Aviation Accident Summary Archive

An Australian National Airways DC-3 crashed into Frederick Henry Bay less than two minutes after departing Cambridge Aerodrome, killing all 25 people on board. The aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 425 feet before suddenly entering a steep descent and striking the water at high speed. Investigators concluded the most likely cause was the captain inadvertently engaging the autopilot while attempting to operate the fuel cross-feed lever, which were similar in appearance and located near each other. The captain's undisclosed diabetes and recent insulin use were cited as potential contributory factors that may have impaired his judgment or physical coordination.

Human Factors (Operational)

American Airlines Flight 6-103 crashed into the eastern slope of Thing Mountain during its final leg from El Paso to San Diego, killing all 27 people on board. The aircraft was operating a transcontinental multi-stop service and was flying in instrument conditions when it descended below the required altitude to clear terrain. At the time, it was the deadliest accident in the history of American commercial aviation. The exact crash site remained undocumented for decades until it was rediscovered by researchers in 2015.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 105 crashed into Village Creek while attempting to land at Birmingham Municipal Airport during a period of severe weather and thunderstorms. The aircraft touched down with only 1,500 feet of runway remaining after an approach that was both too high and too fast. All three crew members in the cockpit perished when the aircraft overran the runway, performed a ground loop, and plunged into the swollen creek. The passenger cabin remained largely intact, and all 15 passengers survived the impact.

Pilot Error

A Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft operated by the United States Army Air Forces crashed near El Paso, Texas, on December 18, 1945. The accident resulted in the deaths of all 17 personnel on board.

Unknown

Flight 19 was a routine combat navigation training mission involving five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. The flight leader, Lieutenant Charles C. Taylor, became geographically disoriented after his compasses allegedly failed, leading him to mistake the Bahamas for the Florida Keys. This misidentification caused him to believe the flight was over the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Atlantic. Despite suggestions from student pilots and ground controllers to fly west toward the Florida mainland, Taylor led the squadron further out to sea. All five aircraft eventually ran out of fuel and ditched in deteriorating weather conditions. A PBM-5 Mariner search aircraft dispatched to locate the squadron also disappeared, likely due to a mid-air explosion. No wreckage or remains from any of the six aircraft have ever been recovered.

Human Factors (Operational) · Multi-aircraft

A Royal Air Force Consolidated Liberator C Mk VIII crashed into a hill shortly after takeoff from RAF Merryfield during a trooping flight to India. The aircraft struck high ground near Broadway, Somerset, in conditions of poor visibility and low cloud. All 27 occupants, including 22 passengers and five crew members, were killed in the accident.

Pilot Error

A United States Army Air Forces Curtiss C-46 Commando crashed near Beiping after striking a radio antenna during a low-visibility approach to Nanyuan Airport. The aircraft was transporting 55 passengers and 4 crew members from Hankou when it encountered a cloud ceiling of approximately 300 feet. While descending, the aircraft collided with a 300-meter tall radio antenna that was reportedly not marked on the crew's navigation charts, resulting in the deaths of everyone on board.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Consolidated Liberator transport aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from RAF Blackbushe when a fuel leak in the port inner engine ignited, leading to a catastrophic fire and loss of control. The flight was part of a repatriation effort to return Czechoslovak nationals and their families to Prague following the end of World War II. All 23 people on board, including five crew members and 18 passengers, were killed. Investigators determined that a ruptured fuel pipe caused the fire, which was exacerbated when the co-pilot mistakenly attempted to extinguish the fire in the wrong engine.

Mechanical Failure

National Airlines Flight 16 crashed into Lake Parker after overshooting the runway during a botched missed approach at Lakeland Municipal Airport (Lodwick Field). The flight, which originated in Miami and made stops at Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg, and Tampa, was on its final leg to Lakeland. While on a straight-in approach to the northeast runway, the aircraft entered a small, unexpected cloud at approximately 600 feet while two miles from the field. The captain decided to initiate a go-around but failed to apply sufficient power or establish a climb in a timely manner. The aircraft flew the length of the runway at an altitude of only 30 to 40 feet before settling into the lake 1,000 feet beyond the airfield boundary. Two passengers drowned when the aircraft sank in 10 feet of water.

Pilot Error

A United States Army Air Forces B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building after the pilot became disoriented in heavy fog over Manhattan. The aircraft struck primarily at the 79th floor, with the impact zone spanning the 78th through 80th floors, at approximately 9:49 a.m. The crash killed all three occupants on board and 11 people inside the building for a total of 14 fatalities. The impact triggered a massive fire and sent one engine entirely through the structure, where it fell onto a neighboring roof. Despite the severity of the impact and subsequent fuel-fed fire, the building's structural integrity remained intact, and it reopened for business within 48 hours.

Pilot Error

An Eastern Air Lines DC-3 and a USAAF A-26 Invader collided in mid-air approximately 12 miles west-northwest of Florence, South Carolina. The DC-3 was operating a scheduled passenger flight (Flight 45) originating in Boston with a final destination of Miami; the accident occurred on the leg from Washington, D.C. to Columbia. The A-26 was conducting aural null training maneuvers at the time of impact. The collision resulted in the death of one infant passenger on the DC-3 and two of the three occupants on the A-26. Despite losing its left engine and suffering severe fuselage damage, the DC-3 crew successfully performed an emergency landing in a cornfield near Lamar.

Mid-air Collision · Multi-aircraft

A USAAF Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress crashed into the southern slope of North Barrule on the Isle of Man, killing all 31 personnel on board. The aircraft was conducting a ferry flight to transport ground crew and support personnel to Northern Ireland for a period of leave. While the aircraft carried seven qualified aircrew members, only the two pilots were acting as the active flight crew for the mission. Flying in low cloud at an altitude of approximately 500 feet, the bomber struck the hill about 200 feet below its summit and exploded. The accident remains the deadliest aviation disaster in the history of the Isle of Man.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Deutsche Lufthansa Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, named Hessen, crashed in a forest near Egglkofen during a flight from Berlin to Munich in the final days of World War II. All 21 people on board were killed. The aircraft was operating one of the last scheduled civilian flights out of Berlin when it crashed under circumstances attributed to the conflict, though the exact cause remains a subject of historical research due to the conditions at the end of the war.

Military Action

A brand new Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress crashed into the eastern face of Beinn Edra on the Isle of Skye while being ferried from Iceland to Wales. The aircraft was flying at a low altitude in poor visibility caused by a low-lying overcast cloud base when it struck the Trotternish Ridge at approximately 2,000 feet. All nine crew members on board were killed instantly. Local residents in Staffin reported seeing the aircraft flying into the clouds at roughly 800 feet shortly before hearing an explosion and seeing burning wreckage roll down the steep basalt crags.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

American Airlines Flight 9, a Douglas DC-3, crashed into the wooded summit of Glade Mountain while en route from Washington to Nashville, the next scheduled stop on its transcontinental service from New York to Los Angeles. The aircraft was flying in instrument conditions through rain, clouds, and turbulence when it impacted terrain at approximately 3,910 feet above sea level. The investigation determined that the pilot failed to maintain a safe instrument altitude for the mountainous terrain along the airway. The crash killed 17 of the 22 people on board, including both pilots. Five survivors, including the flight attendant and four passengers, were rescued nearly 14 hours after the impact after enduring freezing conditions on the mountainside.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Curtiss C-46D Commando transport aircraft, operated by the USAAF 2nd Combat Cargo Group, was shot down by Japanese ground fire near Langgang, China. The aircraft was performing a transport mission in the China-Burma-India theater when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire, resulting in the deaths of all six personnel on board.

Human Factors (Operational)

An Avro York carrying members of the British delegation to the Yalta Conference ditched in the Mediterranean Sea after the crew became lost and exhausted their fuel supply. The flight was a last-minute replacement for a Liberator that had developed mechanical issues. During the night flight, the crew encountered radio navigation difficulties and out-of-date meteorological forecasts, leading them to circle Lampedusa for over an hour in confusion. By the time they established a correct bearing to Malta, the aircraft lacked sufficient fuel to reach the island.

Human Factors (Operational)

A Stinson Model A trimotor, converted to a twin-engine configuration by replacing its three original Lycoming engines with two Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engines, suffered a catastrophic in-flight structural failure 21 minutes after departing Melbourne. The left outer wing separated due to a fatigue crack in the lower main spar boom attachment socket, leading to a total breakup of the airframe. All 10 occupants were killed. This accident is historically significant as the first fatal aircraft crash officially attributed to metal fatigue, leading to the global implementation of safe retirement lives for metal airframes.

Structural Failure

Three Douglas C-47 transport aircraft flying in formation crashed into the side of Leith Hill during a flight from France to England. The aircraft were part of a four-plane diamond formation that encountered deteriorating weather and low cloud cover after crossing the English Channel. While attempting to maintain visual contact with the ground, the formation descended from 1,500 feet to 1,200 feet, and then further to 1,000 feet. Three of the aircraft struck the summit of the Greensand Ridge, while the fourth aircraft successfully cleared the terrain and landed at its destination.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) · Multi-aircraft

On November 6, 1944, a United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Martin B-26B-55-MA Marauder (serial number 42-96144) crashed approximately 10 miles north of Shreveport, Louisiana, shortly after departing Barksdale Field. The aircraft suffered an engine failure during takeoff, leading to a loss of control. All seven personnel on board were killed in the accident, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire.

Engine Failure

A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster Mk III, operating as part of a Pathfinder Force mission to Stettin and Königsberg, was shot down by a German night fighter over the west coast of Denmark. The aircraft was intercepted by a radar-equipped Junkers Ju 88 G-1 after being detected by several German radar installations. The bomber released its photoflash bombs over Sønderhå before crashing almost vertically into the Førby Hede heathland, killing all seven crew members instantly. The crash was the 11th victory for German fighter ace Unteroffizier Bruno Rupp.

Military Action

A USAAF B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, nicknamed 'Classy Chassis II', crashed into the village of Freckleton during a violent, sudden thunderstorm while attempting to return to Warton Aerodrome. The aircraft struck a snack bar and the infants' wing of Holy Trinity School before erupting in flames. The disaster killed 61 people, including 3 crew members and 58 people on the ground (38 of whom were children), making it one of the worst civilian air disasters of World War II. Investigators were unable to determine a precise mechanical cause due to the extent of the destruction, though extreme turbulence or a lightning strike were suspected.

Weather

A United States Army Air Forces Douglas A-26 Invader crashed into a government-operated trailer park while attempting to land in heavy fog, killing both crew members and 17 people on the ground for a total of 19 fatalities. The pilot, who was on a long-range training mission that included a personal visit to his family, encountered visibility so poor that the airport had officially closed six minutes prior to his arrival. After briefly appearing at an altitude of 200 feet, the aircraft was instructed to climb but instead struck the ground and cartwheeled through the Redbank Village trailer park, destroying 16 trailers and starting a massive fire. This remains the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Maine.

Human Factors (Operational)

A Douglas C-54 Skymaster operating a contract flight for the Air Transport Command crashed into Fort Mountain during severe weather, killing all seven people on board. The aircraft was approximately 70 miles off course due to heavy rain, high winds, and lightning-induced radio static that hampered navigation. The pilot, unaware of the significant navigational drift, maintained an altitude of less than 4,000 feet in an area where terrain peaks exceeded 5,000 feet.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)