collapse of passenger seats that trapped occupants by their legs.

Mechanical Failure

An Air Ferry Douglas DC-4, operating a charter flight for Lyons Tours, crashed into Mount Canigó during its approach to Perpignan. All 88 people on board were killed. The investigation revealed that the flight crew had been incapacitated by carbon monoxide poisoning originating from a faulty cabin heater, leading to irrational behavior and navigation errors.

Human Factors

A Globe Air Bristol Britannia, carrying European tourists back from Southeast Asia, crashed into a hill during a thunderstorm while attempting to land at Nicosia International Airport. The flight had diverted to Cyprus due to severe weather at its planned stop in Cairo. After an aborted first approach, the aircraft struck a hillock during a second, low altitude circuit in poor visibility. The investigation highlighted severe crew fatigue, as the pilots had exceeded their legal duty limits by several hours, and the first officer had minimal experience on the aircraft type.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Delta Air Lines Douglas DC-8-51 crashed into a residential area and motel complex during a training flight, killing all six occupants and 13 people on the ground. The crew was conducting a simulated two-engine-out approach to New Orleans International Airport when the instructor pilot prematurely deployed full landing flaps. The resulting drag caused the airspeed to decay significantly. Instead of applying thrust to compensate, the trainee pilot attempted to maintain the glidepath by raising the aircraft's nose. This led to a loss of control, characterized by a rapid yaw and roll to the left, from which the crew could not recover at low altitude.

Pilot Error

South African Airways Flight 406, a Vickers Viscount named Rietbok, crashed into the Indian Ocean during a night approach to East London in poor weather. The aircraft was performing a scheduled flight from Port Elizabeth when it disappeared shortly after reporting its position at 2,000 feet with the coastline in sight. Despite extensive search efforts, the main wreckage was not recovered during the initial investigation, and all 25 people on board were killed. The official Board of Inquiry could not determine a definitive cause due to a lack of physical evidence, though it considered pilot incapacitation due to a heart attack as a possibility that could not be excluded.

Unknown