Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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3 events

  1. Photo: Kambui / CC BY 2.0

    Swissair Flight 111

    An in-flight fire off Nova Scotia

    Open event

    Swissair Flight 111, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from New York to Geneva on 2 September 1998, developed a fire hidden above the cockpit ceiling that spread through flammable insulation while the crew diverted towards Halifax. About 20 minutes after the pilots first noticed an unusual smell, the aircraft struck the Atlantic Ocean off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, and all 229 people on board were killed.

    1 video perspective

  2. 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

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

    Swissair Flight 551

    Cockpit smoke after leaving Munich

    Open event

    Ten minutes after Swissair Flight 551 left Munich for Zurich on 16 October 1993, an overheating emergency power switch filled the MD-81's cockpit with dense smoke and knocked out the captain's instruments. The pilots flew back to Munich almost blind and landed 13 minutes after asking to return, and all 95 people on board survived the evacuation, 15 of them with minor injuries.

    1 video perspective