Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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7 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: Frank Jäger / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Alaska Airlines Flight 261

    The worn jackscrew off the California coast

    Open event

    On 31 January 2000 Alaska Airlines Flight 261, an MD-83 flying from Puerto Vallarta to San Francisco, lost pitch control when the worn threads of the jackscrew that moves its horizontal stabiliser failed. It dived inverted into the Pacific Ocean off Anacapa Island, California, and all 88 people on board were killed.

    2 video perspectives

  3. 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.

    1 video perspective

  4. 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.

    1 video perspective

  5. 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

  6. Photo: Harcmac60 / CC BY-SA 3.0

    Japan Air Lines Flight 123

    The 747 that lost its tail fin over Japan

    Open event

    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

  7. 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.

    1 video perspective