List_of_aircraft_structural_failures
The list of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by structural failures summarizes notable accidents and incidents such as the 1933 United Airlines Chesterton Crash due to a bombing and a 1964 B-52 test that landed after the vertical stabilizer broke off. Loss of structural integrity during flight can be caused by:
- faulty design
- faulty maintenance
- manufacturing flaws
- pilot error
- weather conditions
- sabotage (e.g., an airliner bombing or takeover by a skyjacker).
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More information Date, Accident/incident ...
| Date | Accident/incident | Location | Aircraft | Cause | Fatalities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913-08-07 | Death of S F Cody | UK | Cody Floatplane | "inherent structural weakness" | 2 | Broke up |
| 1919-08-02 | Airliner crash at Verona | Italy | Caproni Ca.48 | Wing flutter followed by wing collapse | 14, 15, or 17 (sources vary) | The crash killed all aboard |
| 1921-08-23 | 1921 Humber crash | UK: Hull | R38 (ZR-2) | Weather combined with weakened hull | 44 | Deformation followed by fire & explosion |
| 1925-09-03 | Crash of the USS Shenandoah | Caldwell, Ohio, USA | USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) | Severe weather | 14 | Torn apart by turbulence |
| 1930-07-23 | Meopham air disaster | Meopham, Kent | Junkers F.13 | Overload/metal fatigue | 6 | Tailplane weakened by turbulence and flutter |
| 1933-10-10 | United Airlines Chesterton Crash | USA: Indiana | Boeing 247 | Sabotage | 7 | Explosion severed tail section |
| 1935-02-12 | Loss of USS Macon (ZRS-5) | off California | Akron class airship | Weather combined with unrepaired damage | 2 | Wind shear caused structural failure of the tail which damaged gas cells |
| 1943-08-01 | 1943 Lambert Field CG-4A crash | USA: St. Louis | Waco CG-4[N 1] | Manufacturing flaw | 10 | Loss of right-hand wing due to failure of defective wing strut fitting[1] |
| 1947-10-24 | United Airlines Flight 608 | USA: about 1.5 Miles southeast of Bryce Canyon Airport | Douglas DC-6 | Pilot error and design flaw | 52 | Fire caused by failure of pilots to stop fuel transfer and design flaw. Fire eventually lead to an in-flight breakup. |
| 1952-08-30 | 1952 F-89 airshow crash | USA: Detroit | F-89 Scorpion | Design flaw | 2 | Wing broke off during flypast[2] |
| 1952-09-06 | 1952 Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash | UK: Farnborough, Hampshire | de Havilland DH.110 | Design flaw | 31 | Leading edge aeroelastic flutter caused the aircraft to breakup and crash into the crowd |
| 1953-02-06 | National Airlines Flight 470 | Gulf of Mexico | Douglas DC-6 | Severe weather | 46 | Loss of control and structural failure in severe turbulence |
| 1954-01-10 | BOAC Flight 781 | Mediterranean Sea | de Havilland Comet | Design flaw | 35 | Near Elba: roof fatigue fracture lead to decompression |
| 1954-04-08 | South African Airways Flight 201 | Mediterranean Sea | de Havilland Comet | Design flaw | 21 | Near Naples: decompression due to fatigue |
| 1957-04-17 | 1957 Aqaba Valetta accident | Jordan: near Aqaba | Vickers Valetta | Severe weather | 27 | Design strength of left-hand wing exceeded during probable loss of control in severe clear-air turbulence[3] |
| 1957-05-31 | 1957 McNabs Island RCN Banshee crash | Canada: near Halifax, Nova Scotia | F2H-3 Banshee | Manufacturing flaw | 1 | Loss of outer starboard wing due to improperly manufactured fittings in folding wing mechanism[4] |
| 1958-09-20 | 1958 Vulcan crash at RAF Syerston | UK: RAF Syerston | Avro Vulcan prototype | Pilot error | 7 | Flew too fast during low pass exceeded g-limit of leading edge structure, aircraft disintegrated[5] |
| 1959-10-01 | 1959 Lightning crash | UK: Irish Sea | Lightning T.4 (first aircraft) | Fin collapse due to inertia coupling during high speed tests | 0 | first supersonic ejection by a UK pilot (M 1.7)[6] Fin enlarged |
| 1963-01-24 | 1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash | USA: Maine | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 7 | Loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 1963-01-30 | 1963 B-52 crash in New Mexico | USA: New Mexico | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 2 | Near Mora:[7] loss of vertical stabilizer[8] |
| 1964-01-04 | 1964 B-57 crash | USA: Dayton | NRB-57 Canberra | Mis-management of fuel system, causing CofG to be beyond its safe rearward limit | 2 | Both wings failed |
| 1964-01-10 | B-52 flight test of vertical stabilizer | USA: New Mexico | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 0 | Loss of vertical stabilizer, landed safely |
| 1964-01-13 | 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash | USA: Maryland | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 3 | Loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 1964-01-04 | 1964 USAF Thunderbird crash | USA: California | F-105 Thunderchief | Design flaw | 1 | Spine failure during 6G pitch-up at air show |
| 1965-07-06 | 1965 Little Baldon Hastings accident | England: near RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire | Handley Page Hastings | Design flaw | 41 | Right-hand elevator became uncontrollable due to metal fatigue-related failure of two bolts in elevator system[9] |
| 1966-03-05 | BOAC Flight 911 | Japan: Mount Fuji | Boeing 707-436 | Severe weather | 124 | Severe clear-air turbulence, gust load over design limit lead to in-flight breakup |
| 1966-08-06 | Braniff Airways Flight 250 | USA: Nebraska | BAC One-Eleven 203AE | Severe weather | 42 | Horizontal and vertical stabilizers detached in severe turbulence |
| 1967-03-05 | Lake Central Flight 527 | USA: Ohio | Convair CV-580 | Propeller manufacturing defect | 38 | Propeller broke apart; one of the blades punctured the fuselage, causing the forward section to break away |
| 1967-06-23 | Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 | USA: Pennsylvania | BAC One-Eleven 204AF | Mechanical failure | 34 | Valve in the auxiliary power unit suffered a complete failure, spreading fire to the tailplane and causing a loss of pitch control |
| 1967-11-15 | X-15 Flight 3-65-97 | USA: Edwards AFB | North American X-15 | Pilot error | 1 | Loss of control followed by airframe failure |
| 1970-07-05 | Air Canada Flight 621 | Brampton, Ontario | McDonnell Douglas DC-8 | Pilot error | 109 | Hard landing caused by crew error, causing engine No.4 and pylon to separate; further damage to the right wing caused leaking fuel to ignite and explode, causing the wing to break up and lead to the crash |
| 1971-03-05 | BEA Flight 706 | Belgium | Vickers Vanguard | Inadequate maintenance: undetected corrosion | 63 | Near Aarsele: rear pressure bulkhead failure caused loss of tailplane |
| 1972-06-12 | American Airlines Flight 96 | USA: Detroit | MD DC-10 | Design flaw | 0 | Cargo door locking mechanism failed causing door to separate from the aircraft and causing further damage; landed safely |
| 1973-05-18 | Aeroflot Flight 109 | Soviet Union: Chita | Tupolev Tu-104 | Terrorist bombing | 81 | Bomb put on board by hijacker |
| 1974-03-03 | Turkish Airlines Flight 981 | France: Picardy | MD DC-10 | Design flaw | 346 | Cargo door locking mechanism failed allowing door to separate from the aircraft; cabin floor collapsed, control cables severed, crashed into a forest |
| 1976-04-14 | Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales | Argentina: near Cutral-Co | Hawker Siddeley 748 | Improper maintenance: undetected metal fatigue | 34 | Starboard wing failed outboard of engine |
| 1977-05-14 | 1977 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crash | Near Lusaka Airport, Lusaka, Zambia | Boeing 707 | Metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw | 6 | Structural failure of the right horizontal stabiliser due to metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw |
| 1978-06-26 | Helikopter Service Flight 165 | Norway: North Sea | Sikorsky S-61 | Fatigue | 18 | Rotor blade loosened after fatigue to the knuckle joint: crashed into the sea[10] |
| 1979-05-25 | American Airlines Flight 191 | USA: Chicago | MD DC-10 | Improper maintenance | 271 + 2 on ground | No.1 engine broke off due to faulty maintenance procedure; slats retracted, leading the plane to stall and crash |
| 1981-06-02 | NLM CityHopper Flight 431 | Netherlands: Moerdijk | Fokker F28 Fellowship | Severe weather | 17 | Starboard wing detached from airframe due to loads exceeding design limits after the aircraft entered a tornado. |
| 1982-03-11 | Widerøe Flight 933 | Norway: Gamvik | de Havilland Canada Twin Otter | Severe weather | 15 | Vertical stabilizer and rudder failed during clear-air turbulence[11] |
| 1985-06-23 | Air India Flight 182 | Atlantic Ocean off County Cork | Boeing 747 | Terrorist bombing | 329 | Terrorist bomb placed in cargo hold |
| 1985-08-12 | Japan Airlines Flight 123 | Japan: Mount Osutaka | Boeing 747SR | Improper maintenance | 520 | Faulty repair after same plane suffered a tailstrike: the rear bulkhead failed which caused the tail fin to fall off and rupture all four hydraulic systems. The crash remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history. |
| 1987-11-28 | South African Airways Flight 295 | Indian Ocean, 134 nautical miles (248 km) north-east of Mauritius, 19°10′30″S 59°38′0″E | Boeing 747 | Fire | 159 | Catastrophic and contained cargo fire in rear cargo deck lead to the separation of tail section, an in-flight break up and a high-speed dive into ocean |
| 1988-04-28 | Aloha Airlines Flight 243 | USA: Hawaii | Boeing 737 | Improper adhesive bonding of fuselage lap joints | 1 | Corrosion and fatigue: 18 ft of roof separated from fuselage |
| 1988-12-21 | Pan Am Flight 103 | UK: Lockerbie | Boeing 747 | Terrorist bombing | 259 + 11 on ground | Terrorist bomb in the forward luggage hold |
| 1989-02-24 | United Airlines Flight 811 | USA: Hawaii | Boeing 747 | Dirt on microswitch/short circuit | 9 | Cargo door opened (electrical fault), causing surrounding structure to fail leaving large hole; landed safely |
| 1989-09-08 | Partnair Flight 394 | Denmark: 18 km north of Hirtshals | Convair 580 | Improper maintenance: use of counterfeit aircraft parts | 55 | Highest death toll involving a Convair 580; loosening of vertical stabilizer due to excessive wear on mounting bolts |
| 1989-09-19 | UTA Flight 772 | Ténéré, Niger 16.86493°N 11.953712°E,
Sahara Desert |
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 | Terrorist bombing | 170 | Bomb hidden in forward cargo hold detonated at 35,000 feet leading to in-flight break-up scattering debris over a wide area across the Sahara |
| 1990-04-12 | Widerøe Flight 839 | Norway: Værøy | de Havilland Canada Twin Otter | Severe weather | 5 | Rudder and tailplane cracked during extreme winds[12] |
| 1990-06-10 | British Airways Flight 5390 | Great Britain: Didcot | BAC One-Eleven | Faulty maintenance | 0 | Window separated from plane causing the pilot to be sucked out. First Officer successfully landed the plane in Southampton |
| 1991-05-26 | Lauda Air Flight 004 | Phu Toei National Park, Amphoe Dan Chang, Suphanburi Province, Thailand | Boeing 767-300ER | Manufacturing error: faulty thrust reverser | 223 | Thrust reverser in No.1 engine unexpectedly deployed while cruising at 35,000 ft causing it to bank sharply to the left and enter a high-speed dive and breaking up at roughly 4000 ft scattering wreckage over a wide area |
| 1991-09-11 | Continental Express Flight 2574 | Texas | Embraer 120 Brasilia | Improper maintenance | 14 | Failure of the horizontal stabilizer during flight due to misunderstanding during maintenance |
| 1992-10-04 | El Al Flight 1862 | Bijlmermeer | Boeing 747 | Corrosion in pylon fuse pin leading to metal fatigue | 4 on board, 39 on ground | Engine No.3 separated from its pylon which caused the adjacent engine No.4 to also fall off, taking the slats with them; stall and crash on attempted landing |
| 1996-07-17 | TWA Flight 800 | Moriches Inlet, near East Moriches, New York | Boeing 747 | Fuel tank explosion | 230 | Exploded, broke up, and crashed off the coast of Long Island 30 minutes after taking off from New York bound for Paris due to a catastrophic central fuel tank explosion resulting in the forward fuselage section, which included the main flight deck first class and a portion of business class, separating and causing the remaining section to climb, abruptly stall, and enter a high speed dive, causing the left wing to also separate and plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in flames |
| 1997-06-26 | Helikopter Service Flight 451 | Norway: Norwegian Sea | Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Puma | Fatigue | 12 | The accident was caused by a fatigue crack in the spline, which ultimately caused the power transmission shaft to fail. The helicopter crashed into the sea.[13] |
| 1997-12-19 | SilkAir Flight 185 | Musi River, Palembang, Indonesia | Boeing 737-300 | Pilot suicide (disputed by NTSC) | 104 | Entered a high-speed vertical dive and broke up on its way down into the Musi River |
| 1999-01-31 | EgyptAir Flight 990 | Atlantic Ocean, 100 km (62 mi) S of Nantucket | Boeing 767-300ER | Pilot suicide (disputed) | 217 | Abruptly descended rapidly before rapidly climbing before finally entering a high-speed dive, causing the No.1 engine and portions of the wings to break off on its way down towards the ocean |
| 2000-01-31 | Alaska Airlines Flight 261 | Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island | McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | Maintenance intervals extended beyond safe limit | 88 | Lack of lubrication causing structural failure of the jackscrew on the horizontal stabiliser resulting in aircraft descending inverted into sea |
| 2001-11-12 | American Airlines Flight 587 | Queens, New York City | Airbus A300 | Pilot error | 265 | Overuse of rudder leading to loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 2002-04-30 | 2002 Eglin Air Force Base F-15 crash | USA: Gulf of Mexico | F-15 Eagle | Undetected corrosion | 1 | Near Eglin AFB: port fin leading edge failed during test dive |
| 2002-05-25 | China Airlines Flight 611 | Taiwan: Taiwan Strait near Penghu Islands | Boeing 747 | Faulty maintenance, metal fatigue | 225 | Tailstrike leading to faulty repair: tail section broke off, causing aircraft to disintegrate |
| 2003-02-01 | Space Shuttle Columbia disaster | USA: Texas | Space Shuttle | Design flaw | 7 | Damaged TPS during launch, breakup during reentry |
| 2005-12-19 | Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 | USA: Miami Beach, Florida | Grumman Turbo-Mallard | Improper maintenance | 20 | In-flight wing failure due to metal fatigue |
| 2007-01-01 | Adam Air Flight 574 | Makassar Strait off Majene, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Black boxes at 03°41′02″S 118°08′53″E and 03°40′22″S 118°09′16″E | Boeing 737-400 | Pilot error | 102 | Spatial disorientation, inertial reference system (IRS) malfunction gradually banked to the left and entered a high-speed dive and broke up on its way down |
| 2008-05-30 | Pilatus EC-JXH crash | Spain | Pilatus PC-6 | [14] | 2 | Wing failure |
| 2014-10-31 | VSS Enterprise crash | USA: Near the Mojave Desert, California | Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo | Pilot error and design flaw | 1 | Premature activation of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry lead to an in-flight breakup |
| 2015-10-31 | Metrojet Flight 9268 | Egypt: North Sinai Governorate | Airbus A321-200 | Terrorist bombing | 224 | Bomb that was smuggled into rear cargo hold disguised as a soft drink can contained four packs of dynamite, causing the tail section to separate and lead to an in-flight break up, scattering the wreckage in the Sinai Desert |
| 2016-05-19 | EgyptAir Flight 804 | Mediterranean Sea, 33.6757°N 28.7924°E | Airbus A320-200 | Explosion/fire caused by oxygen leak | 66 | Accident was caused by oxygen leak in the cockpit; the following combustion and explosion ignited by the pilot's cigarette caused a fire and the break-up of the airplane into the Mediterranean Sea |
| 2017-10-07 | 2017 United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash | Leflore County, Mississippi | Lockheed KC-130T Hercules | Improper maintenance | 16 | Accident was caused by improper repairs conducted in 2011 on a corroded propeller blade |
Close
See also: List of airliner shootdown incidents
Northrop F-89 Scorpion wing failure during flypast.
Main article: List of structural failures and collapses
- Notes
- Accident aircraft 42-78839 had been built under license by contractor Robertson Aircraft Corporation.
- Citations
- "WORK IN PROGRESS – More to add". Ejection-history.org.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- Mills, Carl (1991). Banshees of the Royal Canadian Navy. Willowdale, ON: Banshee Publication. pp. 280–281. ISBN 978-0-9695200-0-9.
- "Anniversary of Vulcan crash." BBC News, 19 September 2008.
- "B-52_Stratofortress". Ejection-history.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
- "Look mom, I lost my tail! We gotta bring this Buff in anyway". TalkingProud.us. Archived from the original on June 4, 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
- "Rapport om luftfartsulykke i Nordsjøen den 26. juni 1978 ca. kl. 1115 med helikopter S-61 LN-OQS, tilhørende K/S Helikopter Service A/S" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Accident Investigation Board Norway. 17 January 1980. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- Parliament of Norway (20 September 2005). "Rapport til Stortingets presidentskap fra Stortingets granskningskommisjon for Mehamn-ulykken" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- Accident Investigation Board Norway (1991). "Rapport of luftfartsulykke ved Værøy lufthavn den 12. april 1990 med Twin Otter LN-BNS" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original (pdf) on 2012-07-17.
- "Report on the air accident 8 September 1997 in the Norwegian sea approx. 100 NM west north west of Brønnøysund, involving Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Puma, LN-OPG, operated by Helikopter Service AS" (PDF). Accident Investigation Board Norway. November 2001. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- Ranter, Harro. "Accident Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo Porter EC-JXH, 30 May 2008". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- Bibliography
- Gero, David B. (2010). Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-645-7.