Aviation Accident Summary Archive

Northwest Airlines Flight 5 crashed into an open field near Moorhead, Minnesota, after accumulating excessive ice on its wings during an approach to Fargo. The aircraft was operating a multi-stop transcontinental route from Chicago to Seattle. Shortly after 2:00 am, the Douglas DC-3 lost altitude and struck the ground on the property of the Moorhead Rod and Gun Club, approximately 1.5 miles north of Moorhead. The impact and subsequent fire killed 12 passengers and two crew members. The captain was the sole survivor, having been thrown from the wreckage upon impact. Approximately 100 pounds of mail (898 pieces) were salvaged from the wreckage.

Weather

Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 crashed into a pine grove during an instrument approach to Atlanta's Candler Field, resulting in eight fatalities. The aircraft struck trees at an elevation of 915 feet, approximately five miles southeast of the Atlanta range station, while the pilots believed they were at a safe approach altitude. The investigation revealed that the captain failed to ensure the approach altimeter was correctly set to the local atmospheric pressure. A setting of 29.92 inches of mercury was found on the instrument, whereas the actual local pressure was 28.94, creating a vertical error of nearly 1,000 feet.

Pilot Error

A Junkers Ju 90A-1 passenger aircraft, named Brandenburg, crashed into a field near Schönteichen after experiencing severe icing during a flight from Berlin to Budapest. The aircraft suffered a rapid, uncontrolled loss of altitude shortly after the crew reported icing conditions while flying in clouds at 2,200 meters. All 29 occupants, including the German musician Adolf Raskin, were killed. Investigators determined that ice accumulation between 1.5 and 2 centimeters thick had likely jammed the aircraft's elevators, rendering it uncontrollable.

Weather

Two RAAF Avro Anson training aircraft collided mid-air and became physically interlocked, remaining airborne as a single unit. The pilot of the upper aircraft, Leading Aircraftman Leonard Fuller, discovered he could maintain control using his ailerons and flaps while powered by the still-functioning engines of the lower aircraft. After the other three crew members bailed out, Fuller successfully performed a belly landing of the stacked aircraft in a paddock near Brocklesby. All four crew members survived the incident, which became known as the Brocklesby Miracle.

Mid-air Collision · Multi-aircraft

A Pennsylvania Central Airlines Douglas DC-3A crashed into an alfalfa field near Lovettsville, Virginia, during an intense thunderstorm, killing all 25 people on board. The aircraft was en route from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh when it encountered severe weather. Numerous ground witnesses reported seeing a massive flash of lightning near the aircraft shortly before it nosed over and plunged to the ground. The investigation concluded that a lightning strike likely incapacitated the crew or caused a loss of control, marking the deadliest disaster in U.S. commercial aviation history at that time.

Weather

A Lockheed Hudson transport aircraft carrying senior Australian government and military officials stalled and crashed into a hill while on approach to Canberra Airport. All ten people on board were killed, including three federal cabinet ministers and the Chief of the General Staff. The disaster significantly weakened the Menzies government, leading to its eventual collapse in 1941. Investigations attributed the crash to a stall caused by pilot error, though the identity of the person at the controls remains a subject of historical debate.

Pilot Error

A civilian Junkers Ju 52 airliner, named Kaleva, was intercepted and shot down by two Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bombers while flying a scheduled route from Tallinn to Helsinki. The attack occurred during peacetime, just two days before the Soviet Union's full-scale occupation of the Baltic states. All nine people on board were killed when the aircraft crashed into the Baltic Sea. Following the crash, a Soviet submarine surfaced at the site and confiscated diplomatic mail and other items from the wreckage and local fishermen. The Finnish government, under heavy diplomatic pressure, officially suppressed the true cause of the loss for several years, describing it only as a mysterious crash.

Military Action

A German Messerschmitt Bf 108 carrying secret plans for the invasion of the Low Countries crashed in neutral Belgium after the pilot became disoriented in fog and accidentally cut the fuel supply. The passenger, Major Helmuth Reinberger, was carrying the 'Fall Gelb' (Case Yellow) invasion dossiers, which he unsuccessfully attempted to burn twice before being apprehended by Belgian border guards. The incident led to a major diplomatic crisis, a high-alert mobilization of Allied forces, and eventually forced Adolf Hitler to abandon the original invasion plan in favor of a different strategic approach through the Ardennes.

Pilot Error

Thirteen Junkers Ju 87B Stuka dive bombers crashed during a large-scale military demonstration when pilots were unable to recover from steep dives due to unexpected ground fog. The exercise, intended to showcase dive-bombing precision to senior Luftwaffe officers just weeks before the invasion of Poland, relied on a weather report indicating a cloud base at 900 meters. However, rapidly forming ground fog had reduced the ceiling to approximately 100 meters. The formation leader, Hauptmann Walter Sigel, narrowly recovered his aircraft after spotting treetops and radioed a warning to his formation via R/T (radio telephony). However, because the flight lacked radio contact with ground controllers, they were never warned of the deteriorating conditions at the target. Thirteen following aircraft impacted the ground at high speed, killing all 26 crew members.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-43B flying boat, christened Baby Clipper, crashed into Guanabara Bay while attempting to land at Santos Dumont Airport. During a circling maneuver for a normal approach, the left engine suffered a total loss of power. The aircraft entered a descending left yaw turn that steepened until the seaplane struck a caisson at Ilha das Cobras. The impact destroyed the aircraft, resulting in the deaths of 14 of the 16 people on board. This was the first accident involving a Pan Am aircraft in Brazil.

Engine Failure

A Hawker Audax I biplane crashed into a residential building on Freshfield Road in Brighton on February 11, 1939, after the pilot became lost in dense fog. The pilot, William Edward Brun, was flying low in an attempt to identify landmarks while en route from Gatwick to RAF Tangmere. After narrowly avoiding a group of Wolf Cub Scouts on Whitehawk Hill, the aircraft struck a wireless mast and a tree before slamming into a house. The impact and subsequent fuel tank explosion killed the pilot and three residents on the ground: a mother and her two young daughters.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Northwest Airlines Flight 1 crashed shortly after takeoff from Miles City Airport when an intense fire broke out in the cockpit, incapacitating the crew or causing a loss of control. The aircraft performed erratic maneuvers, including a sharp climb and rapid descent, before crashing into a ravine half a mile southwest of the airfield. Investigators determined the fire likely originated from a leaking cross-feed fuel valve located between the pilot and co-pilot. The design of the Super Electra lacked a drainage system for leaked fuel in this area, allowing flammable vapors or liquid to ignite within the cockpit environment.

In-flight Fire

A Jersey Airways de Havilland DH.86 Express, named St Catherine's Bay, crashed shortly after takeoff from Jersey Airport, killing all 13 people on board and one person on the ground. The aircraft entered a low cloud base and initiated a climbing turn before stalling and plunging into a field. The subsequent impact and fire destroyed the aircraft and killed a farm hand working nearby. At the time, it was the deadliest aviation accident on British territory involving a rigid aircraft.

Pilot Error

The Australian National Airways Douglas DC-2, named Kyeema, crashed into the western slopes of Mount Dandenong while attempting to land at Melbourne in heavy fog. The flight crew had mistakenly identified the town of Sunbury as Daylesford through a gap in the clouds, leading them to believe they were 30 kilometres behind their actual position. Consequently, they overshot Essendon Airport and maintained a cruising altitude that resulted in a direct impact with the mountain, just below the summit. The disaster, which killed all 18 people on board including high-profile politicians and industry leaders, led to a Royal Commission and the fundamental restructuring of Australian aviation safety, including the creation of a dedicated Department of Civil Aviation and the birth of the national air traffic control system.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Royal Air Force Hawker Audax crashed into a residential street in Edmonton after the pilot performed unauthorized low-level maneuvers over a built-up area. The aircraft struck the roof of a house on Dunholme Road, fell into the roadway, and came to rest on two other houses, triggering a fire. The pilot and twelve people on the ground were killed, including six who died in the hospital from their injuries. Investigators determined the pilot, Sergeant Stanley Robert Morris, had deliberately disobeyed orders to remain within three miles of Hatfield Aerodrome, instead flying twelve miles away to perform low-altitude stunts. It was suspected that the pilot may have been attempting to land at nearby Pymmes Park at the time of the impact.

Pilot Error

On August 24, 1938, a Douglas DC-2 named Kweilin became the first civilian airliner in history to be shot down by hostile aircraft. Shortly after departing Hong Kong for Wuzhou, the unarmed aircraft was intercepted by eight Japanese pontoon-fitted fighters. The American pilot, Hugh Leslie Woods, performed an emergency water landing in a river near Zhongshan to escape the attackers. However, the Japanese fighters continued to strafe the floating aircraft with machine-gun fire for approximately one hour. The plane eventually sank, resulting in the deaths of 14 of the 17 people on board. The incident caused international diplomatic outrage and was widely viewed as a deliberate attempt to assassinate Sun Fo, the son of Sun Yat-sen, who had been scheduled to fly on the aircraft but took a different flight.

Military Action

The Hawaii Clipper, a Pan American Airways Martin M-130 flying boat, disappeared without a trace during a scheduled flight from Guam to Manila. The last radio contact occurred approximately 565 miles from the Philippine coast, with the crew reporting flight through layers of clouds and moderately rough air. Despite an extensive naval search and the discovery of an oil slick that was later determined to be unrelated, no physical evidence of the aircraft or its 15 occupants has ever been recovered.

Unknown

A Colombian Air Force Curtiss Hawk II biplane crashed into a crowd during a military review at the Campo de Marte, killing the pilot and 52 people on the ground. The pilot, Lieutenant César Abadia, was performing aerobatic stunts when he attempted to fly between the presidential and diplomatic grandstands. He miscalculated the distance, causing the aircraft's wing-tip to strike the diplomatic stand. The aircraft then destroyed part of the presidential stand's roof and careened into the spectators. It burst into flames and came to rest upside down. The high number of fatalities relative to the single soul on board is due to the impact occurring in a densely packed spectator area.

Pilot Error

A Transcontinental & Western Air Douglas DC-2 crashed into a mountain ridge in Yosemite National Park during a severe winter storm, killing all nine people on board. The flight was en route from San Francisco to Winslow when it encountered icing and extreme wind conditions that blew the aircraft significantly off its intended course. The pilot, attempting to divert to Fresno, became disoriented regarding his position relative to the Fresno Radio Range. The wreckage remained undiscovered in deep snow for over three months until it was located by a private citizen in June 1938.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Northwest Airlines Flight 2 crashed into the Bridger Mountains after a structural failure of the empennage caused by aeroelastic flutter. The aircraft, a Lockheed Super Electra, was cruising at 9,000 feet when it encountered severe turbulence and a dust storm, leading to the separation of both vertical fins and rudders. The aircraft stalled and spun into the ground, killing all ten people on board. This was the first fatal accident involving both the Lockheed Super Electra and Northwest Airlines.

Structural Failure

A Sabena Junkers Ju 52 struck a factory chimney and crashed while attempting an emergency landing in thick fog at Stene Aerodrome. The flight, carrying members of the Hesse royal family to a wedding in London, had diverted from Brussels due to poor weather. All 11 passengers and crew who boarded the aircraft were killed. Investigators also discovered the remains of a newborn infant in the wreckage, bringing the total death toll to 12 and leading to the conclusion that Grand Duchess Cecilie had gone into labor mid-flight, prompting the pilot to attempt a hazardous landing in near-zero visibility.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

The German passenger airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. The disaster occurred in front of a large crowd of spectators and journalists, resulting in 36 total fatalities (13 passengers, 22 crew members, and one member of the ground crew). The rapid destruction of the world's largest flying machine, which was carrying 96 people at the time, was captured in iconic newsreel footage and radio commentary, effectively ending the era of commercial rigid airships.

Other

TWA Flight 15A crashed during its final approach to Allegheny County Airport after heavy ice accumulation on the wings and control surfaces caused a loss of control. The aircraft entered a series of leftward spirals and struck the ground nose-first in a swampy area of Upper St. Clair Township. All 13 people on board were killed, and responders noted a significant layer of ice on the wreckage despite the absence of a post-crash fire.

Weather

An Airlines of Australia Stinson Model A tri-motor crashed into the McPherson Range during a cyclonic storm while en route from Brisbane to Sydney. The aircraft encountered extreme turbulence and severe downdrafts, causing it to strike the heavily forested plateau of Lamington National Park. The wreckage remained undiscovered for nine days until local resident Bernard O'Reilly, acting on a hunch that the plane had failed to clear the mountains, trekked into the wilderness and located two survivors. A third survivor had died after falling over a cliff while attempting to find help.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)