The Deadliest Commercial Airline Disasters of the Past 50 Years

Air travel has come a long way. Since the Wright Brothers first took flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, over a century ago, flight has improved considerably. Planes started as delicate machines but now are competent powerhouses capable of ferrying thousands of people a day without complications. Sometimes, however, flights turn disastrous.

Fatal airline crashes make the news because they are so rare. You are more likely to die on your way to the airport than you are in an airplane. Indeed, the odds of dying in an airline crash remain at 1 in 816,545,929. When planes do crash, however, it's a tragedy that can kill hundreds. As such, let's explore some of the deadliest commercial airline disasters of the past 50 years. (For aviation success, discover 10 of the biggest aviation breakthroughs in history.)

To compile a list of the deadliest commercial airline disasters of the past 50 years, 24/7 Tempo consulted a range of news, science, and history publications, including Popular Mechanics, The Aviation Safety Network, and History.com. Next, we selected the American airplane crashes that resulted in the most fatalities and damage. From there, we confirmed aspects of our research using sites like Britannica and WWLTV.com.

On May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed at the end of a runway and killed everyone on board. While taking off from runway 32R at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the DC-10 plane's left engine detached from the wing. The aircraft spun out of control as it climbed into the air. The imbalanced wing weight caused Flight 191 to roll to the left, hitting a bank angle of 112 degrees. In short order, the plane crashed 4,600 feet past the end of the runway into an open field next to a trailer park.

All 271 of the plane's occupants died upon impact, with two more fatalities at a nearby repair garage. Victims included biomedical inventor and New Age author Itzhak Bentov, as well as music executive and manager Leonard Stogel. Tragically, authorities never identified 30 victims of the crash. In the aftermath, The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed the disaster on American Airlines' improper maintenance procedures. It remains the deadliest aviation-only accident in American history.

Two months after the 9/11 tragedy, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the New York City Queens neighborhood of Belle Harbor. After being cleared for takeoff, Flight 587 ascended steadily. While climbing from 1,300 feet to 5,000 feet, the plane hit wake turbulence from the previous flight that had taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. First Officer Sten Molin moved the plane's rudder from left to right quickly, which caused the airplane to sideslip until the force of the maneuver tore off the aircraft's vertical stabilizers.

This caused the plane to enter into a flat spin, tearing off both engines. American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into Newport Avenue and Beach 131st Street in Belle Harbor, Queens, killing all 260 occupants as well as five people on the ground. People initially feared another terrorist attack due to its proximity to the remains of the World Trade Center. In the aftermath, however, the NTSB blamed the pilot's forceful use of rudder controls for the disaster. Ninety percent of the passengers were of Dominican descent, and the flight had a "cult status" in certain Dominican-populated neighborhoods due to its constant ferrying between New York and the Dominican Republic. It remains the second-deadliest aviation accident in American history.

On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean only 12 minutes after takeoff. The flight took off from New York's JFK airport and was scheduled to land at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. It was supposed to leave at 7 p.m., but a baggage mismatch caused delays until 8:02 p.m. After an uneventful takeoff, TWA Flight 800 flew out over the Atlantic Ocean. Weather was mild and the plane's ascent had no complications. The FAA recorded the plane's last radar responder return at 8:31 p.m. Less than a minute later, the captain of Eastwind Airlines Flight 507 reported seeing an explosion above the Atlantic Ocean. Within seconds, various civilian, commercial, and military vessels affirmed the sighting of a massive explosion and objects subsequently plunging into the water.

Nearby vessels went looking for survivors but found none. All 230 occupants of the plane died. Initial fears of a terrorist attack gave way to criminal investigations, but the New York Police Department Joint Terrorism Task Force found no evidence of a criminal act after its 16-month investigation. The subsequent NTSB investigation lasted four years and became the most complex and expensive air disaster investigation in American history. The NTSB concluded that the likely cause of the crash was flammable fuel vapors in the center fuel tank. Furthermore, they found problems with the plane's wiring. This was reinforced by a final recording of the pilot talking about seeing "crazy readings" of the plane's system. While the NTSB could not say for sure what caused TWA Flight 800 to crash, the accident resulted in new requirements for airlines to prevent fuel tank explosions.

No commercial airline disaster changed the world quite like the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Early in the morning on Sept. 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the upper reaches of the World Trade Center's North Tower in Lower Manhattan. Grief for what was initially thought to be an accident quickly gave way to confirmation of terrorism after United Airlines Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center's South Tower. Less than 30 minutes later, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon building in Washington D.C. Not long after, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into farmland near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Within an hour and 40 minutes of the initial crash, the World Trade Center collapsed, killing thousands of people. Airports grounded all commercial airline flights and the country entered into a standstill.

By evening, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) informed President George W. Bush that the attacks were instigated by Al-Qaeda, an Islamic Terrorist group headed by Osama Bin Laden. Investigations discovered that a team of 19 terrorists operating out of different locations hijacked the various planes midflight and diverted them toward their intended targets. In the end, the terrorist attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people, thousands of injuries, and at least $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage. It remains one of it not the deadliest terrorist attack in world history. 9/11 resulted in thousands of more lives being lost due to the subsequent American response to the attacks via the War on Terrorism, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the invasion of Iraq.

On Aug. 6, 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into a mountainside in Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory and island in the South Pacific Ocean. That route typically used an Airbus 3000, but Korean Air intended to fly a group of athletes to American Samoa so they switched out the plane for the larger 747-300 model. After an uneventful takeoff and ascent from Gimpo International Airport, Flight 801 headed toward Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam.

Shortly after the plane prepared to land, the weather turned to heavy rain and reduced the pilots' visibility. Capt. Park Yong-chul mistook an irrelevant electronic signal as an indication of the runway and began the plane's descent. The airport was not in sight, however, and despite protests from the flight engineer, Park continued his increasingly steep descent. At 1:42 a.m., Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into Bijia Peak, 3 miles short of the runway.

Nearby United States Navy Seabees rushed to the crash site and used a backhoe to crack open the plane and rescue several occupants. Nevertheless, the plane's hull burned for another eight hours. In the aftermath, the NTSB blamed the crew's use of an outdated aeronautical map as well as the other crewmembers' failure to monitor and cross-check the captain's approach. A lawsuit in 2000 resulted in a $70 million settlement on behalf of 54 families. Of the 254 people on board, 229 died. (For health and aviation, discover the unexpected toll of long-haul flights on your health.)

One of the deadliest commercial airline crashes of the past 50 years occurred on Oct. 31, 1999. EgyptAir Flight 990 took off from Los Angeles International Airport with an expected stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before landing at Cairo International Airport in Egypt. Instead, the Boeing 767-300ER crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 60 miles south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing everyone on board. After reaching JFK airport safely, Flight 990 took off and reached a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. When Capt. El-Habashi left the cockpit for the bathroom, black box recordings picked up first officer Al-Batouti saying "I rely on God," and disengaging the plane's auto-pilot.

Seconds later, the plane entered a steep descent. El-Habashi managed to fight gravity and get back in the cockpit where he deployed speed brakes and leveled off the plane's altitude. The fuel lines had been cut, however, causing the engines to stop and the plane to lose electrical power. After that, evidence of Flight 990's fate could only be ascertained through radar returns. After making another ascent, presumably to correct for the steep dive, Flight 990 entered its final descent before crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. The crash occurred in international waters, so Egypt's Civil Aviation Agency and America's NTSB headed the investigation together. Soon after, however, the Civil Aviation Agency asked the American government to spearhead the investigation. The NTSB, however, found evidence of criminal acts and turned it over to the FBI.

Egyptian authorities balked at this idea. Negotiations forced the NTSB to investigate outside their authority. In the end, the NTSB ruled the crash was caused by the first officer's flight control inputs. Even though Egyptian authorities blamed the crash on a failure of the plane's right elevator control units, the NTSB disputed its findings. No easy answer came forth and conspiracy theories abounded. Years later, the military operation to kill terrorist mastermind Osama Bin Laden discovered handwritten notes suggesting Bin Laden took inspiration for 9/11 from the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990.

When Northwest Airlines Flight 255 took off from Detroit International Airport on Aug. 16, 1987, it intended to make several stops around the country before arriving at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. When the plane took off, however, it began rolling from side to side just 50 feet above the ground. Due to the wings' flaps failing to extend, the plan failed to reach proper liftoff. About 2,760 feet past the edge of the runway, the plane's left wing hit a light pole in the airport's rental car parking lot. This caused the wing to disintegrate and catch fire, resulting in the plane rolling 90 degrees to the left. First, the plane hit the roof of the Avis rental car building before crashing into Middlebelt Road outside the airport.

After killing two people in a car, Flight 255 broke into two pieces. The plane's fuselage slid across the road before bursting into flames, making contact with a Norfolk Southern railroad overpass as well as the overpass of eastbound Interstate 94. Only one of the 149 passengers survived: 4-year-old Cecilia Cichan. A firefighter found her strapped in her seat, face down. Nick Vanos, center for the NBA's Phoenix Suns, died in the crash.

The NTSB's subsequent investigation of the crash ruled its cause to be a combination of factors. Pilots failed to use the taxi checklist "to ensure that the flaps and slats were extended for takeoff." This, combined with an electrical failure airplane takeoff warning system, resulted in the deadly crash. Years later, sole survivor Cichan spoke about the experience, noting her lasting friendship with her savior, firefighter John Thiede.

Tragedy struck on July 9, 1982, when a regularly scheduled flight between Miami and San Diego crashed shortly after takeoff. Weather reports that morning suggested rainfall and thunderstorms but no severe weather patterns. Pan Am Flight 759 took off from its stopover location in Louisiana and lifted into the air, reaching an altitude between 95 and 150 feet. It started descending, however, and struck a line of trees about 2,376 feet past the edge of the runaway. The plane kept sinking until it crashed into a residential area less than a mile from the airport.

As it made contact, Flight 759 broke into pieces and spread across residential streets. All 145 people onboard died, and eight more people on the ground perished in the accident. Remarkably, a 16-month-old girl in one of the destroyed houses survived after debris effectively encased her in her crib and protected her from fire. The subsequent NTSB investigation determined that Flight 759 likely hit a microburst-induced wind shear while ascending. This caused a downdraft, preventing the pilots from reacting in time. Surprisingly, the NTSB put the final fault squarely on the U.S. government. It said the pilots received an outdated weather advisory report, contributing to their confusion.

Ultimately, the NTSB blamed the government for failing to "put out proper weather information that day and to maintain wind shear detection devices at the airport." In the aftermath, a jury awarded $10.1 million to a family who lost their young daughter in the crash. After Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed due to similar circumstances three years later, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated the installation of wind-shear detection systems at airports and aboard aircraft.

Rarely do fatal plane crashes result from midair collisions like that which happened with PSA Flight 182. On Sept. 25, 1978, Pacific Southwest Aircraft Flight 182 made a stopover in Los Angeles before taking off for its final destination of San Diego. While in the air, the pilots received notice from the approach controller of a small Cessna 172 in nearby airspace. The Pacific Southwest pilots reported they saw the aircraft but quickly lost sight of it. Radio static prevented clear communication but controllers at San Diego's Lindbergh tower received a transmission from the PSA pilots saying "He's passing off to our right."

Instead, the Cessna sat directly below PSA Flight 182. A few seconds later, the Cessna 172 and Flight 182 crashed mid-air, around 2,600 feet up. The Cessna instantly rocketed to the ground. Flight 182's heavily damaged right wing sent it spinning out of control. It crashed into the North Park San Diego neighborhood, spreading across residential streets before coming to a stop just west of the I-805 freeway. The explosion from the crash resulted in a mushroom cloud that could be seen from miles away. 144 people died in the crash including the two occupants of the Cessna 172 as well as seven people on the ground.

The subsequent NTSB investigation came to differing conclusions. While some members blamed the PSA flight crew for failing to follow proper air traffic control procedures, others blamed the Cessna pilots for making an unauthorized change in course. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Traffic Collision Alert and Avoidance System was installed in all commercial passenger aircraft. The accident is used as a teaching aid in modern flight training classes.

On Aug. 2, 1985, one of the deadliest commercial airline disasters of the past 50 years occurred when Delta Airlines Flight 191 crashed just outside Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Previously, it operated a regularly scheduled flight between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Los Angeles with a stopover in Dallas. At around 6 p.m., Flight 191 began its descent toward Dallas Fort Worth. It moved too fast, however, and the air controller warned the pilots to reduce their speed. The plane hit heavy rainfall with pockets of lightning as it decreased altitude. The air controller again warned the pilots to reduce airspeed but it was too late.

The plane began a steep descent, lowering at more than 50 feet per second with an Angle of Attack of over 30 degrees. At 6:05 p.m., the plane's landing gear made contact with a field 6,336 feet north of the Dallas Fort Worth runway. Flight 191 remained intact until it came into contact with highway lights and other debris before crashing into two water tanks on the edge of airport property. This caused the left wing and nose to strike while the fuselage erupted into a fireball. In less than a minute, first responders raced to the crash site and quickly established a triage unit, saving the lives of dozens of passengers. Ultimately, the crash killed 128 of the 152 passengers as well as a car driver who was hit by a flying engine.

After an extended investigation, the NTSB ruled the crash's cause to be a combination of pilot error and extreme weather phenomena. In the aftermath, emergency aid notification systems were improved and pilots were required to learn how to deal with weather microbursts. The crash of Delta Airlines Flight 191 also resulted in one of the longest aviation trials in history. (For disasters on the water, learn about the most famous shipwrecks ever discovered.)