A selection of the biggest plane crashes in history. The worst plane crashes in human history

As the world waits with bated breath for information about what happened to Malaysian Flight MH370, it is worth remembering that air travel remains the safest mode of transport. Although major accidents very rare, they are most often fatal, which is what attracts general attention and international publicity. This collection contains information on the 10 largest air crashes in the history of air travel.

American Airlines Flight 191 (273 casualties)

This domestic flight from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1979 never reached its destination, crashing immediately after it took off from the O "Hare International airport. Due to bad service One of the engines of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 liner failed and literally broke away from the wing, seriously damaging it. Despite the ability to control the aircraft, the pilots lost their bearings and quickly lost control, the aircraft banked and crashed near the runway, killing 273 people.

Iranian Air Force 15-2280 (275 casualties)

In February 2003, an Il-76MD aircraft operated by the Iranian Air Force crashed. The plane was transporting members of the Revolutionary Guard when it crashed into mountains 22 miles southeast of Kerman, Iran. Due to the military nature of the flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate information from Iran, so very few details are known. The official report of the incident notes that there was strong wind and fog during the disaster. Real reasons no tragedy is known, although the Abu Bakr Brigades terrorist group claimed responsibility for the accident.

Iran Air-655 (IR655) flight

In July 1988, an Airbus A300 was flying from Tehran to Dubai over the Persian Gulf and was shot down in Iranian airspace by surface-to-air missiles launched by the USS Vincennes. The US government claims the ship's crew misidentified the aircraft as an Iranian military Tomcat F-14, which ignored requests to change course. These requests were broadcast on military radio channels, which the civilian airliner was unable to receive. The United States paid $61.8 million in reparations to the families of 290 Iranian victims in 1996, though no apology or admission of guilt was made.

Crash L-1011 Flight 163 (301 casualties)

After a stop in Riyadh, on a flight from Karachi, Pakistan, this Saudi aircraft took off on August 19, 1980 en route to its final destination, Jeddah. Just seven minutes after takeoff, the team received a fire signal in cargo hold. After declaring an emergency and returning to Riyadh airport, the aircraft landed successfully but did not stop at runway where the fire brigade was waiting. For some unknown reason, the engines were not immediately turned off and the plane went far from the rescuers, the emergency evacuation never took place. Rescuers did not dare to approach the plane for fear of an explosion, helplessly watching the fire. 23 minutes after the engines were turned off, the plane burst into flames. All passengers and crew on board died of burns or asphyxiation.

Air flight India 182 (329 casualties)

In June 1985, at an altitude of 9.5 kilometers above the Atlantic, in Irish airspace, a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh fighters in the luggage of a Boeing 747 exploded. The plane bound for India via London was instantly destroyed, bodies and wreckage were found in the sea to the south from Ireland. Most of the passengers on board were Canadians. This disaster was the largest mass murder in Canadian history.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (346 casualties)

Known as the Ermenonville Air Disaster, after the forest in which the DC-10 landed, this tragedy occurred in March 1974 and was the deadliest in France. After taking off from Istanbul, the plane flew quietly to Paris, from where it was supposed to fly to London Heathrow. Shortly after takeoff from Paris, an incorrectly fixed cargo hatch with back side the aircraft could not withstand the load and opened, causing rapid decompression and damage to the aircraft's control systems. Just 72 seconds later, the plane crashed into the forest.

Catastrophe over Charkhi-Dadri (349 victims)

In 1996, a Saudi Airlines Boeing 747-100B and a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 collided in airspace approximately 60 miles west of Delhi, India. After descending from 15,000 to 14,000 feet without clearance, the Kazakh plane's tail rammed the Boeing's left wing and stabilizer and both planes crashed. Ilyushin remained undamaged but lost control, and the Boeing fell apart while still in the air. No one survived - the passengers and crew of both liners died.

Japan Airlines Flight 123 (520 casualties)

Just 12 minutes after takeoff on August 12, 1985, a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 experienced mechanical problems while flying from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan. The plane's keel came off, and after 32 minutes of trying to stabilize the situation, the plane eventually went completely out of control, began to change altitude abruptly and roll. Ultimately, he hit the Takamagahara mountain range before colliding with a second mountain range and fell on his back. 520 people on board died, and only 4 managed to survive.

Tenerife airport disaster (583 victims)

The most terrible accident in history civil aviation when two Boeing 747s crashed on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport on Spanish island Tenerife in March 1977. A KLM plane tried to fly over a Pan Am flight in thick fog, which was moving towards it and did not have time to leave the taxiway. All passengers and crew on board the KLM were killed and only 61 of the 396 Pan Am passengers survived. These two planes were not supposed to end up at Tenerife airport at all, but were diverted here from Las Palma airport after the terrorist attack in Gran Canaria.

9/11 attack in New York (more than 5,000 dead)

Every day in the world someone asks the question - what are the statistics of air crashes? After all, any air transport is exposed to the same risk of crash every minute:

• passenger;
• cargo;
• military.

Statistics of air crashes in the world notes that in recent years most often occurred in the United States. Unfortunately, Russia's rating is second. In the United States, they are trying to rectify the situation, especially with passenger traffic. Russian government pays more attention to military aircraft.

Under the Soviet Union, aircraft crash statistics were difficult to accurately determine, as they were almost always kept silent. Today it is almost impossible to do this.

Why planes crash

Every person who goes on air travel for the first time tries to find information about what are the main reasons for flying cars. Despite the fact that the aircraft are marked as the most safe transport movement in the world, the future passenger does not even think that danger accompanies him on land much more often than in the air.

Invented does not allow you to calmly analyze the situation. After all, one accident can happen in a million flights, which will be described in all information sources. However, they are sometimes without victims. And how much happens every day, where more than one person dies?

The statistics of the causes of air crashes confirms that the fault is not a malfunction of the aircraft, but human carelessness. Often dispatchers, staff or passengers, not adhering to technology, contribute to the occurrence of instrument failures, which leads to a crash.

Airlines are also directly involved in tragedies. Many of them save on training pilots, they hire pilots whose entire practice comes down to training on simulators.

Some companies, especially those involved in the transportation of goods, are more interested in income. They are not particularly worried about the safety of the flight and often ignore maintenance. Very often they operate already old machines that are dangerous to use in such conditions.

There are airlines that, when purchasing an old aircraft, make repairs. Wanting to save money, they replace old parts with new ones that do not have certification. Although their cost is cheaper, but reliability remains a big question.

Countries leading in air crashes

Air crash statistics by country report that they are in the lead in tragedies:

1. United States.
2. Russia.
3. Canada.

In the United States, looking at the years since 1945, more than 630 disasters have occurred, the victims of which have become more than 10,500 people.

In Russia and the USSR, less than 307 accidents occurred during this time, where approximately 7,000 deaths were counted.

In Canada during this period, there were 173 accidents, where approximately 1755 deaths were counted.

The last place by country is occupied by Ecuador. The planes of this country suffered the least crashes.

Air crash statistics by aircraft

Air crash statistics for aircraft in the world marks the Boeing brand. These aircraft are considered the most dangerous and are located most of all in the zone. The Boeing 747 and 737 are highlighted in particular. They are the most frequently crashed.

The statistics of those killed in plane crashes in Russia and in other countries on Boeing aircraft is amazing. To avoid trouble, a special accident assessment service strongly recommends correcting certain errors so that this does not happen again in the future.

Many airlines have already refused to transport people on the Boeing 737, but some countries still operate this brand of aircraft. Despite the poor performance, the Boeing 737 is considered the safest passenger transport.

The Tu 154 is also noted in terms of the number of aircraft crashes in the world. During the period of its use, starting from 1973, at least once every twelve months one of these aircraft crashes. However, experts say that this model is one of the most reliable for transporting passengers. The reasons for their accidents are the carelessness of pilots and dispatchers, since the complexity of the structure of this technique requires appropriate professionalism and attention.

The statistics of air crashes in the world over the years makes it possible to evaluate the actions of specialists who are trying to correct all the shortcomings and make sure that the planes are at minimal risk of crash. This can be seen on Wikipedia, where a table is provided, both in exact numbers and in percentage, showing the accidents and the number of deaths in each of them. top five terrible crashes for the last two years:

Despite all the efforts of the masters, the statistics of air crashes in the United States and Russia have not changed much. They are still in first place. Considering separately accidents during cargo transportation, we can confidently say that they occur due to improper Maintenance and security violations. They mainly operate old cars, the repair of which no one follows. And the statistics of air crashes due to dangerous only confirm this.

Often cargo aircraft loaded with much more weight than necessary. Given the still old design, this is the most main reason wreckage of such vehicles. Air crash statistics by airline are difficult to determine. No one can say with certainty which one is better or worse. It all depends on the transport and how they monitor its working condition. top twenty safe airlines to date:

As for Russia, it takes 35th place.

Plane crashes in Russia

Air crash statistics in Russia and the United States lead both by airlines and aircraft for one reason. These two countries are the most involved air transportation. Considering that there is one crash per million sorties, then with such a busy schedule, such tragedies are difficult to avoid.

The statistics of air crashes in the USSR show that at that time air accidents were rare - one in a couple of years. The frequency of crashes began after a long use of technology, when the repair work of the transport was ignored.

The considered statistics of air crashes in Russia by airlines are noted by Aeroflot. She is one of the oldest. Perhaps that is why it is considered dangerous for passengers. At the same time, few people pay attention to the fact that these are mainly her “daughters”. In the company itself, accidents have declined greatly over the past 20 years.

Despite the fact that Aeroflot's air crash statistics go off scale, the company is doing its best to correct the situation and reduce the number of accidents to a minimum. To do this, she carries out the modernization of the aircraft fleet and certifies its pilots for professionalism. Such tests help to determine whether an employee is able to adequately assess critical situations.

Judging by the Russian airlines and those who died in air crashes, the statistics of victims at Aeroflot are frightening. Over the entire history of its existence, there have been approximately 130 crashes.

However, over the past 10 years, airlines have proven that the safety of flights compared to terrestrial travel is much higher. At the same time, the number of accidents in Russia has significantly decreased over the past 5 years. This proves that the country is worried not only about income, but also about security. Stall flow specialists try to reduce to a minimum.

Considering recent years, it can be noted that 2015 was unusually calm. There were only 16 disasters, the victims of which were 560 people. But it was like the calm before the storm. In 2016, there were as many accidents with victims as in several years.

But, despite the statistics of aircraft accidents in Russia in 2016, the popularity of air travel has not decreased. Every day more and more people want to fly.

Iranian passenger aircraft ATR-72 of Iran Aseman Airlines, flying between Tehran and the city of Yasuj, disappeared from the radar. ISNA reported, citing Iran Aseman Airlines, that the plane crashed and all 66 people - 60 passengers and six crew members - on board the ship died. Plane from the city of Semirom in Isfahan.

Passenger aircraft An-148 " Saratov Airlines", flying from Moscow to Orsk, disappeared from the radar screens a few minutes after takeoff from Domodedovo airport. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near the village of Stepanovskoye, Ramensky district of the Moscow region. On board, including six crew members. All of them died.

2017

In Myanmar, a Chinese-made Y-8 four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft carrying military families from southern Myanmar garrisons to Yangon disappeared from radar while flying over the Andaman Sea. During a search operation in the sea, its wreckage was discovered. On board the crashed aircraft were 122 people, including 14 crew members, 35 servicemen and 73 members of the families of servicemen, including 15 children. The aircraft also carried 2.4 tons of cargo.

Aircraft in South Sudan South Airlines Supreme Airlines, which arrived in the city of Wau from the South Sudanese capital Juba, touched the runway, then bounced and crashed, after which it caught fire. At the same time, the door of the liner turned out to be open, which allowed rescuers to quickly evacuate all passengers. On board were 40 passengers and five crew members, all survived. 37 people were injured.

Boeing 747-400 cargo in the morning Turkish airline, operating the flight Hong Kong (PRC) - Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), flew off the runway of the Manas International Airport in the capital of Kyrgyzstan and crashed into a residential village of a dacha cooperative in the vicinity of the airport. At the crash site were, including four crew members of the aircraft and 34 citizens of Kyrgyzstan, of which 16 were children. Subsequently, another resident of the village died from severe burns in the hospital. About 30 houses in the village were destroyed.

2016

The Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Defense Ministry, which was heading to Syria, crashed a few minutes after taking off from Sochi airport. On board are eight crew members and 84 passengers, including eight military personnel, 64 artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine representatives of Russian TV channels, the head of the Just Help charity foundation Elizaveta Glinka, known as Doctor Lisa, and two federal civil servants. Channel One, NTV and Zvezda reported on the presence of their employees on board.

The plane, carrying 47 people (42 passengers and five crew members), crashed near the city of Havelian in Pakistan. The liner took off from the city of Chitral in the north of the country and was supposed to land in Islamabad. The pilot of the plane gave a distress call shortly before the liner disappeared from the radar of air traffic controllers. In disaster. The list of passengers on the plane published in the media includes 31 men, nine women and two children.

In Colombia, a plane crashed 50 kilometers from Medellin. There were 77 people on board the aircraft - nine crew members and 68 passengers, including players and personnel from the Brazilian football club"Chapecoense", flying to the first meeting of the final of the Copa Sudamericana. The cause of the crash was an insufficient supply of fuel from the liner. As a result of the accident, six people survived, of which three are Chapecoense players, and 71 people died.

In Indonesia, in the region of the Linga archipelago, located near the southern exit of the Strait of Malacca, a police plane crashed, taking off from the city of Pankalpinang on Banka Island. There were 13 people on board, all of them died. According to the head of the Tanjungpinang naval base, an explosion was heard before the plane crashed.

IN Irkutsk region the Il-76 aircraft, which was engaged in extinguishing large-scale natural fires, did not get in touch. A ground rescue team found a crashed IL-76 south of the village of Rybny Uyan on the slope of one of the hills. All ten crew members were killed.

An Egyptair Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo on flight MS804 disappeared from radar. The plane disappeared 20 minutes after entering Greece. There were 66 passengers and crew members on board.

Passenger Boeing 737-800, flying from Dubai, crashed in Rostov-on-Don. The aircraft crashed to the left of the runway while landing in poor visibility. There were 55 passengers and seven crew members on board, all of whom died.

A Tara Airlines plane has disappeared from radar in the mountains of Nepal. The plane took off from the city of Pokhara and was heading to the city of Jomsom. There were 23 people on board the plane: 20 passengers, including two children, and three crew members. There are no survivors.

2015

The Airbus-321 of the Kogalymavia airline, which was operating flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg, took off from Egypt at 6.21 (Moscow time) and disappeared from the radar screens after 23 minutes. There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board. The wreckage of the Russian civil aircraft in Egypt. No one survived the crash.

In the Indonesian province of Papua, an Indonesian passenger aircraft ATR of Trigana Air Service crashed in a collision with a mountain while flying from the provincial capital, Jayapura, to Oksibil Airport. There were 49 passengers and five crew members on board, all of whom died.

A four-engine Hercules C-130B military transport aircraft, manufactured more than half a century ago by the American airline Lockheed, fell on a residential area in the southwestern part of the capital of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra about two minutes after taking off from the Medan air force base "Suwondo" (Soewondo), flying about five kilometers. Immediately before the crash, the pilot informed the dispatchers about engine problems, the C-130 crashed at the moment when it was turning around to return to base. On board the crashed plane were 122 people, they died. Another 19 people died on the ground.

In the south of France, in the department of the Alps haute provence, crashed an Airbus A320 owned by Germanwings and en route from Barcelona (Spain) to Düsseldorf (Germany). There were 142 passengers and eight crew members on board the airliner. They all died. A record from the discovered "black boxes" indicates that the crash was the result of the deliberate actions of the co-pilot, German citizen Andreas Lubitz.

Near the village of Villa Castella in Argentina, at an altitude of about 100 meters, two helicopters collided, on board of which there were participants in the filming of the reality show about survival in difficult conditions Dropped. As a result of the crash, all ten people (eight French and two Argentine pilots) died, including the 2012 Olympic champion in swimming Camille Muffat, the 2008 Games bronze medalist boxer Alexis Vasten, and the famous yachtswoman Florence Artaud.

In Taiwan, an ATR 72 aircraft taking off from Taipei Songshan Airport in the direction of the Kinmen archipelago hit a bridge and fell into the Jilong River. There were 53 passengers on board, including 31 Chinese tourists and five crew members. As a result of the incident, 43 people died.

In Spain, a Greek Air Force aircraft participating in the NATO Tactical Leadership Program failed to gain altitude at the time of takeoff and fell to the ground in an area where other aircraft were located. He rammed several of them. As a result of the disaster, 11 people died and 20 were injured.

In Syria, an army cargo plane crashed near the Abu al-Zuhur airport in the province of Idlib due to bad weather. At least 35 military personnel were killed.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti

In this post, I would like to tell you about the largest and terrible plane crashes in the history of world aviation. Most of the stories that are described below are really creepy. In general, it is hard to believe that all this is possible ... For some reason, in real life everything does not always end with a happy ending, this is not a movie for you, Friends ...

In this context, about the most terrible disasters oh, I judged by the total number of victims in an air accident. The September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, in which thousands of civilians and passengers of the Boeing 767 and 757 aircraft hijacked by terrorists were injured, were not taken into account in the rating. Other information is also curious that from the 1970s to 2017, the number of disasters occurring has decreased by more than 3 times:

Plane crash in New York in 2009 with a happy ending

The article will be full of terrible disasters that claimed thousands of lives. Such tragic article I want to start with the rarest case in world aviation. Thanks to the professionalism of the pilots, on January 15, 2009, 155 lives were saved. A US Airways Airbus A320 took off from New York Airport, but a few minutes later there were engine problems. Both engines were damaged and stopped due to the collision of the aircraft with a flock of birds. The pilots managed to land an almost uncontrollable car right into the Hudson. More than 1,000 people participated in saving the lives of passengers. Learn more about this terrible plane crash, but with a happy ending, from the video:

Plane crash in Tenerife - 1977

1. The largest and tragic plane crash in the history of aviation occurred on March 27, 1977. On this tragic day on the Spanish island of Tenerife, 2 Boeing 747s of Pan Am and KLM collided on the runway. You can read more about the worst plane crash in which 583 people died.

Film about the plane crash in Tenerife:

Air accident in Japan - 1985

2. On August 12, 1985, a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 crashed near the famous Mount Fuji in Japan. The plane crash in Japan is the second after the tragedy in Tenerife in terms of the total number of victims, and the largest single-aircraft accident in the history of aviation. As a result of the crash of a Boeing 747, 520 people died, only 4 passengers of the ill-fated Japan Airlines flight managed to survive. As a result of the investigation of the plane crash in Japan, it was found that the main cause of the tragedy was the mistakes and negligence made during the repair of the aircraft, as a result of which, during the fatal flight of the Boeing 747 with tail number JA 8119 lost control and crashed.

Film detailing the horrific plane crash in Japan (in English):

Plane crash in Delhi - 1966

3. On November 12, 1996, two planes collided in the air over Delhi: an Il-76 of Kazakhstan Airlines and a Boeing 747 of the airline. Saudi Arabian Airlines. As a result of a misunderstanding by the crew of the Kazakhstani IL-76 of the air traffic controller's commands, the landing plane at a speed of 500 km / h crashed into the fuselage of a Boeing 747 flying to meet. In a plane crash on November 12, 1996 over Delhi, all 2 aircraft on board died - 349 people. In addition to the error of the IL-76 crew, one of the reasons for the accident was that both aircraft were not equipped with a collision avoidance system.

The first excerpt from the National Geographic film about the plane crash in Delhi (you can also find the rest on YouTube):

Turkish Airlines plane crash - 1974

4. The largest Turkish plane crash Airlines occurred on March 3, 1974 in France near Paris Orly airport(Orly airport). The airliner crashed McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The cause of the largest air crash in the history of the DC-10 aircraft was an error in the design of the cargo compartment door, as a result of which the door was simply torn off during the flight, which led to the subsequent depressurization of the cabin. The airliner became completely uncontrollable and crashed in the woods near Paris. Turkish Airlines' McDonnell Douglas plane crash killed all 346 people on board.

Air India bombing - 1985

5. June 23, 1985 over Atlantic Ocean south of the coast Boeing 747 bombed by extremists in Ireland airlines Air India, flying on the route Montreal (Canada) - London (UK) - Delhi (India). As a result of the terrorist act (bomb explosion) on board the plane in the crash of flight No. 182, all 329 people were killed. Sikh extremists also planned to blow up another Air India plane, but the bomb explosion took place prematurely in luggage compartment Tokyo airport.

Fire on a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane - 1980

6. On August 19, 1980, a Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar of Saudi Arabian Airlines on flight 163 from Riyadh to Jeddah caught fire after taking off from International Airport Riyadh International Airport). 7 minutes after departure, a fire broke out in the cargo compartment of the aircraft, and the crew decided to return and make emergency landing at Riyadh airport. As a result of numerous crew errors after a successful landing, all passengers of flight No. 163 died from poisoning by poisonous gases caused by fire. In total, 301 people died in this tragic and terrible plane crash, no one managed to get out of the cabin of the burning Lockheed plane ...

Iranian airliner shot down by US missile - 1988

7. On July 3, 1988, the American cruiser Vincennes mistakenly shot down an Iranian Airbus A300 airliner with 290 people on board over the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, in 1996, the US paid Iran $61.8 million in compensation for 248 deaths, at the rate of $300,000 for each able-bodied victim and $150,000 for each dependent.

American Airlines plane crash - 1979

8. On May 25, 1979, the worst plane crash in US history occurred when an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashed 31 seconds after taking off from Chicago International Airport. The causes of the terrible tragedy were errors in pilot training and DC-10 repair technology. As a result terrible plane crash in Chicago, 271 people on board were killed, and 2 residents were killed when the plane crashed to the ground on the trailer parking lot next to the airport. But there could be many more victims ...

Watch a video of the worst plane crash in US history. Only in English, but very detailed.

1988 Libyan terrorist bombing of a Pan Am plane

9. On December 21, 1988, a Pan Am Boeing 747 flying from London to New York was blown up by Libyan terrorists over the Scottish city of Lockerbie. The plane crash over Lockerbie killed 270 people.

Korean Airlines crash - 1983

10. September 1, 1983 in the airspace of the USSR over the waters Pacific Ocean Soviet fighter An interceptor shot down a Korean Airlines Boeing 747. The incident occurred due to a strong deviation of the New York-Seoul flight and its intrusion into a closed air space THE USSR. As a result, a Boeing with 246 passengers on board and 23 crew members was shot down 2 Soviet missiles type R-98.

11. In 2016, a TU-154 aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense crashed, killing 100 people (92 passengers and 8 crew members).

12. 2017 has been a relatively quiet year. In Kyrgyzstan, due to fog, a passenger Boeing-747 crashed while landing, falling on residential buildings. 37 people died.

Hello dear readers! Glad to see you on the pages of my blog. Talking about various emergencies, we try to understand their cause and, as a rule, human mistakes become the cause of most tragedies. Today we will look at three of the largest air crashes in the world.

Of course, the largest air crash in terms of the number of victims is the September 11 terrorist attack, I wrote about this tragedy. But given that this situation is ambiguous, since there is not only the main version of the tragedy, but also an alternative one. Therefore, we will leave this catastrophe behind the brackets.

Aircraft crews:

• Boeing 747-121 (owned by Pan American): the first pilot was Victor Grubbs (more than 21,000 flying hours, which is a lot for a pilot), the co-pilot was also an experienced (more than 10,000 hours) Robert Glagg. The crew included a flight engineer and 13 flight attendants.
• Boeing 747-206B (KLM Airlines): aircraft in command of Jacob van Zanten ( total number he had significantly fewer hours than Grubbs - almost 12,000, but of these he flew this aircraft model for more than 1,500 hours, while Grubbs - 564 hours). The second pilot was K. Meurs (17 years of flight experience, more than 9000 hours). There were 11 flight attendants and a flight engineer on board the KML.

Passengers:

There were 380 people on the Pan American plane, including actress and model Yves Meyer. 61 people managed to escape from the plane on their own, including both pilots and a flight engineer.

234 people were flying in KLM - all of them, including 16 crew members, died at the scene of the accident. It is noteworthy that this flight originally flew 235 people, but during the forced stop of the liner at Tenerife airport, one of the passengers got off the plane, because. I wanted to see in the city with my friends. This spontaneous decision saved her from death.

A total of 583 people died.

What happened:

The main cause of the disaster was the human factor. A series of accidents and mistakes led to a terrible tragedy.

First happened terrorist act at Las Palmas airport, where both airliners were supposed to land. There were no fatalities then, but the authorities decided to ban all flights.

Everyone in the sky was ordered to proceed to the nearest Los Rodeos airport (although the Pan American captain had the necessary experience, and the plane had the necessary fuel supply in order to stay in the air until the airport opened, the controller ordered to land at a nearby airport).

Then confusion began in Los Rodeos: the airport was not physically able to receive such a number of aircraft, the liners were everywhere, all the parking lots were occupied, they had to stop right on the runways and taxiways.

Las Palmas airport was opened only a few hours later and the aircraft began to leave Los Rodeos in turn. During the parking, the KML commander refueled his aircraft to a full tank (later this decision would become one of the fatal ones).

It was KML that hit the runway first, and almost immediately after it, the dispatcher sent a Pan American plane. The first one at the end of the runway turned 180 degrees (such a maneuver is rather complicated for this Boeing model, but the controllers and pilots actually had no choice, since the airport received too many planes).

While the liner was making a U-turn, the weather deteriorated sharply - everything around was shrouded in thick fog (visibility was no further than 300 meters).

At this time, the Boeing 747-121 followed the runway straight ahead. Crew members were instructed to turn onto the C3 steering track. However, having taxied to it, the commander discovered that the angle of rotation was more than 135 degrees (such a rotation was impossible for this aircraft) and decided that the controller meant track C4 (on the recordings, you can clearly hear a voice pointing to the 3rd).

The visibility is deteriorating (no more than 100 meters), the orientation lights are not on, the pilots do not see each other, they cannot figure out how to taxi to the track, the dispatcher on the tower does not see a single traffic participant.

The records indicate that the controller spoke with a strong Spanish accent, the pilots of both aircraft had to clarify instructions. The negotiations were not coordinated: the crew members interfered in each other's conversation, creating interference and muffled the words.

Non-standard phrases were also used (at that time there were no exact regulations) such as “OK”, “We are on takeoff” (it is not clear here whether the plane is ready for takeoff or whether it is already taking off), etc.

Thus, it turned out that the controller and the first pilots misunderstood each other and both aircraft moved forward. At the same time, KML was already starting to take off, the nose and the main part took off from the ground. The crews noticed each other too late.

V. Grubbs gave full throttle, hoping to go to the coveted track C4. But he didn't. KML at this point is struggling to take off, but the tank is filled to full (which increased its carrying capacity, and therefore takeoff time).

At the moment of impact, the Boeing 747-206B is already in the air, but the lower part at full speed catches Pan American. From the impact, holes are formed in the middle part of the fuselage of an American aircraft. Through them, and managed to get out most of the survivors.

KML loses landing gear and wings, after 150 meters falls on its belly, slips a few hundred meters more and completely falls apart. Both planes are on fire. The collision occurs just 600 meters from the airport building.

Both captains were found guilty of the accident. aircraft and dispatcher.

Worst single plane crash ever

Boeing crash 747 over Japan. The worst single plane crash in history occurred on August 12, 1985.

Crew:

Aircraft commander M. Takahama had 17 years of flying behind him, he spent almost 12,500 hours in the air, almost 500 of them on a Boeing 747 (and this is quite a decent experience). Co-pilot Yu. Sasaki flew half as much on Boeing, but served in aviation for 15 years.

Flight engineer H. Fukuda operated the liners for 28 years.

The aircraft consisted of 12 flight attendants (the most experienced of them, 39-year-old D. Hatano, flew more than 10,000 hours).

Passengers:

Tickets for the flight were sold out almost instantly (on the eve of the important Opon holiday for Japan), many were in a hurry to go home to their families. In total, there were 509 passengers on board. Including a popular Japanese singer, a prefectural official, a banker (father of the well-known violinist Diana Yukawa) and a Japan Airlines flight attendant (who was on vacation and flew home). Among the passengers were citizens of many countries: Korea, USA, Germany, Italy, China, Great Britain, etc.

The accident claimed the lives of 520 people, only four survived (not a single crew member).

What happened:

At the beginning of the sixth evening, the airliner takes off from the capital of Japan. After 12 minutes, an explosion rumbles: the plane loses the vertical tail stabilizer (it provides stability at the slip angle). Because of this, the pressure in the cabin dropped sharply. Lost control of the vehicle.

Passengers put on oxygen masks, the crew is trying to calm people down (this can be heard on the recordings). The commander tries to find out what happened.

The plane continued its normal flight for some time, so the flight engineer does not immediately understand that something irreparable has happened, suggesting that the landing gear doors were torn off in flight. A malfunction of all hydraulic systems is detected. Takahama is trying to turn the liner into reverse side, but the steering wheel does not obey.

At 18.26, the pressure in the cockpit drops to a critical level (this is noticeable from the crew's conversation), after 2 minutes an alarm goes off, announcing the depressurization of the cockpit.

For several minutes, the ship's commander and Tokyo's ATC center discuss rescue options. The management advises to land the plane at the nearest airport 115 km away from the plane's location, but Takahama decides to return to the airport where the plane took off.

It is still possible to maintain control over the engines, however, having lost its stabilizer, the liner sways in the air from side to side, either gaining or losing height, it is actually uncontrollable.

The car goes astray and makes a four-kilometer circle, but with titanic efforts the captain manages to return it to the course (if the steering wheel fails, it is possible to control the aircraft using the engine, but this is extremely difficult and most of maneuvers becomes unavailable).

Another 20 minutes pass like this. On the recording, you can hear that until the last moment the crew is making desperate attempts to land the plane. At 18.56 Boeing crashes into a mountain, bounces off it, clings to the tops of trees, loses the right half-wing. The commander pronounces the last words on the plane 3 seconds before the decisive collision: "This is the end." The plane was torn to pieces by the impact.

The skill and numerous attempts of the ship's commander to save his plane bore fruit: the examination showed that the vast majority of passengers died already on the ground from hypothermia and various injuries.

The thing is that in Japan at that time there were a huge number of rescue services. While they competed with each other for the right to provide assistance, people died in the destroyed fuselage. The rescue team arrived at the crash site only after 14 hours. Can you imagine? In 14 hours!

During the search, both flight recorders were found, as well as numerous notes for the dead: people said goodbye to their relatives, everyone on the plane understood that a catastrophe was inevitable.

The culprits of the tragedy were recognized as technicians who carried out the last repair of the aircraft.

Tragedy over India

On November 12, 1996, a Boeing 747 168B collided 75 kilometers from Delhi ( Saudi Arabia) and IL 76 (military transport aircraft of Kazakh Airlines).

Crews:

Passengers:

• The Boeing cabin was almost completely filled: many Indians flew to their place of work. In addition to citizens of India, Americans, British, Pakistanis, and others also flew on this flight. A total of 289 people.
• The IL carried only 29 passengers on its board, including one child. 14 people had Russian citizenship.

None of the 349 people on both planes survived. Only four managed by some miracle not to die in the fall, but they died from their injuries before receiving help.

What happened:

Both aircraft were operated by an experienced Indian air traffic controller. An IL-76 flight radio operator negotiated with him, he also received information that a Saudi airliner was moving in the immediate vicinity of his aircraft.

The key moment in the chain of events that led to the disaster is the structure of the Kazakh aircraft. The design of the IL 76 provides for a separate place for the flight radio operator, but the specialist does not have his own altimeter (i.e. he is forced to constantly request data from the pilots).

The radio operator on that day, having learned that the Boeing would fly nearby, gave the command to the pilots to descend to another flight level (the distance between the aircraft was supposed to be 300 meters). However, when the radio operator clarified how close the other liner was, the answer was very strange: "14 km."

It can be concluded that the captain, navigator and co-pilot then incorrectly interpreted the instructions of the radio operator. The plane continued its descent (for what reason - it was never found out).

At 18.41 on the ground, the controller noticed how the two dots representing both liners met. This did not necessarily mean a collision (they could well have passed under each other), but immediately after the incident, communication with both aircraft was interrupted.

Almost immediately, a message came from a ship flying a level below: they noticed a bright flash in the sky, pieces of the plane flying down and two fires on the ground.

The IL touched the left wing of the Boeing 747 and severely damaged its tail. From the blow, the Boeing spun and it fell to pieces while still in the air. The Kazakh plane lost a wing and crashed 7 km from the crash site of the Boeing.

The crew of IL 76 was found guilty of the collision: they did not speak English well, so they did not understand the dispatcher's instructions accurately enough. In addition, there was no coherence in the work of the team and negligence was present: the pilots incorrectly interpreted the instructions of the radio operator, who, in turn, did not make sure that the commands were accepted for execution.

The Indian controller did not have radar (he could not track the exact movement of the liners), the airport did not have different corridors for takeoffs and landings (both actions were carried out on one), none of the aircraft was equipped with a collision avoidance system.