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Sunday, Jul 12, 2009
What are the 10 worst airline crashes of all time?
Sep 6, 2002 | What have been the worst airline crashes of all time?
While several of my articles have touched on negligence or controversy in the world of aviation, they tend, in the end, to bolster its reputation for safety. Some people, eager for some whistleblowing or a sizzling exposé, have been disappointed, expecting dirt but instead finding a pilot who ultimately asks the jaded traveler to extol, rather than revile, the experience of commercial flight, even as you're battling incipient thrombosis in 45J. As of yet, nobody from the Air Travelers Association (the passenger advocacy group, normally spoken for by their ornery president, David Stempler) has submitted an indignant protest to Salon, so maybe I'm on to something.
If you want to understand what inspires me, please go back and read "Airplanes don't get no respect." Nobody is paying me to parrot the industry's party line; the airlines have their lobbyists who can do that much more effectively than I can. If it seems I shy from the occasional opportunity to indict, it's because, with various asterisks, flying happens to be exactly as dependable as its advocates, this one included, have always maintained, and despite what Stempler or anyone else leads you to think, neither the FAA nor the much-maligned airlines are out to screw you or get you killed.
That said, I promised to indulge the morbid fascinations of some of you, and here goes. What follows is a list of the 10 worst airplane crashes ever, with a short synopsis for each.
Since overall number of fatalities is the standard measuring stick, one could argue the World Trade Center attacks deserve top billing, as indeed some online aviation sites have ranked them. However, the planes-as-weapons phenomenon changes things, and to include the twin tower implosions here would be a certain stretch, no less than a Cessna detonating a bomb over a crowded city could justify the subsequent body count as an "air disaster." (A turboprop once plowed into a crowded market in Zaire, killing over 300 people, only two of whom were aboard the airplane!) To level the field, perhaps we should remove all on-the-ground casualty figures from crash totals. This seems the fairest method by which to compare accidents, and is something everyone who compiles air safety data should consider in light of last year's events. For now, though, I've retained any on-ground deaths in the following tallies.
I look forward to fielding any questions. In the meantime, if you choose to further research any of this, please be wary of info you come across on the Internet. There are many sites that feature this material, with varying degrees of accuracy. One of the more reliable and comprehensive sites is AirSafe.com.
1. March 27, 1977. Two Boeing 747s, operated by KLM and Pan Am, collide on a foggy runway at Tenerife, in Spain's Canary Islands, killing 583 people. The KLM jet departed without permission and struck the Pan Am jet as it taxied along the same runway. Confusion over instructions and a blockage of radio transmissions contributed to the crash.
2. Aug. 12, 1985. A Japan Air Lines 747 crashes near Mt. Fuji after takeoff from Tokyo on a domestic flight, killing 520. The rupture of an aft bulkhead, which had undergone faulty repairs following a mishap seven years earlier, caused destruction of part of the airplane's tail and rendered the jet uncontrollable. A JAL maintenance supervisor later committed suicide, while the president of the airline resigned, accepting full, formal responsibility for the crash and visiting victims' families to offer a personal apology.
3. Nov. 12, 1996. An Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane from Kazakhstan collides in midair with a Saudia 747 near Delhi; all 349 aboard both planes are killed. The Kazakh crew had disobeyed instructions, and neither airplane was equipped with collision-avoidance technology.
4. March 3, 1974. In one of the most notorious and gruesome crashes ever, a THY (Turkish Airlines) DC-10 crashes near Orly airport, killing all 346 passengers and crew. A poorly designed cargo door had burst from its latches, and the subsequent depressurization caused failure of the cabin floor and impairment of cables to the rudders and elevators. Out of control, the plane slammed into the woods northeast of Paris. McDonnell Douglas, maker of the DC-10, which would see even more controversy later, was forced to redesign its cargo door system.
5. June 23, 1985. A bomb planted by a Sikh extremist blows up an Air India 747 en route between Toronto and Bombay (with stops in Montreal and London). The airplane fell into the sea east of Ireland, killing 329. Investigators in Canada cited shortcomings in baggage-screening procedures, screening equipment and employee training. A second bomb, intended to blow up another Air India 747 on the same day, detonated prematurely in a luggage facility in Tokyo before being loaded aboard.
