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Causes of Airline Crashes (1950-2001)

Author / Coordinator:  
General Aviation
March 2007

Notable Causes by Category
 
Air Traffic Control Error
06/13/1947 Leesburg, Virginia Pen Central Air
11/11/1949 Arlington, Virginia Eastern / U.S. AF
04/14/1958 Castel de Fels, Spain Aviaco
07/21/1961 Shemya, Alaska Alaska AL
02/08/1965 New York, New York Eastern AL
03/05/1969 San Juan, Puerto Rico Prinair
01/14/1970 Mt. Pumacona, Peru Faucett
02/06/1970 Samarkand, USSR Aeroflot
12/20/1972 Chicago, Illinois Delta/North Central
09/09/1976 Adler, Russia Aeroflot / Aeroflot
09/10/1976 Gaj, Yugoslavia Inex / British AW
08/11/1979 Dneprodzerzhinsk, USSR Aeroflot
04/19/1983 Keninakan, Russia Aeroflot
02/01/1991 Los Angeles, California  USAir/Skywest
05/19/1993 Medellin, Colombia SAM
11/07/1996 Lagos, Nigeria Aviation Dev. Corp.
09/26/1997 Buah Nabar, Indonesia Garuda Indonesian AL
Bird Strike
10/04/1960 Boston, Massachusetts Eastern AL
11/23/1962 Ellicott, Maryland United AL
09/15/1988 Bahar Dar, Ethiopia Ethiopian AL
04/18/1990 Off Panama Aero Perlas
09/22/1995 Anchorage, Alaska U.S. Air Force
04/19/2000 Pepo, Congo Centrafricain Airlines
Cargo Hold / Cabin Fire
07/09/1945 Florence, South Carolina Eastern AL
06/17/1948 Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania United AL
08/02/1949 Jaquirana, Brazil Varig
01/09/1964 Zarate, Argentina Aero Litoral Argentina
07/09/1964 Parrottsville, Tennesee United AL
07/26/1969 Biskra, Algeria Air Algerie
08/14/1972 Konigs, East Germany Interflug
08/31/1972 Magnitogorsk, Russia Aeroflot
07/11/1973 Paris, Orly, France Varig
11/03/1973 Boston, Massachusetts Pan American
11/26/1979 Ta’if, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Pakistan Inter. AL
08/19/1980 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian AL
12/24/1982 Guangzhou, China CAAC
06/02/1983 Covington, Kentucky Air Canada
07/02/1986 Syktyvar, Russia Aeroflot
05/09/1987 Warsaw, Poland LOT
11/28/1987 Mauritius, Indian Ocean South African Airways
01/13/1990 Pervouralsk, Russia Aeroflot
07/12/1995 Gumey, New Guinea Milne Bay Air
05/11/1996 Everglades, Florida ValuJjet
09/02/1998 Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia Swissair
Design Flaw
03/31/1933 Bazaar, Kansas Trans Cont. & Western AW
10/24/1947 Bryce Canyon, Utah United AL
11/11/1947 Gallup, New Mexico American AL
06/17/1948 Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania United AL
08/29/1948 Winona, Minnesota Northwest Orient AL
05/02/1953 Jalalogori, India British Overseas AW
01/10/1954 Elba, Italy British Overseas AW
04/08/1954 Off Stromboli, Italy Trans Canada AL
02/05/1955 Calabar, Nigeria West African AW
09/29/1959 Buffalo, Texas Braniff AL
03/17/1960 Tell City, Indiana Northwest Orient AL
07/05/1970 Toronto, Canada Air Canada
07/06/1982 Moscow, Russia Aeroflot
07/30/1992 New York, New York Trans World AL
04/06/1993 Over the Pacific Ocean China Eastern AL
03/03/1991 Colorado Springs, Colorado United AL
09/08/1994 Aliquippa, Pennsylvania USair
Sabotage – Explosive Device
03/28/1933 Dixmude, Belgium Imperial AW
10/10/1933 Chesterton, Indiana United AL
05/07/1949 Sibuyan Sea, Philippines Phillipine AL
09/09/1949 Sault-aux-Cochons, Canada Canadian Pacific AL
08/12/1952 Palmeria de Goias, Brazil Trans Aero Nac.
04/11/1955 Great Natuna Island, Sarawak Air India
11/01/1955 Longmont, Colorado United AL
07/25/1957 Daggett, California Western AL
04/17/1959 Puerto Kino,Mexico Tigres Voladores
09/08/1959 Poza Rica, Mexico Mexicana
11/16/1959 Gulf of Mexico National AL
01/06/1960 Bolivia, North Carolina National AL
05/10/1961 In Amenas, Libya Air France
05/22/1962 Unionville, Missouri Continental AL
12/08/1964 Tripuani, Bolivia Aerolineas Abaroa
07/08/1965 Dog Creek, British Columbia Canadian Pacific AL
11/22/1966 Aden, Yemen Aden AW
02/09/1967 Mexico City, Mexico Cubana
10/12/1967 Rhodes, Greece British European AW
12/22/1969 Nha Trang, Vietnam Air Vietnam
02/21/1970 Zurich, Switzerland Swissair
04/21/1970 Manila, Philippines Philippine AL
11/21/1971 Penhu Island, Taiwan China AL
01/26/1972 Hermsdorf, Czechoslovakia JAT
06/15/1972 Pleiku, Vietnam Cathay Pacific AW
03/19/1973 Ben Me Thout, South Vietnam Air Vietnam
04/21/1973 Patabangan, Philippines Philippine AL
12/17/1973 Rome, Italy Pan American AW
09/08/1974 Ionian Sea, Greece Trans World AL
01/01/1976 Al Qaysumah, Saudi Arabia Middle East AL
10/06/1976 Bridgetown, Barbados Cubana
02/19/1979 Barentu, Ethiopia Ethiopian Airlines
06/27/1980 Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy Itavia
12/21/1980 Rio Hacha, Colombia Trans. Aereos del Caribe
09/23/1983 Mina Jebel Ali, UAE Gulf Air
06/23/1985 Atlantic Ocean, Ireland Air India
04/02/1986 Athens, Greece Trans World AL
05/03/1986 Colombo, Sri Lanka Air Lanka
11/29/1987 Andaman Sea Korean AL
03/01/1988 Johannesberg, South Africa Comair
12/21/1988 Lockerbie, Scotland Pan American AW
09/19/1989 Bilma, Niger Union des Trans. Aeriens
11/27/1989 Bogota, Colombia Avianca
07/19/1994 Colon, Panama Alas Chiricanas
12/11/1994 Pacific Ocean, Okinawa Philippine AL
07/09/1997 Suzano, Brazil TAM
03/03/2001 Bangkok, Thailand Thai Airways
Fuel Starvation
05/18/1935 Knowles Flying Service Flint, Michigan
12/31/1935 Imperial Airways Alexandria, Egypt
05/06/1936 Macon, Missouri Transcon. & West. Air
01/14/1936 Goodwin, Arkansas American AL
07/02/1937 Lae, New Guinea Purdue Res. Found.
11/28/1938 Off Point Reyes, Calif. United Air Lines
02/09/1943 Gander, Newfoundland British Overseas AW
12/28/1946 Michigan City, Michigan American AL
01/05/1947 Carmel, New Jersey Nationwide Air Trans.
01/11/1947 Lympne, England BOAC
01/07/1948 Savannah, Georgia Coastal Air Lines
01/30/1948 Near Bermuda British So. Am. AW
12/28/1948 San Juan, Puerto Rico Airborne Transport
08/15/1949 Lurga Point, Ireland Transocean Air Lines
07/28/1950 Porte Alegre, Brazil Penair do Brasil
04/30/1952 Delhi, India Deccan, AW
05/26/1952 Atar, Mauritania British Overseas Airways
06/19/1954 Folkestone, England  Swissair
12/22/1954 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Johnson Flying Service
04/04/1967 Stockport, England British Midland AW
05/02/1970 St. Croix, Virgin Islands Antillian AL
12/05/1970 Delhi, India Jamair
02/01/1972 Tegal, Indonesia Penas
07/24/1973 Honolulu, HI Air Hawaii
08/11/1974 Ouagadougou, Upper Volta Air Mali
10/20/1977 Gillsburg, Mississippi L & J Company
12/02/1977 Al Bayda, Lebanon Balkan Bulgarian AL
12/28/1978 Portland, Oregon United AL
09/04/1982 Rio Branco, Brazil Cia Bras. de Tratores
07/23/1983 Gimli, Manitoba, Canada Air Canada
09/03/1989 Sao Jose do Xingu, Brazil Varig
01/25/1990 Cove Neck, New York Avianca
09/11/1990 Off Newfoundland, Canada Faucett
06/26/1991 Sokotu, Nigeria Okada Air
11/15/1993 Kerman, Iran Magistralnye Avialinii
09/18/1994 Tamanrasset, Algeria Oriental AL
09/26/1994 Vanavera, Russia Cheremshanka AL
09/11/1995 Jalalabad, Afghanistan  Ariana Afghan AL
10/31/1995 Piedras Negras, Mexico TACSA
04/05/1996 Petropavlovsk, Russia Krasnoyarskie AV
01/13/1998 Tor Kach, Pakistan Ariana Afghan AL
03/24/2000 Kadirana, Sri Lanka OMSK
Hijacking (resulting in fatalities)
07/16/1948 Pacific Ocean Cathay Pacific AW
11/01/1958 Nipe Bay, Cuba Cubana
04/28/1960 Calabozo, Venezuela Linea Aero. Venezolana
1/23/1971 Korean Air Lines Sokcho, South Korea
12/06/1971 Tikaka, Sudan Sudan AW
05/18/1973 Chita, Russia Aeroflot
09/15/1974 Phan Rang, Vietnam Air Vietnam
05/23/1976 Zamboanga, Philippines Philippine AL
06/27/1976 Entebbe, Uganda Air France
12/04/1977 Kampung Ladang, Malaysia Malaysia AL
06/14/1985 Athens, Greece Trans World AL
11/24/1985 Luqa, Malta Egyptair
09/05/1986 Karachi, Pakistan Pan American AW
12/25/1986 Ay, Saudi Arabia Iraqi AW
07/24/1987 Geneva, Switzerland Air Afrique
04/05/1988 Combi, Cyprus Kuwait AW
10/02/1990 Guangzhou, China Xiamen/China SW AL
08/28/1993 Khorag, Tajikistan Tadzhikistan Nat. AL
12/26/1994 Algiers, Algeria Air France
11/23/1996 Moroni, Comoros Islands Ethiopian AL
07/23/1999 Tokyo, Japan All Nippon AW
09/11/2001 New York, New York American AL
09/11/2001 New York, New York United AL
09/11/2001 Arlington, Virginia America AL
09/11/2001 Shanksville, Pennsylvania United AL
Lightning
07/22/1938 Stulpica, Romania LOT
08/31/1940 Lovettsville, Virginia Penn Central AL
01/17/1951 Civitavecchia, Italy Alitalia
06/26/1959 Varese, Italy Trans World AL
08/29/1960 Dakar, Senegal Air France
07/19/1961 Azul, Brazil Aerolineas Argentinas
12/19/1962 Warsaw, Poland LOT
08/12/1963 Lyon, France Air Inter
12/08/1963 Elkton, Maryland Pan American AW
12/24/1971 Puerto Inca, Peru Lineas Aereas Nacionales
05/09/1976 Madrid, Spain Iran Air Force
02/08/1988 Mulheim, Germany NFD
06/22/2000 Shitai, China Wuhan AL
Pilot Incapacitation
10/30/1959 Waynesborough, Virginia Piedmont AL
12/14/1962 Burbank, California Flying Tiger Line
10/06/1965 Centennial, Wyoming United AL
04/22/1966 Ardmore, Oklahoma American Flyers AL
03/13/1967 East London, South Africa South African AW
01/14/1970 Mt. Pumacona, Peru Faucett
06/18/1972 Staines, Surrey, England British European AW
10/13/1972 Krasnaya, Polyana, USSR Aeroflot
02/09/1982 Tokyo, Japan Japan AL
03/31/1995 Balotesti, Romania Trans. Aeriene Rom.
Pilots Shot by Passenger
05/07/1964 San Ramon, California Pacific AL
12/04/1977 Kampung Ladang, Malaysia Malaysian AL
12/07/1987 San Luis Obispo, California Pacific Southwest AL

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