Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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5 events

  1. Photo: Eduard Marmet / CC BY-SA 3.0

    TWA Flight 800

    A fuel tank explosion off Long Island

    Open event

    TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 bound from New York to Paris, broke apart off Long Island on 17 July 1996, about 12 minutes after takeoff, when fuel vapour in its nearly empty centre wing tank exploded. All 230 people on board were killed, and the investigation led to new rules on fuel tank wiring and to nitrogen inerting systems in airliner fuel tanks.

    2 video perspectives

  2. Photo: Kambui / CC BY 2.0

    Pan Am Flight 103

    The Lockerbie bombing

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    Pan Am Flight 103, a Boeing 747 flying from London Heathrow to New York, was destroyed by a bomb in its forward cargo hold over Lockerbie, Scotland, on 21 December 1988. All 259 people on board and 11 residents of Lockerbie were killed, and a Libyan intelligence officer was later convicted of their murder.

    2 video perspectives

  3. Photo: Harcmac60 / CC BY-SA 3.0

    Japan Air Lines Flight 123

    The 747 that lost its tail fin over Japan

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    On 12 August 1985 Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747 flying from Tokyo to Osaka with 524 people on board, lost most of its tail fin and all four hydraulic systems when its rear pressure bulkhead burst, 12 minutes after takeoff. The crew kept it flying for more than 30 minutes using engine power before it struck a mountain ridge in Gunma Prefecture, and 520 people were killed; four passengers survived.

    3 video perspectives

  4. Photo: Rivet Joint / CC BY 2.0

    Olympic Airways Flight 411

    An engine failure over Athens

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    An engine failed as Olympic Airways Flight 411, a fully loaded Boeing 747 bound for New York, lifted off from Athens on 9 August 1978, and the jet barely climbed as it crossed the city at rooftop height. The crew nursed it out over the sea, dumped fuel and landed back at Athens about an hour later, and all 418 people on board survived.

    1 video perspective

  5. Photo: clipperarctic / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Tenerife airport disaster

    Two 747s collide in fog

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    Two Boeing 747s, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, collided in fog on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife on 27 March 1977, after both had been diverted there by a bomb at Las Palmas. The KLM jet began its takeoff without clearance and struck the Pan Am aircraft as it taxied on the same runway, killing 583 people, the deadliest accident in aviation history; 61 people on the Pan Am aircraft survived.

    2 video perspectives