Nowadays, taking a commercial flight is extremely safe. But in the vast skies, it wasn’t always so definite. In reality, over the past century of commercial air travel, only some significant and hurried advancements could account for the relative safety we enjoy today. This list looks at top 10 horrible airplane crashes and incidents and how they prompted immediate and specific safety improvements for the industry. The information is authentic and confirmed by HBR.
Top 10 Horrible AirPlane Crashes
Tragically, many of those improvements came about after Horrible AirPlane Crashes and mass passenger deaths demonstrated the need for new and updated systems in the first place. The victims’ loved ones suffered greatly from these ten disasters. However, they succeeded in serving as the impetus for important airline reforms that will spare future customers even more suffering. Today’s air travel safety is largely due to these ten terrifying historical occurrences.
10: 1956 Grand Canyon Air Crash
Two distinct aircraft took off from Los Angeles International Airport on June 30, 1956. One was a Chicago-bound United Airlines Douglas DC-7. The other was a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation bound for Kansas City. The planes, however, collided in midair as they crossed each other’s flight paths high above the Grand Canyon on their way to their respective destinations.
As you can expect, the disaster was catastrophic; both aircraft rapidly crashed to the ground, killing all 128 people on board. The nation erupted in outrage over the horrific incident right away. However, the federal government moved swiftly and established the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) less than two years later to oversee and control aviation safety.
The federal government also invested over $250 million to modernise the country’s air traffic control system. They believed that increasing the number of people monitoring flight paths would prevent tragedies like this one from occurring again. More aerial surveillance of this expanding transportation business sector is desperately needed and warmly welcomed. And for thirty years, they were correct.
A small private aircraft entered the Aeromexico DC-9’s airspace on August 31, 1986, while departing from Los Angeles International Airport. The tiny plane didn’t have a transponder, so the Aeromexico pilots had no idea what struck them when the two planes crashed.
The industry underwent additional changes due to the second midair collision. One of them is that the FAA started mandating that small aircraft use transponders anytime they enter regulated areas near airports. Plus, TCAS collision-avoidance radar systems were installed on every important aircraft. Since then, no small plane has collided in midair with a commercial airliner, suggesting that the move had the desired effect.
9: Flight 173 of United Airlines
A DC-8 was approaching Portland, Oregon, on the brisk, sunny afternoon of December 28, 1978. At the time, one hundred eighty-one people were travelling on board United Airlines 173. But it became obvious that the landing gear had an issue as it dipped toward the airport. The pilots put the aircraft into a holding pattern to find a solution and circled the airfield for over an hour.
The problem took so long to fix that the plane’s fuel slowly started to run out. The airliner started its emergency descent far too late with too little fuel in the tanks because the captain was brash, arrogant, and loud. As things were going in that direction, the flight engineer tried to warn the captain of the issue, but the captain ignored him and talked over him.
It failed to make the runway as planned and had to make a forced landing in a suburb of Portland after running out of fuel. Amazingly, only ten people died in the disaster, which could have been much worse. However, ten lives were lost in an incident that could have been resolved quickly with better cockpit communication.
The pilot’s behaviour during the hour-long holding pattern while dealing with landing gear issues outraged United Airlines. As a result, the airline promptly began working on updated cockpit training protocols. Cockpit Resource Management, or CRM, is the notion that emerged as a result.
It was revolutionary at the time, but today all airlines use it extensively. It did away with the conventional wisdom among airlines that the captain of a plane was infallible and superior to all others. Instead, it gave the crew’s open and egalitarian communication priority. If United could avoid it, a plane would never crash again due to a bossy captain abusing their power over the crew.
8: Flight 191 of Delta Airlines
On August 2, 1985, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was set to experience another regular day. A Lockheed L-1011 aircraft, identified as Delta Airlines Flight 191, was approaching the airport that evening. Throughout the afternoon, thunderstorms had been present in the vicinity. The pilots of the aircraft noticed lightning all around it as it dipped below 1,000 feet (305 meters). A microburst wind shear suddenly and unexpectedly hit the airliner.
The pilots were powerless to stop the effects of that thunderstorm-induced wind shear since they did not understand how to do so. The intense and swift downdraft completely changed the wind around the jet, causing it to lose most of its airspeed in seconds. Just over a mile short of the runway, the plane plummeted and made a heavy impact on the ground. It crashed into one vehicle, killing the driver, and came down directly on top of a highway. It slid to the left and struck two enormous water tanks perched on the airfield’s edge.
Along with the fatality on the roadway, 134 of the 163 passengers on the jet died in the accident. The FAA was understandably frightened by the crash’s suddenness and mysterious origin. So they started carefully studying it. They quickly discovered that severe weather was in effect, so they asked NASA for assistance in determining why.
The FAA installed more sophisticated radar and wind-shear detectors on all commercial aircraft after seven years of rigorous research and trials revealed that previously unknown wind shear in thunderstorm conditions posed serious hazards to airplanes. There has only been one similar microburst incidence involving wind shear since that guideline was initially widely implemented in the middle of the 1990s.
7: Flight 232 of United Airlines
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 was a completely ordinary flight from Denver to Chicago that took off in good weather and travelled across the Midwest. But the DC-10 experienced an unexpected catastrophic engine failure somewhere high above Iowa.
Captain Alfred Haynes bravely battled the sluggish, sinking aircraft as the engine in the plane’s tail destroyed the hydraulic connections, rendering it nearly fully unmanageable as it sank swiftly into the ground. He attempted to steer the aircraft toward the Sioux City, Iowa airport while making an emergency landing call. He miraculously reached the airport as the aircraft accelerated toward the planet.
Out of the 296 people on board, the landing was anything but smooth, and the subsequent disaster on and past the runway claimed the lives of more than 100 of them. After the tragedy, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA arrived to investigate what went wrong. They quickly discovered that a little break in the fan disk of the tail engine was to blame for the mishap.
The FAA immediately ordered a thorough refurbishment of the DC-10’s hydraulics because the fracture had developed during the first production of the titanium alloy used in the DC-10. The orders here accelerated the plane’s gradual phase-out by numerous airline firms by the late 1980s.
The Sioux City probe, however, went much further than that, leading to the NTSB and FAA mandating wholly redundant safety measures in all future commercial aircraft. Additionally, they outlined additional requirements and specifications for engine inspection procedures. They aimed to avoid dealing with an engine-related breakdown in those two methods in the future.
6: Flight 427 of US Airways
On September 8, 1994, US Airways Flight 427 was approaching the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, airport when the Boeing 737 abruptly dropped out of the sky. It suddenly and mysteriously rolled to the left, then dropped more than 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) straight to the ground in seconds.
All 132 people on board the jet perished in the catastrophe, which also sent the American aviation industry into a tailspin. US Airways immediately laid the blame for the crash on the aircraft for faltering at a critical point in the flight. On the other hand, Boeing cited the pilots’ mistakes as the cause of the catastrophe rather than any form of mechanical malfunction.
The FAA took the black box out to investigate. They soon discovered the cause of the 5,000-foot drop. The jet’s rudder mysteriously shifted into the full-left position as it descended. The roll that resulted from that was impossible for the pilots to stop.
The only issue was that no one could articulate why the rudder behaved that way. Had the pilots made a mistake? Or was the issue with the plane? The NTSB and the FAA concluded that the plane was at fault after laboriously investigating the matter for over five years. The rudder had reversed on itself and flapped into its full-left slot due to a clogged valve in the rudder-control mechanism.
The pilots in the upper cockpit urgently attempted to depress the right rudder pedal all the way. However, the rudder moved to the left each time they did, sending the aircraft into a deadly plunge. Compelled to admit its error, Boeing quickly spent over $500 million retrofitting all 3,000 operational commercial aircraft. To avoid more catastrophes like this one, new rudder valves and control systems were implemented.
That wasn’t all, though. After the crash, Congress created the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act in response to tensions between Boeing and the families of the deceased, who demanded an explanation for their loved ones’ deaths. Through that law, survivor, and victim services were formally transferred to the NTSB, which will now be able to assist with the legal and financial fallout from future tragedies.
5: Flight 797 of Air Canada
On June 2, 1983, Air Canada Flight 797 was traveling at a height of 33,000 feet (10,058 meters) when the situation suddenly became chaotic. On an otherwise normal journey from Dallas to Toronto, the DC-9 was traveling when, high in the sky, smoke began to emanate from the restroom at the back of the aircraft.
That alarmed the flight attendants, who called the cockpit to inform the pilots of the troubling situation. Fortunately, the pilots moved to land as quickly as they did because just as they touched down in Cincinnati, the smoke had nearly completely engulfed the cockpit itself.
Thinking quickly, the pilots called for an emergency landing as smoke filled the entire cabin and cockpit. Thankfully, the landing happened without a hitch, and the plane stopped on the runway, even though the pilots could hardly see the instrument panel as they touched down. Tragically, that was also the moment when disaster struck.
Following protocol, flight attendants opened the emergency exits to evacuate all the passengers. But as soon as outside air was introduced, the flammable interior cabin caught fire, and the plane quickly caught fire. Regrettably, 23 of the 46 passengers on board—including Canadian folk music legend Stan Rogers—died.
In response, the FAA moved fast to require all airplane toilets to be fitted with functional smoke alarms. The passengers must have believed they had dodged tragedy when the plane safely landed, only to regrettably wind up smack in the middle of it after touchdown.
Additionally, automatic fire extinguishers must be installed in commercial aircraft restrooms. Additionally, fire-blocking coatings were soon added to all seat cushions aboard airplanes. And the floor lighting installation, which we are all familiar with from the frequent flight safety videos, was required immediately.
Following the fatal Air Canada incident in 1983, all of that and more fire-resistant interior materials used recently in aircraft irrevocably changed the industry.
4: Flight 592 of ValuJet
Regarding anti-fire precautions within commercial flight cabins, the 1983 Air Canada disaster may have been a turning point for the FAA. It was one of many fire prevention strategies that needed to be used. Sadly, like the catastrophe of 1983, this second mandate would not be implemented until after a significant tragedy.
On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into a remote area of Florida’s marshy Everglades. Even compared to other air accidents, the plane’s impact on the ground was so swift that it was almost destroyed. The unexpected crash and quick descent startled the FAA. The authorities discovered that chemical oxygen generators that had been improperly and illegally packaged before takeoff were what started the ValuJet fire.
This led to a stunning conclusion regarding a fire that had begun on board—this time in the cargo hold. One of the generators exploded during the journey because it had been improperly placed down in the cargo hold. In the cargo hold, the heat that followed ignited a fire.
And the oxygen from the generator, which was already running, merely fanned the flames even more. The plane’s pilots could not descend to a runway in time for a safe evacuation due to the fire spreading so swiftly. When the plane crashed into the swamp, all 110 people died instantly.
In response, the FAA ordered that all commercial jet cargo holds be equipped with operable smoke detectors and automatic fire extinguishers, similar to what they required of restrooms following the 1983 incident. The FAA also significantly tightened its regulations for the types of hazardous cargo permitted on commercial flights.
3: TWA Flight 800
The world watched as TWA Flight 800 went down on July 17, 1996, shortly after taking off from New York City. The plane appeared to have spontaneously detonated in midair. Governments throughout the world were understandably frightened that it had been the target of a terrorist plan or possibly a military assault.
Amazingly, the NTSB spent months meticulously reassembling the debris recovered from the ocean. With 230 lives killed on the flight headed for Paris, hundreds of loved ones and family members were grieving the terrible event. And during that period, they unequivocally ruled out that a bomb or an attack caused the crash.
However, they were still unable to identify the precise problem fully. They understood that one of the aircraft’s almost empty off-wing fuel tanks had caught fire due to gases. Engineers and aviation specialists laboriously investigated the issue for years without learning the cause or how to stop it from happening again.
They eventually concluded that a nearby wire bundle short-circuit had likely caused the tank to ignite and burst due to an electrical spark. Since that awful period, and because of that extensive study, the FAA has enforced significant adjustments to lessen the risk of sparks from faulty or worn-down wing wiring.
This caused a sudden spark in the fuel-gauge sensor over the wing and, from there, a near-instant disaster. Boeing has driven a significant advancement to develop a fuel-inerting system among these modifications. This device injects nitrogen gas into fuel tanks and is now commonplace on commercial aircraft worldwide.
It is intended to lessen the possibility of electrical sparks and subsequent explosions. They swiftly started retrofitting older jets to ensure updated safety, ensuring the system was standard on all new planes they produced in the twenty-first century.
2: Flight 447 of Air France
On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 was planned to depart Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, overnight for Paris. Sadly, it lost all contact with way-station air traffic controllers on the western tip of Africa during some intense thunderstorm activity out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Then, when it failed to arrive in Paris at the scheduled time, French officials promptly dispatched search teams to determine what had occurred. A few days later, airplane debris was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean. The majority of the fuselage, the bodies of scores of the 228 persons killed in the disaster, and the crucial black box were all recovered over the following two years by government-funded organizations and private businesses using high-tech gear.
As it turned out, the pilots of Air France Flight 447 had difficulty in the hours before it went down due to readings of frozen pitot tubes. That black box recorder ultimately told the account of what transpired on that tragic flight. Those tubes, which measure the aircraft’s speed, faltered at some point as the flight climbed and leveled off at 38,000 feet (11,582 meters).
The relief pilots on duty at the time severely overreacted as a result. The shocking black box confirmed what many critics of the airline industry had long suspected: airline pilots had started to rely too heavily on computers in flight rather than returning to the basics on which they had been trained years earlier.
One pilot pulled the plane into a stall from which it would never recover. The fly-by-wire technologies of the computers, which were utilized by several types of both Boeing and Airbus at the time, were also criticized. However, after the Air France catastrophe, the ability to override computer inputs became standard. Boeing provided its pilots the option to override the automation if necessary.
Airlines started retraining their employees seriously to understand when and how to manually take control of the aircraft and fly it as they had been taught in the past, regardless of what the onboard computers may be saying. This was especially critical for pilots.
1: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610
The use of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircraft has undergone a significant change due to two significant commercial airline crashes that occurred within a short period. On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 departed Jakarta, Indonesia, and shortly after takeoff, it crashed into the Java Sea.
Then, six minutes into what should have been a regular trip to Nairobi, Kenya, Ethiopian Airlines trip 302 departed from Addis Ababa and descended into the earth five months later. Three hundred forty-six persons died in all due to the two collisions. They both occurred in brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and their proximity made airline officials worldwide suspicious that something was seriously wrong.
Following the Ethiopian Airlines crash in early 2019, Boeing and the FAA decided it was best to ground all 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Then, as investigators started looking into potential causes for the two crashes, answers started pouring in. Officials discovered that the new aircraft possessed a Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that caused pilots a great deal of difficulty.
Despite pilots’ best efforts to pull up after takeoff, it would wrongly force the plane’s nose down. From then on, Boeing had to fix serious wiring problems in all of its fallen aircraft and the flight control systems to ensure the MCAS was working as it should. To ensure that people operating the aircraft had even more detailed and explicit knowledge of the system and how it operated, they also developed new training for pilots.
The 737 MAX 8 was certified safe enough to fly once more by November 2020. But the issue still needs to be solved; in April 2021, the aircraft manufacturer issued a second worldwide stoppage to address a different chronic software issue. Future problems in 2021, 2022, and even the beginning of 2023 suggested that the planes might still be grounded again.
