Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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9 events

  1. Photo: Edmund Seeger / CC BY-SA 2.0

    US Airways Flight 1549

    The Miracle on the Hudson

    Open event

    On 15 January 2009 US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 climbing out of New York's LaGuardia Airport for Charlotte, lost thrust in both engines after flying into a flock of Canada geese at about 2,800 feet. Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles ditched it on the Hudson River about three and a half minutes later, and all 155 people on board survived.

    3 video perspectives

  2. 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

  3. Photo: simon butler / CC BY 2.0

    Emery Worldwide Flight 17

    A disconnected elevator tab at Sacramento

    Open event

    Emery Worldwide Flight 17, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 cargo jet, pitched up uncontrollably as it took off from Sacramento Mather Airport on 16 February 2000 because a bolt had come out of the right elevator control tab. The crew fought for about two minutes to fly back to the airport but crashed into an automobile salvage yard in Rancho Cordova, and all three crew members died.

    1 video perspective

  4. 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

  5. Photo: Paul Seymour / CC BY-SA 4.0

    United Airlines Flight 232

    The DC-10 steered with engine power to Sioux City

    Open event

    On 19 July 1989 United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10 flying from Denver to Chicago and Philadelphia, lost all three hydraulic systems when its tail engine's fan disk shattered at 37,000 feet. The crew steered it to Sioux City, Iowa, using only the two remaining engines, and 184 of the 296 people on board survived the crash landing.

    3 video perspectives

  6. Photo: Bill Abbott / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Aloha Airlines Flight 243

    A fuselage failure over Hawaii

    Open event

    On 28 April 1988 about 18 feet of the upper fuselage of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 tore away at 24,000 feet between Hilo and Honolulu, after fatigue cracks along a lap joint linked up. The crew landed at Kahului on Maui 13 minutes later, and 94 of the 95 people on board survived, but flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing was swept out of the aircraft and never found.

    3 video perspectives

  7. Photo: Andrew Thomas from Shrewsbury, UK / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Delta Air Lines Flight 191

    The Dallas/Fort Worth microburst

    Open event

    On 2 August 1985 a Delta Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 TriStar flew into a microburst beneath a thunderstorm on final approach to Dallas/Fort Worth and struck the ground about a mile short of runway 17L. Of the 163 people on board, 134 were killed and 29 survived, and the driver of a car on the highway was also killed.

    2 video perspectives

  8. 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

  9. Photo: Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Delta Air Lines Flight 1080

    A jammed elevator, flown on thrust

    Open event

    On 12 April 1977 a Delta Air Lines Lockheed L-1011 TriStar pitched up uncontrollably after take-off from San Diego, because its left elevator had jammed fully up. Captain Jack McMahan controlled it with engine thrust and landed safely at Los Angeles, and all 52 people on board were unhurt.

    1 video perspective