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List of deadliest aircraft accidents and incidents

List of aircraft incidents From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of deadliest aircraft accidents and incidents
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This article lists the deadliest aircraft accidents and incidents involving commercial passenger and cargo flights, military passenger and cargo flights, or general aviation flights that have been involved in a ground or mid-air collision.

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A collage of some of the deadliest aircraft disasters worldwide since 2001

As of 17 May 2025, 206 accidents and incidents have resulted in at least 100 fatalities, 34 at least 200 fatalities, eight at least 300 fatalities, and four at least 500 fatalities.

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History

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On the 17 September 1908, nearly five years after the pioneering flight of the Wright brothers on the 17 December 1903,[1] Thomas Selfridge became the first fatality of powered flight while flying as a passenger with Orville Wright during a demonstration of the Wright Model A at Fort Myer, Virginia.[2] On 7 September 1909, Eugène Lefebvre was the first to be killed while piloting a powered airplane, while the first fatal mid-air collision occurred on 19 June 1912, near Douai, France, killing the pilot of each aircraft.[3] Since the deaths of these early aviation pioneers, the scale of fatal aircraft accidents has increased in proportion to the size and capacity of airplanes.[citation needed]

The greatest number of passenger fatalities involving one airline in a single calendar year occurred in 2014 with Malaysia Airlines, with 537 people dead (presumably - with the wreckage unrecovered, the death toll is not entirely confirmed) in two tragedies: disappearance of Flight 370 on 8 March and the shootdown of Flight 17 on 17 July. When including ground fatalities, American Airlines holds this distinction, with the 2001 crashes of Flight 11 and Flight 77 on 11 September, and Flight 587 on 12 November, with a combined total of approximately 2,000 deaths, including 416 people on the three aircraft.[4] The deliberate crashes of the aforementioned American Airlines Flight 11, as well as United Airlines Flight 175 at the World Trade Center, and the subsequent collapse of both towers on 11 September 2001 caused 2,606 ground fatalities in addition to the deaths of the 157 people on board both flights, making it the deadliest aviation disaster in history.[5][6]

The most fatalities in any aviation accident in history occurred at Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (then Los Rodeos Airport) in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on 27 March 1977, when a KLM Boeing 747-206B and a Pan Am Boeing 747-121 collided on a runway, killing 583 people.[7] The largest number of fatalities from the accidental crash of a single aircraft occurred on 12 August 1985, when Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747SR-46 en route from Tokyo to Osaka, crashed at Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, killing 520 people.[8] The greatest number of fatalities from a mid-air collision occurred to the west of New Delhi, India, on 12 November 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-168B en route from Delhi to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, collided with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD en route from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, to Delhi, killing all 349 people aboard both aircraft.[9]

In 2012, Boeing released a study of worldwide commercial jet airplane accidents between 1959 and 2011, reporting 1,798 accidents, 603 categorized as fatal, which accounted for 29,025 onboard fatalities and an additional 1,173 ground or noncommercial aircraft collision deaths.[10] The Boeing analysis suggests a decrease of commercial aviation accident fatality rates toward the end of the study period.[11]

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Definitions

The US Code of Federal Regulations defines an accident as "an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury, or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage;" an incident as "an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations;" and a fatal injury as one which results in death within 30 days of the accident.[12] The definitions of accident, incident, and fatality in the Code of Federal Regulations, and used by the FAA and NTSB, are generally consistent with those found in the ICAO Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13.[10][13]

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Table key

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Notes regarding table data columns

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Deaths

  • Total (Tot): The total number of fatalities associated with the accident or incident.
  • Crew (C): The number of crew fatalities.
  • Passenger (P): The number of passenger fatalities.
  • Ground (G): The number of ground (non-flying) fatalities.
  • Notes (N): The presence of a cross () denotes that all passengers and crew were killed. The presence of a one with an asterisk (1*) indicates the accident or incident had a sole survivor.

Type

Occurrences have been coded to allow for identification and sorting by group membership (accidents and related incidents versus attacks).

  • "COM": Commercial aircraft
  • "MIL": Military aircraft

Any collision between a commercial and military aircraft is coded COM.

  • "INB": Internal attack involving a pre-planned bomb (without hijacking).
  • "INH": Internal attack to commandeer aircraft. The use of weapons (including a bomb or other explosives) for this purpose is coded in this category.
  • "EXG": External attack originating on the ground (e.g., ground to air missiles, destruction of the aircraft while on the runway).
  • "EXS": External attack originating in the sky (e.g., intentional downing by a military aircraft).

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Location

To provide some indication of the distance between the site and the nearest location, the following three descriptors are applied:

  • none: No descriptor appears before the location name. The site was within 20 km (12.5 mi) of the location.
  • "off": Used only for those aquatic crash sites within 20 km (12.5 mi) of the location.
  • "near": The site was approximately 20 km to 50 km (12.5 mi to 31 mi) from the location.
  • "area of": The crash site was over 50 km (31 mi) from the location provided.

The names of occurrence locations are based on their present-day names.

Phases of flight

The phases of flight are those defined by the joint Commercial Aviation Safety Team/ICAO Common Taxonomy Team.[683]

  • Standing (STD): Prior to pushback/taxi, after gate arrival, or stationary and parked.
  • Taxi (TXI): Moving under own power, prior to takeoff or after landing.
  • Take off (TOF): Initiation of takeoff power, pulling back on controls, through to 10 m (35 ft) altitude.
  • Initial climb (ICL): End of TOF to the first of: initial prescribed power reduction, 300 m (1000 ft) altitude, or VFR pattern.
  • En route (ENR): End of ICL, through cruise and descent to first of: initial approach fix (IFR) or 300 m (1000 ft) above runway elevation (VFR).
  • Maneuvering (MNV): Only for low altitude flight (observation, photography) or aerobatics.
  • Approach (APR): From IAF or 300 m (1000 ft) elevation to landing flare.
  • Landing (LDG): Landing flare through to exit from runway.
  • Unknown (UNK): Unable to determine phase of flight.

Airports and distance

Airports associated with occurrences at all phases of flight (except ENR) are represented by their three-letter IATA airport code. In some cases, no IATA code is reported/assigned in which case the four-letter ICAO code is used. In rare instances (e.g., active or decommissioned military bases or closed airports whose civil codes have been reassigned), no codes exist. These airports are represented with three asterisks "***" in place of letters. Distance from the point of impact to the airport runway is provided for occurrences during the initial climb (ICL) and approach (APR) phases. On occasion, distance is provided for occurrences during takeoff (TOF) and landing (LDG) if the aircraft impacted within the aerodrome, but not on the runway.

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See also

Notes

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All accident and incident references to the Aviation Safety Network database are sub-pages of their main website, https://asn.flightsafety.org.

    1. In cases where specific flight numbers do not exist or are not provided in supporting records, the aircraft's registration number appears in parentheses.
    2. It is impossible to definitively know exactly how many people died from the hijacking and crash of American Airlines Flight 11, since this crash and the one of United Airlines Flight 175 happened in the same place, at about the same time, and it is hard to distinguish who died from which plane. It is known for certain, however, that the sum of plane and ground fatalities caused by both suicide attacks is 2,763. In addition to the rough estimate of 1,600 ground fatalities blamed on Flight 11, the number of people aboard the hijacked flight was 92. The death toll of Flight 11 thus comes out to approximately 1,700 when rounded.
    3. It is impossible to definitively know exactly how many people died from the hijacking and crash of United Airlines Flight 175, since this crash and the one of American Airlines Flight 11 happened in the same place, at about the same time, and it is hard to distinguish who died from which plane. It is known for certain, however, that the sum of plane and ground fatalities caused by both suicide attacks is 2,763. In addition to the rough estimate of 1,000 ground fatalities blamed on Flight 175, the number of people aboard the hijacked flight was 65. The death toll of Flight 175 thus comes out to approximately 1,060 when rounded.
    4. The exact number of people that were killed on the ground is not known. The number of manslaughter charges was 225, ASN says 237, the CAA review 1990-1999 states 297, and some media sources have stated numbers over 300. Vincent Nicod of the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that 249 bodies on the ground were found. It is known that four crew members survived.
    5. The aircraft is missing, thus the fatality number is presumed.
    6. Emergency began ENR, lost control on APR.
    7. Pilot of fighter plane ejected to safety
    8. Some reports claim there were 163 on board, others 174 or even 200 including some unidentified civilians, and possible military personnel who hitched a ride. In any case, a total of 159 were confirmed to have died.
    9. Private jet landed safely, not included
    10. The pilot was on approach to the old Isparta Airport (closed, no codes available) believing he was on approach to Antalya.
    11. The number of passengers killed varies from 135-143. 141 bodies in total were found, 5 crew, 133 passengers, and 3 others who were most likely also passengers.
    12. The number of fatalities is unofficial.
    13. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it was reported that there were 140 people on the aircraft, including seven crew members.
    14. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it was reported that there were 140 people on the aircraft, including seven crew members.
    15. It is not known if there were any survivors.
    16. The Indonesian Air Force reported that there were 122 persons on board the Hercules. On 4 July a local commissioner reported that there 121 people on the flight manifest: 38 military personnel on board the plane and 83 civilians.
    17. The number of ground fatalities is unclear, 139 bodies were found in total.
    18. Some sources state 155 were killed, but official accounts state 138 were killed.
    19. UNITA claimed responsibility for the crash. Angolan authorities cited the technical failure of the aircraft.[156]
    20. Xiamen Air was hijacked, China Southwest was parked and empty, and CAAC was parked waiting for clearance to takeoff.
    21. The pilot attempted a controlled ditching near the beach while fighting with the hijackers.
    22. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 112 people on the aircraft, including 98 passengers and 14 crew members.
    23. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 112 people on the aircraft, including 98 passengers and 14 crew members.
    24. Initial reports concluded a bomb had exploded on board. Subsequent investigation suggest a missile may have impacted the aircraft.[357]
    25. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 60 people on the aircraft.
    26. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 60 people on the aircraft.
    27. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 73 people on the aircraft.
    28. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 73 people on the aircraft.
    29. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 76 people on the aircraft, and that 73 people were killed.
    30. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 76 people on the aircraft, and that 73 people were killed.
    31. Aircraft wreckage was never located.
    32. Not to be confused with United Arab Airlines Flight 869 (1962) which crashed flying the same route one year earlier.[507]
    33. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 60 people on the aircraft.
    34. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 60 people on the aircraft.
    35. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 54 people on the aircraft.
    36. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 54 people on the aircraft.
    37. Several missed approaches due to a sandstorm necessitated a failed forced landing in a Khartoum suburb. Despite LDG phase, there was no immediate target airport
    38. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 55 people on the aircraft, and that 53 of the 55 people on board were killed in the incident.
    39. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 55 people on the aircraft, and that 53 of the 55 people on board were killed in the incident.
    40. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 104 people on the aircraft, including 96 passengers and eight crew members.
    41. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 50 people on the aircraft.
    42. It is not known how many passengers or crew were killed in the incident. However, it is known that there were 50 people on the aircraft.
    43. Categories adapted from RAND Corporation aviation research.
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