Flights Gone Wrong

Real stories. Deeper understanding.

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Every event we cover, by year.

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25 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.

    3 video perspectives

  4. Photo: Kentaro Iemoto / CC BY-SA 2.0

    Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

    The Boeing 777 that disappeared on the way to Beijing

    Open event

    On 8 March 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, stopped communicating less than 40 minutes after takeoff, turned back across Malaysia and flew on for about seven hours, tracked only by satellite signals. The aircraft is believed to have come down in the southern Indian Ocean and has never been found, and the official investigation could not establish why it disappeared.

    3 video perspectives

  5. 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.

    3 video perspectives

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

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

    Air Transat Flight 236

    The glide to the Azores

    Open event

    On 24 August 2001 an Air Transat Airbus A330 flying from Toronto to Lisbon lost all its fuel over the Atlantic through a leak in its right engine, and both engines stopped. The crew glided it to Lajes in the Azores and landed, and all 306 people on board survived.

    2 video perspectives

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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