Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

Deadliest Plane Crashes by Decade, From the 1950s to Today

Each decade of jet-age flying has had an accident that stands above the rest for the number of lives lost, and most of them changed the way airliners are flown or controlled. This guide lists them decade by decade, with the official figures, the findings, and the lessons that followed.

Published 8 min read

The deadliest accident in aviation history is the 1977 runway collision at Tenerife, in which 583 people died. The deadliest single-aircraft accident is Japan Air Lines Flight 123 in 1985, with 520 deaths. Below, each decade from the 1950s has one main entry: its deadliest airliner accident, what the investigators found, and what changed because of it.

How we count

  • Deaths: everyone who died, on board and on the ground, as given by the investigating body or by an official summary of its report. Where official figures and databases disagree, we use the official figure and say so.
  • Accidents and deliberate acts: bombings, shoot-downs and hijackings are not accidents, but they belong in an honest history. Each decade lists them separately, described as the investigation found.
  • Airliners only: military aircraft are left out.
  • Rankings: where we say an accident was the deadliest of its decade, we checked the ranking against non-official databases. Those databases are a cross-check, never a source of facts on this page.

1950s: the Grand Canyon collision, 1956

On 30 June 1956 a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation and a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7 collided over the Grand Canyon. Both were flying under visual flight rules. All 128 people on the two aircraft were killed (FAA Lessons Learned).

What changed. According to the FAA, public pressure after the collision led to congressional hearings on air traffic control. President Eisenhower signed the Airways Modernization Act in August 1957, and the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 moved airways and air safety from the Commerce Department to a new Federal Aviation Agency, the FAA, which began operating on 31 December 1958.

1960s: New York, 1960, and Maracaibo, 1969

On 16 December 1960 a United Airlines DC-8 and a TWA Lockheed Constellation collided over Staten Island, New York. All 128 people on board both aircraft died, and six people on the ground in Brooklyn were killed, 134 in all (FAA Lessons Learned, quoting the Civil Aeronautics Board).

What changed. The Civil Aeronautics Board listed the FAA’s steps during the investigation, including distance-measuring equipment for turbine-powered aircraft, much wider use of radar handoffs, and a 250-knot speed limit below 10,000 feet within 30 nautical miles of the destination airport. In 1961 President Kennedy asked the FAA for a long-range plan for air traffic control, which became Project Beacon.

By the databases’ count, the deadliest airliner accident of the 1960s was later in the decade: Viasa Flight 742 at Maracaibo, Venezuela, on 16 March 1969 (ranking from aviation-accident databases; no official report found). Without the Venezuelan investigation report, this guide gives no figure or cause for it.

1970s: Tenerife, 1977

On 27 March 1977 two Boeing 747s, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, collided in fog on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife. The KLM aircraft began its take-off without clearance. All 248 people on the KLM jet and 335 on the Pan Am jet were killed, 583 in all. Sixty-one people on the Pan Am aircraft survived. See the Tenerife airport disaster.

What changed. Stricter radio phrasing, so that “take-off” is said only in a take-off clearance, and the growth of crew resource management. Both are explained in What changed after Tenerife.

Also in this decade. On 3 March 1974 a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed near Paris after its rear cargo door opened in flight, killing 346 people, according to the BEA. On 25 May 1979 American Airlines Flight 191, another DC-10, lost an engine and pylon on take-off from Chicago, killing all 271 people on board and 2 on the ground (NTSB). Both changed the DC-10, and both will get their own pages.

1980s: Japan Air Lines Flight 123, 1985

On 12 August 1985 Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747SR flying from Tokyo to Osaka, suffered a sudden decompression about 12 minutes after take-off. The rear pressure bulkhead had ruptured, the fin was torn away and all four hydraulic systems were lost. The crew kept the aircraft flying with engine thrust for 32 minutes before it struck mountains. According to the FAA, 505 passengers and 15 crew were killed, and four people survived.

What changed. The bulkhead had been repaired years earlier after a tail strike, and the FAA says the repair was installed improperly, leading to early fatigue failure. The case is now a standard lesson on repairs: a repair must be as strong as the original structure, and must be inspected as it ages. See our guide to Boeing 747 crashes.

Deliberate acts in this decade. On 21 December 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board and 11 residents of the town. The UK AAIB found the cause was an improvised explosive device in a baggage container in the forward hold. What followed is in What changed after Pan Am 103. Air India Flight 182 was destroyed by a bomb in 1985; Canada’s Commission of Inquiry reported on it in 2010.

1990s: the Charkhi Dadri collision, 1996

On 12 November 1996 a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 collided in mid-air near Charkhi Dadri, west of Delhi. 349 people were killed, 312 on the 747 and 37 on the Il-76 (figures from aviation-accident databases; not yet checked against the official report). The report of India’s Court of Inquiry is the official account, so this entry gives only the outline. Our guide to mid-air collisions covers how such collisions are prevented today.

Also in this decade. Two accidents on this site changed aircraft design. On 17 July 1996 TWA Flight 800 broke apart off Long Island after its centre fuel tank exploded, killing all 230 people on board. The NTSB’s findings led to new rules on fuel tank wiring and to nitrogen inerting systems. On 2 September 1998 Swissair Flight 111 developed a fire above the cockpit ceiling that spread through flammable insulation and crashed off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people on board. The TSB found the fire most likely began with wire arcing and spread through insulation blankets that certification standards had allowed.

2000s: American Airlines Flight 587, 2001

On 12 November 2001 American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 bound for Santo Domingo, lost its vertical stabiliser about 90 seconds after taking off from New York’s JFK airport and crashed in Belle Harbor, Queens. All 260 people on board and 5 people on the ground were killed.

What changed. The NTSB found the fin failed under loads beyond its ultimate design load, created by the first officer’s unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs in wake turbulence. It named the A300-600 rudder system’s design and elements of the airline’s pilot training as contributing (NTSB/AAR-04/04).

Also in this decade. On 1 June 2009 Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board. The BEA’s summary lists icing of the pitot probes in cruise, erroneous speed indications, a stall, and the collision with the ocean (final report, 5 July 2012).

Deliberate acts in this decade. The hijackings of 11 September 2001 were the deadliest events involving aircraft in history. They were attacks, not accidents, and are outside the scope of this list.

2010s: Lion Air Flight 610, 2018

On 29 October 2018 Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 MAX, crashed shortly after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Less than five months later, on 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, also a 737 MAX, crashed after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board (FAA).

What changed. The FAA grounded the 737 MAX on 13 March 2019, after evidence suggested a link between the two accidents. Boeing changed the MCAS flight control software so that it uses both angle-of-attack sensors, activates only once per high angle-of-attack event, and is limited so the pilots keep enough elevator control, and the FAA cleared the aircraft to return on 18 November 2020. The 737 MAX timeline will be told in full when both flights have event pages here.

Deliberate acts and unresolved losses in this decade. On 17 July 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The Dutch Safety Board found that a warhead from a Buk surface-to-air missile detonated near the cockpit (final report, 13 October 2015). Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, and the cause of its loss has not been established.

Patterns across the decades

From collisions to systems. The deadliest accidents of the 1950s and 1960s were mid-air collisions in crowded skies, and their lessons built modern air traffic control. Later decades brought lessons about crews, structures and systems: Tenerife, JAL 123, TWA 800, Swissair 111 and the 737 MAX.

Larger aircraft, higher tolls, lower rates. Single accidents became deadlier as aircraft grew. But the rate of accidents has kept falling. Boeing’s 2025 summary compares 2016–2025 with the decade before: the fatal accident rate fell 60 percent while departures rose 22 percent. Our guide Is flying safe? explains these figures.

Each lesson is narrower and harder. As the big, common causes were fixed, the remaining ones became rarer and more complex. Several of the entries above needed years of investigation to explain.

Where this list stops

This list does not include accidents whose investigations are still open. When a final report is published, the entry is added with the official figures and findings. The 2020s will be added on that basis.

Sources

  1. FAA. Lessons Learned: TWA Flight 2 and United Air Lines Flight 718, Grand Canyon (N6902C) Source
  2. FAA (quoting the Civil Aeronautics Board). Lessons Learned: United Airlines Flight 826 and TWA Flight 266, New York (N8013U) Source
  3. FAA, summarising the Spanish Subsecretaría de Aviación Civil report. Lessons Learned: KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, Tenerife (PH-BUF) Source
  4. BEA (France). Histoire de l’accident du DC-10 TC-JAV (Turkish Airlines 981) Source
  5. FAA. Lessons Learned: Japan Air Lines Flight 123 (JA8119) Source
  6. AAIB (UK). Aircraft Accident Report 2/90, Boeing 747-121, N739PA, Lockerbie Read the report
  7. NTSB. NTSB/AAR-00/03, TWA Flight 800 Source
  8. TSB Canada. Aviation Investigation Report A98H0003, Swissair Flight 111 Read the report
  9. NTSB. NTSB/AAR-04/04, American Airlines Flight 587 Source
  10. BEA (France). Accident to the Airbus A330 F-GZCP, Air France AF447, 1 June 2009 (final report 5 July 2012) Read the report
  11. Dutch Safety Board. Crash MH17, 17 July 2014 (final report 13 October 2015) Read the report
  12. FAA. Summary of the FAA’s Review of the Boeing 737 MAX (18 November 2020) Source
  13. Boeing (manufacturer’s data). Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents, Worldwide Operations 1959–2025 (April 2026) Source
  14. non-official databases, used to check rankings, not to source facts. Cross-check only (not official): Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives listings for the 1996 Charkhi Dadri collision; Wikipedia ‘List of deadliest aircraft accidents and incidents’ (read 31 October 2026) for the decade rankings

More guides

All guides

  • What Changed After Tenerife: CRM and Clearer Radio Calls

    What changed

    The 1977 runway collision at Tenerife killed 583 people and turned on a few words of radio and a cockpit where no one stopped the captain. This guide explains the two big changes that followed, standard radio phrasing and crew resource management, and where they have since saved lives.

  • Boeing 747 Crashes: What Each Accident Found and What Changed

    Aircraft

    The Boeing 747 flew for more than half a century, and a handful of its accidents changed how every airliner is built, flown and protected. This guide covers the 747 events on this site and other landmark cases, with what each investigation found and the safety rules that followed.

  • What Changed After Pan Am 103: How Airport Security Evolved

    What changed

    Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a bomb hidden in a suitcase over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988, killing 270 people. This guide explains what the investigators found about the aircraft’s break-up and how airport and airline security changed in the years that followed.