Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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2 events

  1. Photo: Eheik / Public domain

    American Airlines Flight 587

    The tail fin lost over Queens

    Open event

    On 12 November 2001 an American Airlines Airbus A300 bound for Santo Domingo lost its vertical stabilizer about 90 seconds after taking off from New York's JFK airport, when the first officer made repeated full rudder inputs in wake turbulence. It crashed into Belle Harbor, Queens, killing all 260 people on board and 5 people on the ground.

    2 video perspectives

  2. Photo: Stuart Jessup / CC BY-SA 2.0

    American Airlines Flight 191

    The DC-10 that lost an engine on takeoff at O'Hare

    Open event

    On 25 May 1979 the left engine and pylon of American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10 bound for Los Angeles, tore away from the wing as it lifted off from Chicago O'Hare, damage that maintenance work had caused weeks earlier. The aircraft rolled over and crashed just beyond the airport 31 seconds later, killing all 271 people on board and two people on the ground.

    3 video perspectives