10 of the Worst Airline Disasters in History

Although the airline crash of the American Airlines Flight 11 and the United Airlines Flight 175 resulted in 1,692 and 965 deaths respectively, these events have not been included in this write-up since, technically, they do not fall under ‘accidents’ or ‘disasters’. Instead, they have been an outcome of an internal attack (hijack). Similarly, the destruction of Air India Flight 182 and Pan Am Flight 103 was caused by yet another internal attack (bomb), hence, these disasters too are not a part of this list.

The plane, now in a nose-high position, experienced aerodynamic stall, i.e., its nose had gone so high that it couldn’t climb, and as a result, it lost airspeed. This caused a fatal crash that killed 264 people, with only 7 survivors.

The plane’s stabilizer (tail) detached and fell into Jamaica Bay. This caused the plane to pitch downwards. The aerodynamic load due to the uncontrolled dive tore the engines from the wings moments before impact. The fuselage of the plane crashed into Belle Harbor, destroying three houses instantaneously. The wreckage was further harmed by fire.

The crash resulted in 265 fatalities: 251 passengers, 9 crew members, and 5 people on the ground. The timing of the crash, coming so soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, initially raised fear of another wave of terrorist attacks; these fears were assuaged by the authorities with minimal delay.

273 people, including all 258 passengers, 13 crew members, and 2 bystanders on the ground, were killed in the accident, which was chalked off to a failure to carry out proper maintenance and to spot the potentially threatening condition beforehand.

Iran claimed that the plane’s radio signals were in the range reserved for civilian aircraft, and distinct from the one used by military aircraft. The U.S. later apologized for the “human error” that had caused the tragedy, and paid USD 61.8 million as compensation without accepting legal liability.

The practice of Middle Eastern airlines of allowing Muslim passengers to carry butane stoves on board so that they could follow Islamic dietary laws was roundly criticized in the aftermath, with one report even going so far as to directly blame one of the passenger’s stoves for the accident. The practice, technically illegal at the time but still clandestinely practiced, was completely stopped after this disaster.

However, instead of descending to the height of 4,600 m, the Kazakhstan Airlines plane descended to 4,400 m, and still kept coming lower despite being warned by the air traffic control at New Delhi. By the time the pilot noticed the mistake, the two planes had collided. The Saudia Boeing, whose left wing collided with the Ilyushin’s tail, split apart in mid-air before crashing, while the Ilyushin remained intact, but was uncontrollable due to the damage to the tail, and eventually crashed. Only 6 passengers weren’t killed on the spot, but succumbed to their injuries later.

The pilots tried to regain control by deploying differential engine thrust, but after descending to around 4,000 m they lost control of the plane, which began to drift from its original flight path. It eventually collided into the ridges of Mount Takamagahara, 32 minutes after the rear bulkhead exploded, which resulted in the death of 505 passengers and 15 crew members. Remarkably, four passengers survived.

A notable aspect of this crash was the proficiency of the air crew. Despite the equipment failing them, the fault can’t be attributed to the pilots, since keeping the plane airborne for 32 minutes even after suffering such a vital structural failure was a result of their skill at their trade. During simulations conducted later, no other flight crew managed to keep the plane airborne for as long as the actual crew.

By the time the Gran Canaria Airport reopened and the planes lined up to fly to their destination, a dense fog had engulfed Tenerife. Owing to the blocked taxiway, both 747s were forced to use the sole available runway to taxi for takeoff. Neither the planes nor the controller noticed that two planes had lined up on the same strip, as the lack of ground radar installations meant that the controller only relied on the radio messages from the two planes.

As the result of a series of miscommunications, KLM Flight 4805 began to takeoff without knowing that Pan Am Flight 1736 was still on the runway. It was revealed during the investigation that the KLM pilot hadn’t received authorization to takeoff, but thought he had due to confusing phrasing from air traffic control. This resulted in a ghastly collision, completely destroying both planes and killing a total of 583 people.