Aviation Accidents and Incidents

It depends on the type of aircraft that you are flying in. When looking at overall fatal crash rate, the numbers show that flight one of the safest forms of travel. The National Safety Council puts the odds of dying as a passenger of an airplane as 1 in 188,106 – the second safest form of travel behind railway travel ( 1 in 243,765). Still, each crash is much more likely to be fatal than crashes in other forms of transportation. From 1982 – 2018, 20 percent of all aviation crashes and incidents involved at least one fatality. For comparison’s sake, less than one percent of U.S. car accidents are fatal.

However, crashes are most likely to occur in single engine planes – and typically in general aviation rather than on commercial airlines. In fact, 79 percent of all aircraft accidents and 72 percent of fatal crashes involved single engine planes.

It is hard to understate the roles that increase safety regulation and requirements on both operators and on pilots have played in the overall reduction in crashes and fatalities – especially those in the commercial airline industry. In fact, before a passenger was killed aboard a Southwest flight in 2018, the last fatal airline crash in the United States was in February 2009. That disaster, the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, killed all 49 people on board and another person on the ground in Clarence, NY. The resulting lawsuits and advocacy from the families of those who were killed made sweeping changes to the airline industry. Most notably, the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 required significantly more training for pilots – 1,500 hours up from 250 before, flight and duty time regulations, and many other industry safety and transparency requirements. Many other laws, including the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) as well as international conventions, regulate everything from product and aircraft manufacturing and maintenance to pilot schools and business operations for commercial as well as general aviation.

“Interestingly, despite being the most likely phase to be involved in a crash, accidents during landing were by far the least likely to be deadly”

Here is the full list of crashes by phase of flight, from most to least crashes:

• Landing: 20,330 crashes
• Takeoff: 16,061 crashes
• Cruise: 11,034 crashes
• Maneuvering: 10,275 crashes
• Approach: 8,077 crashes
• Taxi: 2,438 crashes
• Climb: 2,351 crashes
• Descent: 2,351crashes
• Go-Around: 1,685 crashes
• Standing: 1,284 crashes

However, crashes that occur during the maneuvering and cruise phases are most likely to be deadly – 39 percent of crashes during the maneuvering phase and 30 percent of crashes during the cruise were fatal. Interestingly, despite being the most likely phase to be involved in a crash, accidents during landing were by far the least likely to be deadly. Just under two percent of landing phase crashes resulted in a fatality – compared to 15.7 percent of crashes durning takeoff.

1. The Tenerife Airport Disaster

   Tenerife, Canary Island

   March 27, 1977

   Deaths: 583

   Survivors: 61

   Cause: Pilot Error

   Aircraft Involved: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747-206B and Pan Am Boeing 747-121

2. Japan Airlines Flight 123

   August 12, 1985

   Mount Takamagahara, Japan

   Deaths: 520

   Survivors: Four

   Cause: In-flight Structural Failure

   Aircraft Involved: JAL Boeing 747-146SR

3. Charkhi Dadri Mid-Air Collision

   November 12, 1996

   Charkhi Dadri, Haryana, India

   Deaths: 349

   Survivors: None

   Cause: Pilot Error Resulting in Mid-Air Collision

   Aircraft Involved: Saudi Arabian Arilines Boeing 747-168B and Kazakhstan Airlines Illyushin II-76TD

4. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 Crash

   March 3, 1974

   Northeast of Paris, France

   Deaths: 346

   Survivors: None

   Cause: Cargo Door Failure Due to Design Flaw

   Aircraft Involved: Turkish Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10

5. Saudia Flight 163

   August 19, 1980

   Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

   Deaths: 301

   Survivors: None

   Cause: In-flight Fire

   Aircraft Involved: Saudia Lockheed L-1011-200

6. American Airlines Flight 191

   May 25, 1979

   Des Plaines, Illinois (A Suburb of Chicago)

   Deaths: 273 (Two Ground Fatalities)

   Survivors: None

   Cause: Improper Maintenance (Engine Detachment)

   Aircraft Involved: American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10

7. American Airlines Flight 587

   November 12, 2001

   Queens, New York City, New York

   Deaths: 265 (Five Ground Fatalities)

   Survivors: None

   Cause: Pilot Error (Excessive Ruder Use Leading to Separation of the Vertical Stabilizer)

   Aircraft Involved: American Airlines Airbus A300B4-605R

8. China Airlines Flight 140

   April 26, 1994

   Nagoya, Japan

   Deaths: 264

   Survivors: Seven

   Cause: Pilot Error and Poor Training

   Aircraft Involved: China Airlines Airbus A300B4-622R

9. Nigeria Airways Flight 2120

   July 11, 1991

   Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

   Deaths: 261

   Survivors: None

   Cause: Improper Maintenance (Under Inflated Tire That Lead to a Fire After Takeoff)

   Aircraft Involved: Nationair Douglas DC-8-61 (Operated on Behalf of Nigeria Airways)

10.  New Zealand Flight 901

    November 28, 1979

    Mount Erebus, Antarctica

    Deaths: 257

    Survivors: None

    Cause: Computer Coordinates Where Changed to Steer Aircraft Directly into Mount Erebus

    Aircraft Involved: Air New Zealand McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30

(Note: This list excludes planes that were shot down or destroyed in terrorist attacks – such as the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (2,996 total deaths), the Air India Flight 182 Bombing (329 deaths), Malysia Airlines Flight 17 (298 deaths) – or those involved in military exercises.)