9 of the deadliest plane crashes of all time

If you’re afraid of flying, don’t read on.

100,000+

That’s the amount of take-offs and landing by commercial flights all over the World – every day.

Generally safe

Concidering the amount of airplanes in the air at any given time, it’s sure to say that travlling by plane is a very safe way of getting around, when you think of how few plane crashes that actually happen.

When it goes wrong …

That being said: When something happens, it’s usually really bad and it can cost hundreds of lives in the blink of an eye.

A history lesson

We have compiled a list of some of the deadliest plane crashes in history measured by number of fatalities.

We have excluded terrorist attacks.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (Presumed Lost)

• Fatalities: 239 (presumed)
• Date: March 8, 2014
• Location: Disappeared over the Indian Ocean
• Vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite extensive search efforts, the main wreckage was never found and the cause remains unknown.

American Airlines Flight 191

• Fatalities: 273
• Date: May 25, 1979
• Location: Chicago O’Hare International Airport, USA
• Engine separation during takeoff damaged hydraulic systems, causing a fatal stall and crash.

Iran Air Flight 655

• Fatalities: 290
• Date: July 3, 1988
• Location: Persian Gulf
• Shot down by the USS Vincennes, a U.S. Navy cruiser, after being mistaken for a hostile aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

• Fatalities: 298
• Date: July 17, 2014
• Location: Eastern Ukraine
• Shot down by a Buk missile while flying over a war zone during the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 163

• Fatalities: 301
• Date: August 19, 1980
• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Fire broke out in the cargo hold. Though the aircraft landed safely, all 301 on board died due to delayed evacuation and smoke inhalation.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981

• Fatalities: 346
• Date: March 3, 1974
• Location: Ermenonville Forest, near Paris, France
• Cargo door failure led to cabin decompression and loss of control. Prompted major design changes in cargo locking systems.

Charkhi Dadri Mid-Air Collision

• Fatalities: 349
• Date: November 12, 1996
• Location: Near New Delhi, India
• Due to communication errors, the Kazakh aircraft descended into the path of the Saudi plane. It remains the deadliest mid-air collision ever.

Japan Airlines Flight 123

• Fatalities: 520
• Date: August 12, 1985
• Location: Mount Takamagahara, Japan
• A rear bulkhead failure (due to improper repair) caused decompression, leading to a total hydraulic failure and crash into a mountain.

Tenerife Airport Disaster

• Fatalities: 583
• Date: March 27, 1977
• Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands
• In dense fog, a KLM 747 began takeoff while a Pan Am 747 was taxiing on the same runway. The collision remains the deadliest accident in aviation history.