Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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11 events

  1. Photo: Simon_sees / CC BY 2.0

    Air Niugini Flight 73

    A landing short in Chuuk Lagoon

    Open event

    On 28 September 2018 an Air Niugini Boeing 737-800 struck the water of Chuuk Lagoon about 460 metres short of the runway, after the crew continued an approach into heavy rain without seeing the runway. One of the 47 people on board died, and local boat crews and US Navy divers helped rescue the other 46.

    1 video perspective

  2. Photo: Faisal Akram from Dhaka, Bangladesh / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Jet Airways Flight 555

    Seven approaches in fog, low on fuel

    Open event

    Jet Airways Flight 555, a Boeing 737-800 from Doha to Cochin, failed to land in fog at Cochin three times on 18 August 2015 and diverted to Trivandrum, where visibility was just as poor. After four more approaches and a Mayday for low fuel, it landed on the seventh attempt with 349 kg of fuel left, and all 150 people on board were unhurt.

    1 video perspective

  3. Photo: Sebastien Mortier / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Germanwings Flight 9525

    The A320 flown into the French Alps

    Open event

    On 24 March 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320 flying from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, descended from its cruising height and flew into a mountainside in the French Alps after the co-pilot locked the captain out of the cockpit. The French investigators, the BEA, found that he did it deliberately, and all 150 people on board were killed.

    1 video perspective

  4. Photo: Pete Macklin / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Air France Flight 447

    The Rio to Paris flight lost over the Atlantic

    Open event

    On 1 June 2009 Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 flying overnight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, stalled at 38,000 feet over the Atlantic after ice crystals blocked its airspeed probes and the autopilot disconnected. It struck the ocean four and a half minutes later, and all 228 people on board were killed.

    1 video perspective

  5. Photo: Mila Daniel / CC BY-SA 4.0

    Helios Airways Flight 522

    Hypoxia on a flight to Athens

    Open event

    Helios Airways Flight 522, a Boeing 737-300 flying from Larnaca to Athens and Prague on 14 August 2005, never pressurised because a selector had been left in manual after overnight maintenance, and the pilots were overcome by hypoxia as the aircraft climbed on autopilot. It flew on unresponsive for almost three hours, circling near Athens until its fuel ran out, and crashed into hills near Grammatiko, killing all 121 people on board.

    3 video perspectives

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

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

    Air Canada Flight 143

    The Gimli emergency landing

    Open event

    On 23 July 1983 an almost new Air Canada Boeing 767 ran out of fuel at 41,000 feet over northern Ontario, after its fuel load was worked out in pounds instead of kilograms. Captain Robert Pearson glided it to a landing on the disused air force runway at Gimli, Manitoba, and all 69 people on board survived.

    2 video perspectives

  10. Photo: Rivet Joint / CC BY 2.0

    Olympic Airways Flight 411

    An engine failure over Athens

    Open event

    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

  11. Photo: clipperarctic / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Tenerife airport disaster

    Two 747s collide in fog

    Open event

    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