Aviation Accident Summary Archive

An Air Koryo Tupolev Tu-204-300 suffered a structural failure when a portion of its flaps detached during climb to cruise. The aircraft experienced severe vibrations, prompting the crew to perform an emergency return to Pyongyang. The flight landed safely with no injuries reported among the passengers or crew.

Mechanical Failure

A Learjet 35A stalled and crashed into a commercial building and parking lot while attempting a circle-to-land maneuver at Teterboro Airport. The investigation revealed a total breakdown of cockpit discipline, including the captain allowing an underqualified first officer to fly the aircraft in violation of company policy, a lack of approach briefing, and a failure to maintain airspeed during a late, unstabilized turn. Both pilots were killed, but no injuries occurred on the ground.

Pilot Error

A Short 330 cargo aircraft crashed short of the runway at Yeager Airport after the crew attempted an unstabilized circling approach in violation of company standard operating procedures. The captain initiated an excessive descent rate and aggressive maneuvering while attempting to align with the runway, leading to an impact with a steep, wooded hillside just before the runway threshold. Both crew members were killed in the crash and subsequent post-impact fire.

Pilot Error

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan operated by Grant Aviation impacted a steep, snow-covered mountain while conducting a VFR mail flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The investigation determined that the pilot continued flight into mountainous terrain despite deteriorating visibility and mountain obscuration. Contributing to the accident were the operator's inadequate flight risk assessment processes and its failure to provide the pilot with required recurrent CFIT-avoidance simulator training.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Peruvian Airlines Flight 112 suffered a landing gear collapse and subsequent fire after landing at Francisco Carle Airport. The Boeing 737-300 experienced severe vibrations, known as shimmy, caused by mechanical failure in the shimmy damper systems of both main landing gear struts. This led to the fracture and collapse of the main gear, followed by the failure of all three landing gear legs. The aircraft veered off the runway and struck a perimeter fence, igniting a fire that destroyed the airframe. All 150 occupants successfully evacuated, though 39 sustained injuries.

Mechanical Failure

A South Supreme Airlines Antonov An-26B was destroyed by fire after colliding with a fire truck during a landing attempt at Wau Airport in poor visibility. Despite the aircraft being completely consumed by flames, all 45 occupants survived the accident, with approximately 37 people sustaining injuries.

Other

A Sikorsky S-92A search and rescue helicopter, call sign Rescue 116, crashed into Blackrock Island while supporting a medical evacuation mission. The aircraft was flying at 200 feet in poor weather and darkness when it struck the 282-foot island, which was not present in the helicopter's Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) database. All four crew members were killed in the impact and subsequent crash into the Atlantic Ocean.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Sikorsky S-76C++ helicopter operated by Swan Aviation struck the Endem TV Tower in heavy fog shortly after departing Istanbul. The aircraft was carrying executives from Eczacibasi Holding to a meeting in Bozuyuk when it entered an area of severely restricted visibility. The crew failed to maintain adequate clearance from the tower, which was a known and charted obstacle. The collision caused the helicopter to crash onto the State Road D100 highway, killing all seven people on board.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 overran the runway at Willow Run Airport after the captain initiated a high-speed rejected takeoff when the aircraft failed to rotate. The investigation revealed that the right elevator had become jammed in a full trailing-edge-down position while the aircraft was parked during a severe windstorm. Localized turbulence generated by a nearby large hangar caused the elevator to slam against its stops, forcing the geared tab linkage into an overcenter, locked position. Despite the overrun, all 116 occupants (110 passengers and 6 crew members) survived, largely due to the captain's decision to abort and the check airman's adherence to procedures.

Mechanical Failure

A Beechcraft B200 King Air crashed into a retail outlet centre shortly after takeoff from Essendon Airport, killing all five people on board. The investigation determined that the pilot failed to detect that the rudder trim was set to the full nose-left position during pre-flight checks. This misconfiguration caused a significant yaw to the left upon becoming airborne, leading to a loss of control and collision with the DFO Essendon shopping complex.

Pilot Error

A Boeing 747-412F cargo aircraft crashed into a residential village approximately 930 meters beyond the departure end of Runway 26 at Manas International Airport during a failed go-around. The aircraft, arriving from Hong Kong in thick fog, captured a false glideslope signal at a significantly higher altitude than the standard approach path. The autopilot maintained a 3 degree inertial descent path after losing the signal, leading the crew to believe they were on a correct approach to the runway. By the time the crew realized they were overflying the runway instead of landing on it and initiated a go-around, the aircraft was too low to clear rising terrain and buildings in the Dacha-SU village. The accident resulted in 39 fatalities, including all 4 crew members and 35 residents on the ground.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

A Russian Ministry of Defence Tupolev Tu-154B-2 crashed into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi International Airport, killing all 92 people on board. The aircraft was transporting members of the Alexandrov Ensemble choir to Syria for a holiday performance. Investigators concluded the captain suffered from spatial disorientation, leading to incorrect control inputs during the initial climb at night.

Human Factors (Operational)

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209 was hijacked during a domestic Libyan flight by two individuals claiming to possess hand grenades. The hijackers forced the Airbus A320 to divert to Malta International Airport, where a multi-hour standoff ensued. The perpetrators, who identified as supporters of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, eventually released all 111 passengers and 7 crew members before surrendering to Maltese authorities. Subsequent investigation revealed that the weapons used in the hijacking were replica firearms and dummy grenades.

Security / Sabotage

Aerosucre Flight 157, a Boeing 727 cargo jet, crashed shortly after a disastrous takeoff from Puerto Carreño where it overran the runway, struck a perimeter fence, and collided with ground structures. The aircraft became airborne but suffered critical damage to its right main landing gear, inboard flaps, engine number 3, and hydraulic systems. Despite briefly reaching 790 feet, the crew lost control due to hydraulic failure and lift asymmetries, leading to a crash approximately 7.5 kilometers from the airport. Investigators determined the aircraft was overweight for the 1,800-meter runway and the crew used incorrect takeoff speeds and rotation techniques under tailwind conditions.

Human Factors (Operational)

An Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules crashed into Mount Lisuwa during a logistics and training mission in the remote Papua province, killing all 13 personnel on board. The aircraft was on approach to Wamena Airport in conditions of poor visibility and thick fog. After contacting the tower and attempting to switch runways due to weather, the aircraft lost contact and struck mountainous terrain near the airport. The investigation pointed toward spatial disorientation and bad weather as primary factors in the controlled flight into terrain.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 661 crashed into a mountainside near Havelian after a catastrophic failure of the left engine and propeller control system. The sequence began when a turbine blade in the number 1 engine fractured due to metal fatigue, having exceeded its service life without replacement. This failure was compounded by two latent mechanical defects: a fractured pin in the overspeed governor and internal contamination in the propeller valve module. These combined faults caused the propeller to behave erratically, generating drag that initially reached three times the normal level. After a temporary recovery from an uncontrolled roll, the drag settled at seven times higher than a properly feathered propeller, making level flight impossible. All 47 people on board, including famed singer-turned-preacher Junaid Jamshed, were killed.

Mechanical Failure

An Indonesian National Police PZL M28 Skytruck crashed into the South China Sea during a flight from Pangkal Pinang to Batam, killing all 13 personnel on board. Eyewitnesses reported seeing smoke emitting from the aircraft's engine before it entered a steep nose-dive and struck the water. The aircraft was not equipped with flight data or cockpit voice recorders, as they were not mandated for this aircraft type, complicating the investigation into the technical failure.

Engine Failure

LaMia Flight 2933 crashed into a hillside near Medellín after exhausting its fuel supply. The aircraft was carrying the Brazilian Chapecoense football team to the Copa Sudamericana Finals. The flight plan was critically flawed, as the distance to the destination was nearly identical to the aircraft's maximum range, leaving no margin for holding or diversion. Despite clear indications of low fuel, the crew delayed declaring an emergency until all four engines flamed out.

Human Factors (Operational)

A DHC-4T Turbo Caribou cargo aircraft, operated by Alfa Indonesia for the Puncak Regency government, crashed into a mountain ridge while en route from Timika to Ilaga. The aircraft was carrying over 3,000 kilograms of construction materials, including a cement mixer, intended for infrastructure development in the region. After reporting its position at Ilaga Pass, the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination. Search teams located the smoldering wreckage the following day at an elevation of approximately 13,000 feet. All four crew members on board were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)

FedEx Express Flight 910 experienced a catastrophic collapse of its left main landing gear during rollout at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport. The failure caused the left wing and engine to strike the runway, resulting in a severe fire and a subsequent fuel tank explosion. Both crew members evacuated through the right cockpit window using escape ropes. The investigation determined that the gear failed due to a metal fatigue crack that originated at a corrosion pit, which had formed because a required protective cadmium coating was missing.

Mechanical Failure

During its takeoff roll at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, the right engine of American Airlines Flight 383 suffered an uncontained failure of the stage 2 high-pressure turbine (HPT) disk. Fragments from the disk severed a fuel line and breached the right wing fuel tank, igniting a massive pool fire. The crew successfully aborted the takeoff and initiated an emergency evacuation. While all 170 occupants survived, 21 people were injured (1 serious, 20 minor), consisting of 20 passengers and one flight attendant. One passenger was seriously injured by jet blast from the still-operating left engine during the evacuation.

Mechanical Failure

A Fairchild SA227-AT Merlin IVC, operating a surveillance mission for the French Ministry of Defence, crashed seconds after takeoff from Malta International Airport. Immediately after liftoff, the aircraft pitched up to an extreme angle of 34 degrees, entered a power-on stall, and rolled nearly inverted before impacting the ground. All five occupants, including two crew members and three French intelligence officials, were killed. The investigation identified a technical malfunction in the flight control system, likely related to undocumented modifications and improper maintenance, as the probable cause. The aircraft was manufactured in 1983.

Mechanical Failure

A Skol Airlines Mil Mi-8T helicopter crashed in the Yamal Peninsula during an attempted emergency landing necessitated by fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was transporting oil and gas workers from the Suzun landing site to Urengoy when it encountered adverse weather conditions that prevented a planned refueling stop. While attempting to reach its destination, the crew exhausted their fuel reserves and attempted a landing in darkness over featureless terrain. During the descent, the crew suffered spatial disorientation, leading to a high-energy impact 45 km northwest of Stary Urengoy that destroyed the aircraft and killed 19 of the 22 people on board.

Human Factors (Operational)

Southwest Airlines Flight 3472 experienced an uncontained engine failure of its left CFM56-7B engine while climbing through FL310 over the Gulf of Mexico. A fan blade separated due to fatigue, causing the inlet cowl to disintegrate and strike the fuselage, resulting in a rapid cabin depressurization. The flight crew performed an emergency descent and diverted to Pensacola International Airport, where the aircraft landed safely without injuries to the 99 passengers and 5 crew members.

Mechanical Failure