Commercial Plane Crashes of the 1960s
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1960
January 6 – National Airlines Flight 2511, a DC-6B bound from New York to Miami, crashes near Bolivia, North Carolina, when a bomb planted on board explodes in mid-air. All 34 people on board are killed.
January 18 – Capital Airlines Flight 20, a Vickers Viscount flying from Washington to Norfolk crashes near Holdcroft, Virginia due to engine failure caused by icy conditions.
January 19 – Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871,crashes while on approach to Esenboga International Airport, killing all 42 on board.
January 21 – Avianca Flight 671, a Lockheed Constellation, crashes on landing at Sangster International Airport, killing 2 of 7 crew and 35 of 39 passengers on board in Jamaica’s worst aviation accident.
February 25 – The 1960 Rio de Janeiro air crash: A United States Navy Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6A) collides with a Real Transportes Aéreos Douglas DC-3 over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; of the 38 occupants of the American aircraft, 3 survive, and all 26 passengers and crew of the Brazilian aircraft die.
March 17 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 en route from Chicago, Illinois to Miami, Florida, breaks apart at 15,000 feet and crashes near Tell City, Indiana, killing all 63 on board.
June 10 – Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538, a Fokker F-27, crashes into the ocean near Mackay, Queensland, Australia, killing all 29 on board in Australia’s worst civilian air disaster.
July 15 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 372, a C-47 Skytrain, crashes into a mountain near Jimma, Ethiopia, killing the pilot.
October 4 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 crashes on takeoff from Boston’s Logan International Airport into Winthrop Bay, after multiple bird strikes. Only 10 of the 72 on board the plane survive the crash.
October 29 – A chartered Curtiss C-46 crashes on take-off at the Toledo Express Airport in Toledo, Ohio with the loss of twenty-two people, including sixteen players on the California Polytechnic State University football team.
December 16 – The 1960 New York air disaster: United Airlines Flight 826 and TWA Flight 266 collide in mid-air over Staten Island in New York. All 128 aboard the two planes and six people on the ground are killed.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1961
January 3 – Aero Flight 311, a Douglas DC-3, crashes into woods near Koivulahti, Finland, killing all 25 on board.
February 15 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes on approach in Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team. A runaway stabilizer is thought to have been the cause of the first fatal accident involving a 707 in regular passenger service.
May 30 – Viasa Flight 897crashes shortly after taking off from Lisbon Portela Airport. All 61 passengers and crew on board are killed.
June 12 – KLM Flight 823 crashes while on approach to Cairo International Airport due to pilot error. 20 of 36 passengers on board die.
July 11 – United Airlines Flight 859 crashes on landing at Stapleton International Airport, killing 17 passengers and one person on the ground.
July 21 – Alaska Airlines Flight 779, a Douglas DC-6, crashes on landing at Shemya, Alaska, killing all 6 crew on board.
September 1 – Trans World Airlines Flight 529, a Lockheed Constellation L-049 propliner, abruptly pitches up and crashes shortly after takeoff from Chicago’s Midway Airport, killing all 73 passengers and 5 crew on board; a 5/16 inch bolt which fell out of the elevator control linkage just before the crash is blamed.
September 12 – Air France Flight 2005 crashes on approach to Rabat-Salé Airport, killing all 71 people and 6 crew on board.
September 17 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 706 crashes on takeoff from Chicago as a result of a maintenance error causing the ailerons to become detached from the control wheels. All 37 on board die.
October 7 – Derby Aviation C47 crashes into Canigou mountainside en-route London – Perpigan, killing all 34 aboard.
November 8 – Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8, a Lockheed Constellation L-049, crashes on landing at Byrd Field near Richmond, Virginia; all 74 passengers — mostly new US Army recruits being flown to their base for training — die of carbon monoxide asphyxiation, along with three crew members; the captain and flight engineer survive by escaping the burning wreckage.
November 23 – Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 322 crashes in Campinas, Brazil shortly after takeoff, killing all 12 crew and 40 passengers on board.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1962
March 1 – American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707, crashes in Jamaica Bay, Queens, New York, killing all 95 passengers and crew on board.
March 4 – Caledonian Airways Flight 153 crashes into a jungle swamp at Douala, Cameroon, killing all 111 on board.
March 8 – A Turkish Airlines Fairchild F-27 crashes into the Bolkar Mountains while on approach to Adana Airport. All passengers perish.
March 16 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 chartered by the United States military, and carrying 96 American soldiers en route to South Vietnam, disappears over the western Pacific.
May 22 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 breaks up in mid-air near Unionville, Missouri after a passenger’s bomb exploded in the lavatory. All 45 on board are killed in the first known case of sabotage aboard a commercial jet airliner.
June 3 – Air France Flight 007 skids and burns after the pilot rejects takeoff, killing many of Atlanta, Georgia’s civic and cultural leaders; two flight attendants are the only survivors, as 130 die in the worst one-aircraft accident up to that date.
June 22 – Air France Flight 117, an international scheduled multi-leg Boeing 707 crashes in a forest hill on the island of Guadeloupe, while approaching Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport; 113 die in that accident with no survivors; the worst accident in Guadeloupe; the cause of the crash is never determined.
July 7 – Alitalia Flight 771 hits high terrain while descending due to navigation error near Junnar, Maharashtra, India. All 94 die.
July 19 – United Arab Airlines Flight 869, a de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4C on an international scheduled flight from Hong Kong to Cairo via Bangkok, crashes into the Khao Yai mountain while descending to Bangkok; all 26 die.
November 23 – United Airlines Flight 297, a Vickers Viscount 745D, crashes near Ellicott City, Maryland, following a bird strike. All 17 people on board die.
November 30 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 crashes as a result of pilot error during a missed approach at New York’s Idlewild Airport; 25 of 51 on board are killed.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1963
February 12 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 breaks up in turbulance associated with a severe thunderstorm and crashes into the Everglades park. All 43 passengers and crew die.
June 3 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293 crashes into the Pacific Ocean, 182.5 miles away from Annette Island, Alaska, United States. All 101 on board killed.
July 2 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 121, a Martin 404, crashes near Rochester, New York while attempting takeoff, killing seven of the 43 people on board.
July 3 – New Zealand National Airways Corporation Flight 441, a DC-3 Skyliner flying from Whenuapai Airport, Auckland to Tauranga, crashes into the Kaimai Ranges; all 23 aboard die, making it the worst air disaster in mainland New Zealand to date.
August 21 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 ditches in the Neva river in Leningrad after engine failure; there were no fatalities among the 52 on board, but the aircraft is destroyed.
September 4 – Swissair Flight 306, a Sud Aviation Caravelle, crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all 80 on board.
November 6 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 861 overruns the runway at London-Heathrow after an aborted takeoff; there are no casualties to the 97 passengers and crew on board.
November 29 – Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831 crashes shortly after takeoff from Montréal/Dorval Airport, killing all 118 people on board.
December 8 – Pan Am Flight 214 is struck by positive lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1964
February 3 – A Turkish Airlines Douglas C-47 crashes while on approach to Esenboga Airport, killing all 3 crew on board.
February 25 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 304 flying from New Orleans International Airport to Washington National Airport, crashes into Lake Pontchartrain killing all 51 passengers and seven crew aboard.
May 7 – Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard, after a passenger shoots both the captain and first officer before turning the gun on himself.
July 9 – United Airlines Flight 823 crashes near Parrottsville, Tennessee after a fire on board. All 39 passengers and crew die.
November 15 – Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, a Fairchild F27, slams into a mountain in poor weather while on a nighttime approach to Las Vegas, Nevada; all 29 aboard perish when the plane crashes only 10 feet below a ridge; initially blamed on a pilot’s misreading his approach chart, years later the chart maker agrees to pay a settlement of $490,000 to some of the victims’ heirs after it is shown the chart had incorrect markings.
November 20 – Linjeflyg Flight 277 crashes during the approach to Engelholm, Sweden, when, in instrument meteorological conditions, the crew abandons the set procedure and descends prematurely; 31 people are killed; 12 survive.
November 23 – Trans World Airlines Flight 800 suffers engine failure and crashes at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, killing 50 of 73 on board; the cause is an inoperative thrust reverser.
December 24 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes near San Bruno, California after an unexplained course deviation, killing the crew of three.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1965
February 8 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 on takeoff, overreacts in avoiding Pan Am Flight 212 (a Boeing 707) on approach, loses control, and crashes into the ocean several miles off Jones Beach State Park, New York, killing all 84 on board.
March 8 – Aeroflot Flight 448 loses control after takeoff and crashes near Kurumoch International Airport; all 25 people on board die.
April 14 – British United Airways Flight 1030X crashes on landing at Jersey Airport due to pilot error; of the 27 passengers and crew on board, only a flight attendant survives.
May 5 – Iberia Airlines Flight 401 crashes after striking a tractor on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport during a go-around in foggy weather; 30 of 49 passengers and crew die.
July 1 – Continental Airlines Flight 12 runs off the end of the runway at Kansas City Downtown Airport, breaking into three pieces; all 66 on board survive.
July 8 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 crashes near 100 Mile House, British Columbia after the explosion of a device in the lavatory; all 46 passengers and six crew aboard perish.
August 16 – United Airlines Flight 389 crashes into Lake Michigan at night, after the pilots apparently misread their altimeters; all 24 passengers and six crew perish in the first fatal crash of the Boeing 727.
September 17 – Pan Am Flight 292 crashes into Chances Peak, Montserrat in stormy weather; all 30 on board die.
November 8 – American Airlines Flight 383 crashes while on approach to Greater Cincinnati airport; of the 62 people on board, one flight attendant and three passengers survive.
November 11 – United Airlines Flight 227 crashes short of the runway during landing at Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah; 43 of 91 aboard are killed.
December 4 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 853, a Lockheed Super Constellation collides with TWA Flight 42 over Carmel, New York; Flight 42 makes an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport; Flight 853 is forced to crash land on Mt. Titicus near North Salem, New York, killing 3 passengers and the pilot on board; no casualties were reported on board Flight 42.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1966
January 15 – Avianca Flight 4, a Douglas C-54, suffers engine failure and crashes off Cartagena, Colombia, killing 56 of 64 on board.
January 24 – Air India Flight 101 crashes into the south west face of Mont Blanc in France; all 106 passengers and 11 crew are killed. Sixteen years earlier Air India Flight 245 crashed in almost exactly the same spot.
January 28 – Lufthansa Flight 005 crashes at Bremen Airport; all 46 on board perish.
February 2 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17, a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, crashes near Faridpur, Bangladesh, Pakistan; of the 23 on board, only a passenger survives.
February 4 – All Nippon Airways Flight 60 crashes into Tokyo Bay, Japan; all 133 aboard are killed in Japan’s worst air disaster at that time.
March 4 – Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 crashes on landing at Tokyo International Airport in Japan, killing 64 passengers and crew; eight passengers survive.
March 5 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 bound for Hong Kong, crashes at Mount Fuji near Gotenba, Japan, killing all 124 passengers and crew.
August 6 – All 42 on board are killed when Braniff Flight 250, a BAC One-Eleven, flies into an active squall line and breaks apart in mid-air near Falls City, Nebraska.
October 1 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with 18 fatalities 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon, marking the first loss of a Douglas DC-9.
November 13 – All Nippon Airways Flight 533 plunges into Seto Inland Sea after an overrun at Matsuyama Airport, Shikoku, Japan, killing all 50 passengers and crew; this crash is the first loss of a YS-11.
November 15 – Pan Am Flight 708, a Boeing 727, crashes near Berlin, Germany; all three crew members are killed.
November 24 – Bulgarian-Soviet Transport Aviation Corporation Flight 101, an Ilyushin IL-18B, crashes into a wooded hillside shortly after takeoff from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, killing all 82 aboard.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1967
February 16 – Garuda Indonesia Airways Flight 708 crashes on landing at Sam Ratulangi Airport, killing 22 of 84 passengers on board; all 8 crew survive.
March 9 – TWA Flight 553 collides with a Beechcraft Baron near Dayton, Ohio, killing all 26 on both planes.
March 13 – South African Airways Flight 406 crashed into the sea while on approach to East London, South Africa. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed. The pilot of the plane suffered a fatal heart attack while on approach and the co-pilot was unable to regain control of the aircraft.
April 20 – A Globe Air-operated Bristol Britannia on a charter flight crashes in bad weather near Lakatamia, Cyprus, killing all 126 on board.
June 4 – In the Stockport air disaster, a British Midland Canadair C-4 Argonaut carrying passengers returning from Palma de Mallorca is on approach to Manchester Airport when an engine loses power because of a design failure in the aircraft’s fuel system; 72 of 84 on board are killed.
June 23 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, a BAC One-Eleven, crashes in Blossburg, Pennsylvania, killing all 34 people on board.
July 19 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, a Boeing 727 departing from Asheville, North Carolina, crashes shortly after takeoff after a mid-air collision with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on instrument approach to Asheville; all 82 passengers and crew on both aircraft die.
October 12 – Cyprus Airways Flight 284 is destroyed by a bomb over the Mediterranean. All passengers and crew perish in the crash.
November 4 – Iberia Airlines Flight 062, a Sud Aviation Caravelle, crashes at Black Down Hill Sussex, United Kingdom; all 37 passengers and crew are killed, including actress June Thorburn, who was five months pregnant.
November 6 – TWA Flight 159 overruns the runway at Greater Cincinnati Airport, and catches fire; all on board escape the aircraft, but a passenger dies four days later.
November 20 – TWA Flight 128 crashes in Constance, Kentucky on approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport, killing 70 of the 82 people on board.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1968
March 24 – Aer Lingus Flight 712crashes off the Irish coast; all 61 on board perish.
April 8 – BOAC Flight 712, a Boeing 707, suffers an engine fire after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport; the plane makes an emergency landing at Heathrow, but five of 127 aboard die in the resulting fire.
May 3 – Braniff Flight 352 en route from Houston, Texas to Dallas, breaks up in mid-air in a thunderstorm and crashes near Dawson, Texas; killing its five crew and 80 passengers. Nine years earlier Braniff Flight 542 crashed 49 miles away in Buffalo.
May 22 – Los Angeles Airways Flight 841 crashes near Paramount, California resulting in the loss of 23 lives.
July 1 – Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A is forced to land in the Soviet Union; on board are over 200 American troops bound for Vietnam.
July 3 – In the 1968 BKS Air Transport Heathrow crash, an Airspeed Ambassador freight aircraft experiences metal fatigue and crashes while landing, striking two unoccupied British European Airways airliners. Six of the freighter’s crew of eight are killed, as are eight racehorses being transported. All Airspeed Ambassadors are grounded until a redesign strengthens the flaps. One of the BEA aircraft is repaired but is lost in the 1972 Staines air disaster.
August 14 – Los Angeles Airways Flight 417, a Sikorsky S-61L prototype, crashes in Compton, California resulting in the loss of 21 lives.
September 11 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France after a fire in the cabin, killing 95 passengers and crew.
October 25 – Northeast Airlines Flight 946 crashes near Etna, New Hampshire, killing 32 passengers and crew.
November 22 – Japan Airlines Flight 2 ditches in San Francisco Bay as a result of pilot error, all on board survive.
December 2 – Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55, a Fairchild F-27B. crashes into Pedro Bay Alaska. All 39 passengers and crew on board are killed.
December 12 – Pan Am Flight 217, a Boeing 707, crashes near Caracas, Venezuela as a result of pilot error; all 51 on board die.
Commercial Plane Crashes in 1969
January 5 – Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701, a Boeing 727-100C arriving at London Gatwick Airport from Frankfurt Airport crashed into a house in dense fog, killing 48 of the 62 persons aboard; a married couple living at the house also died, but, miraculously, their baby survived.
January 13 – Scandinavian Airlines Flight 933, a Douglas DC-8, crashes into Santa Monica Bay due to pilot error, killing 15 of 45 on board.
January 18 – United Airlines Flight 266 en route from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, Wisconsin loses all electrical power and crashes into Santa Monica Bay; six crew and 32 passengers are killed.
February 18 – Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708 crashes near Lone Pine, California, killing all 35 people on board.
February 24 – Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 10 suffers engine failure and crashes while on approach to Tainan Airport, Taiwan; all 36 on board die.
April 2 – LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO 165, an Antonov An-24, crashes in southern Poland, killing all 53 people on board.
April 28 – LAN Chile Flight 160 Crashes into farmland on an approach; no fatalities and an unknown number injured.
September 9 – Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 collides in flight with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee and crashes near Fairland, Indiana, killing all 83 occupants aboard the two aircraft.
September 12 – Philippine Airlines Flight 158 crashes on approach to Manila International Airport killing 45 of the 47 passengers and crew on board.
November 19 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 411, a Fairchild 227, crashes near Glens Falls, New York, killing all 14 people on board.
December 11 – A Korean Air Lines-operated NAMC YS-11 with 54 on board is hijacked by a North Korean agent and is diverted to North Korea; thirty-nine of the passengers were released in early 1970, but the seven remaining passengers, the crew, and the aircraft (which has been written off) are never returned.
Annalise Kaylor is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant specializing in search engine optimized content for the web. As a writer, her work has appeared across the United States in print ads for Whirlpool, Maytag, Home Depot, and Lowe's, among others. As a consultant, she has worked primarily in the education sector, helping universities increase their web visibility and construct and implement social media strategy. Annalise is an avid reader, knitter, organic gardener and baker, as well as the author of the popular baking blog, Knead To Be Loaved. Annalise enjoys fly fishing, camping, and hiking.
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