Air Disasters

For other movies with the word Mayday, see Mayday (Disambiguation).

Air Disasters title screen.

Documentary (1996)

Air Disasters exposes some painful truths behind the world of flight, using actual footage of real incidents to look at why planes crash; in aerodynamic and technical terms and in the way the industry is run. It reveals what is being done to prevent disasters from occurring and how successful that is against a background of change in the modern world.

Aermacchi MB-339PAN

Ramstein air show disaster on 28 August 1988.

Airbus A300B2-103

Registration F-BUAD, c/n 003. Third prototype used as demonstrator.

Reg.F-BUAD Airbus A300B2-103 of Airbus Industrie.

Airbus A320-111

Registration F-GFKC, c/n 009 built in 1988. Air France Flight 296 was a chartered flight of a new fly-by-wire Airbus A320-111 operated by Air France. On 26 June 1988, it was flying over Mulhouse–Habsheim Airport as part of an air show. The low-speed flyover (with landing gear down) was supposed to take place at an altitude of 100 feet (33 metres) AGL (above ground level); instead, the plane performed the flyover at 30 feet, skimmed the treetops of the forest at the end of the runway, and crashed to the ground—killing three passengers. This was the first crash of an A320 aircraft.
Same aircraft in other movies at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg.F-GFKC Airbus A320-111 of Air France.

Reg.F-GFKC Airbus A320-111 of Air France.

Reg.F-GFKC Airbus A320-111 of Air France.

Reg.F-GFKC Airbus A320-111 of Air France.

Reg.F-GFKC Airbus A320-111 of Air France.

Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor & Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 behind the trainer.

Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor.

Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor.

Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor.

Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor.

Beechcraft 2000A Starship 1

Registration N2000S, c/n NC-1.

Reg.N2000S Beechcraft 2000A Starship 1.

Reg.N2000S Beechcraft 2000A Starship 1.

Bell UH-1 Iroquois

Bell UH-1 Iroquois.

Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B

Registration XV867 , c/n B3-16-67. Aircraft made an emergency landing at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire after experiencing a fuel leak mid flight. It swung off the runway after the starboard undercarriage leg collapsed, but the pilots escaped uninjured.

Reg. XV867 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B of the RAF.

Reg. XV867 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B of the RAF.

Boeing 720-027

Known as the Controlled Impact Demonstration, NASA and the FAA intentionally crashed this remote-controlled 720 at the Dryden Flight Research Facility on 1 December 1984 in order to collect data about plane crash survivability and test new technologies. Registration N833NA, c/n 18066 built in 1961.
Aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg.N833NA Boeing 720-027 of NASA.

Reg.N833NA Boeing 720-027 of NASA.

Reg.N833NA Boeing 720-027 of NASA.

Reg.N833NA Boeing 720-027 of NASA.

Reg.N833NA Boeing 720-027 of NASA.

Boeing 727-21

Registration N357PA, c/n 19259/408. Flight landed at Miami International Airport on October 10 1983 with nose gear that would not extend due to hydraulic failure.

Reg. N357PA Boeing 727-21 of Northeastern International Airways.

Reg. N357PA Boeing 727-21 of Northeastern International Airways.

Reg. N357PA Boeing 727-21 of Northeastern International Airways.

Boeing 727-76

Registration TC-ATU, c/n 18742/81.

Reg.TC-ATU Boeing 727-76 of TUR European Airlines-Avrupa Hava Yollari.

Reg.TC-ATU Boeing 727-76 of TUR European Airlines-Avrupa Hava Yollari.

Boeing 727-100

Boeing 727-100.

Boeing 727-100.

Boeing 727-225/Advanced

Boeing 727-225/Advanced of Eastern Air Lines.

Boeing 727-232/Advanced

Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 which crashed in 1988 while trying to take-off from At Dallas Fort Worth International Airport(DFW/KDFW), due to misconfiguration of flaps.
Registration N473DA, c/n 20750/992.

Reg. N473DA Boeing 727-232/Advanced of Delta Air Lines.

Boeing 727-254

Registration N915TS Boeing 727-254 of Trump Shuttle c/n 20252/783.
Crashed landed at Logan Airport in Boston on 10 August 1989. No one was injured.

Reg. N915TS Boeing 727-254 of Trump Shuttle.

Reg. N915TS Boeing 727-254 of Trump Shuttle.

Reg. N915TS Boeing 727-254 of Trump Shuttle.

Reg. N915TS Boeing 727-254 of Trump Shuttle.

Boeing 737-297

Registration N73711, c/n 20209/152 built in 1969. Aloha Airlines Flight 243 suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport (OGG/PHOG) on Maui, Hawaii on 28 April 1988. There was one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, who was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured.
Same aircraft in other movies at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg. N73711 Boeing 737-297 of Aloha Airlines.

Reg. N73711 Boeing 737-297 of Aloha Airlines.

Reg. N73711 Boeing 737-297 of Aloha Airlines.

Boeing 737-300

Registration N73700. Maiden flight in 1984.

Boeing 737-300 Prototype.

Boeing 737-300 Prototype.

Boeing 737-322

Boeing 737-322 of United Airlines.

Boeing 737-400

Boeing 737-400.

Boeing 737-400.

Boeing 737-400

Boeing 737-400

Boeing 737-401

Registration N413US, c/n 23882/1621. On 02 August 1989, the aircraft landed at Greensboro without a main landing gear after diverting from Charlotte due to the problem. A wheel chock left in the gear well the night before was blamed for jamming the gear in the up position.

Reg.N413US Boeing 737-401 of Piedmont Airlines.

Reg.N413US Boeing 737-401 of Piedmont Airlines.

Reg.N413US Boeing 737-401 of Piedmont Airlines.

Reg.N413US Boeing 737-401 of Piedmont Airlines.

Reg.N413US Boeing 737-401 of Piedmont Airlines.

Boeing 737-401

Registration N416US, c/n 23884/1643 built in 1988. USAir Flight 5050 from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina on 20 September 1989, crashed after aborting takeoff from LaGuardia Airport, killing two passengers.

Reg.N416US Boeing 737-401 of USAir.

Reg.N416US Boeing 737-401 of USAir.

Boeing 737-4Y0

Registration G-OBME, c/n 23867 built in 1988. BMA-British Midland Airways Flight 92 crashed on the embankment of the M1 motorway several hundred feet prior to runway of East Midlands Airport on 8 January 1989. The pilots were attempting an emergency landing after an engine fan blade detached. 47 of the 126 people on board died, and 74 were injured. Same aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg. G-OBME Boeing 737-4Y0 of BMA-British Midland Airways.

Reg. G-OBME Boeing 737-4Y0 of BMA-British Midland Airways.

Boeing 747-121

Registration N7470, c/n 20235/1. Same aircraft in other works - IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg. N7470 Boeing 747-121 in Boeing house colors.

Reg. N7470 Boeing 747-121 in Boeing house colors.

Reg. N7470 Boeing 747-121 in Boeing house colors.

Boeing 747-121

At Aeropuerto de Tenerife-Los Rodeos/Tenerife Los Rodeos Airport (TFN/GCXO) disaster, 27 March 1977. Pan Am Flight 1736.
Registration N736PA, c/n 19643/11. Same aircraft in other movies at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Remains of reg.N736PA Boeing 747-121 Clipper Victor of Pan Am-Pan American World Airways.

Remains of reg.N736PA Boeing 747-121 Clipper Victor of Pan Am-Pan American World Airways.

Boeing 747-122

Registration N4713U, c/n 19875/89 built in 1970. United Airlines Flight 811 experienced a cargo door failure in flight on 24th February 1989, after its stopover at Honolulu International Airport (HNL/PHNL) , Hawaii. The resulting decompression blew out several rows of seats, resulting in the deaths of 9 passengers.
Same aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft (Civil Fixed-Wing).

Reg. N4713U Boeing 747-122 of United Airlines.

Reg. N4713U Boeing 747-122 of United Airlines.

Boeing 747-243B

Boeing 747-243B of PEOPLExpress Airlines.

Boeing 767-200

Boeing 767-200.

Boeing 767-222

Boeing 767-222 of United Airlines.

Boeing B-52H Stratofortress

Registration 61-0026. Aircraft crashed on 24 June 1994 at Fairchild Air Force Base when its pilot, Arthur "Bud" Holland, flew the aircraft beyond its operational limits and lost control. The aircraft stalled, fell to the ground and exploded, killing Holland and the other three U.S. Air Force crew members.

61-0026 Boeing B-52H Stratofortress Czar 52 of the United States Air Force.

61-0026 Boeing B-52H Stratofortress Czar 52 of the United States Air Force.

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker of the USAF.

Canadair CT-114 Tutor

Midair collision between two Canadair CT-114 Tutor planes of the Snowbirds demonstration team on 3 September 1989. Both aircraft crashed into the sea after the collision, killing one of the pilots. They were flying a demo during the Canadian National Exhibition.

De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A

Registration ZK-TNR, c/n C1/0018. Crashed at the Wings Over Wanaka airshow on 3 April 1994, killing the pilot.

Reg.ZK-TNR as WB566/59 De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A with RAF livery.

Reg.ZK-TNR as WB566/59 De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A with RAF livery.

Reg.ZK-TNR as WB566/59 De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A with RAF livery.

Reg.ZK-TNR as WB566/59 De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A with RAF livery.

Reg.ZK-TNR as WB566/59 De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A with RAF livery.

De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo

Registration C-GCTC, c/n 103 built in 1980. At the 1984 Farnborough Airshow, a DHC-5D STOL demonstration ended in a very heavy landing which destroyed the aircraft.

De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo.

De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo.

De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo.

De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo.

FMA IA 63 Pampa & Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette III

The white tail and single jet engine exhaust of the FMA IA 63 Pampa is visible at left, behind the yellow-orange Citroën Acadiane. Probably 38º Salon International de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (Paris Air Show June 1989-Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) ; look at the Mig 29 section below. But the FMA IA 63 Pampa was first displayed there in 1985.

Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette III of the ALAT-Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre and FMA IA 63 Pampa.

Grumman F-14A Tomcat

BuNo 160390. Aircraft crashed on 25 October 1994 while on approach to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) during training exercises off the coast of San Diego, killing pilot Kara Hultgreen. The cause was found to be either pilot error or engine failure, and the plane was recovered 12 November 1994.

BuNo 160390 Grumman F-14A Tomcat of the United States Navy.

BuNo 160390 Grumman F-14A Tomcat of the United States Navy.

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2P

Registration XV239, c/n 8014 built in 1971. On 2 September 1995, this Nimrod crashed into Lake Ontario while participating in the Canadian International Air Show, killing the seven crew members.

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2P.

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2P.

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.2P.

Lockheed L-1011-385-1 Tristar 1

Registration N726DA, c/n 1163. Crashed in 1985 when it hit a microburst while landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport TX (DFW). Same aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Reg. N726DA Lockheed L-1011-385-1 Tristar 1 of Delta Air Lines.

Lockheed Martin YF-22

Second YF-22 prototype crashed in April 1992 due to a flight control software error. The pilot escaped without injury.

Lockheed Martin YF-22.

Lockheed Martin YF-22.

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune

BuNo 145923.

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune.

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune.

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune.

Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10

Registration N1819U, c/n 46618 built in 1973. United Airlines Flight 232 was a scheduled flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. On July 19, 1989, the DC-10 operating the route crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, after suffering catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, which led to the loss of all flight controls. Of the 296 people on board, 111 died in the accident while 185 survived.

Reg. N1819U McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 of United Airlines.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30

Registration LN-RKB, c/n 46871/219. SAS Flight 901 touched down 1440 m past the runway 04R threshold at John F. Kennedy International Airport on 28 February 1984. The crew steered the plane to the right side off the runway to avoid approach lights. The DC-10 ended up in shallow water and all occupants survived.

Reg. LN-RKB Douglas DC-10-30 Haakon Viking of SAS-Scandinavian Airlines.

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF

Registration N113WA, c/n 47821/320. World Airways Flight 30 tragedy that claimed two lives when the plane slid off the runway at Logan International Airport and sheared the cockpit from the fuselage, before coming to rest in Boston Harbor.

Reg. N113WA McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF of World Airways.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II

Crash test performed in 1988 by Sandia National Laboratories. The F-4 was attached to a rocket sled and slammed into a wall to see the results of an aircraft hitting a reinforced concrete structure.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II.

McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II

McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II of the USAF Thunderbirds.

McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II of the USAF Thunderbirds.

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 & BAE Systems Hawk T1

Czech MiG-23 and Hawk of the Red Arrows.

Mikoyan MiG-29A

303 Blue crashed at the 1989 Paris Air Show-Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget after the pilot ejected.
Same aircraft in other movies at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft.

Mikoyan MiG-29A.

Mikoyan MiG-29A.

Mikoyan MiG-29A.

Mikoyan MiG-29S

Two Russian Air Force MiG-29s collided at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 1993. No one was injured and the pilots ejected to safety.

Mikoyan MiG-29S.

Mikoyan MiG-29S.

Mikoyan MiG-29S.

Mikoyan MiG-29S.

Mikoyan MiG-29S.

Mitsubishi T-2B

A Mitsubishi T-2B, 19-5174, of the Blue Impulse (or 11 Squadron) air demonstration team of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force failed to pull out of a descending bomb-burst manoeuvere following a formation loop, crashing into civilian house, Takaoka Town, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, N of Hamamatsu Air Base, during the base's 30th anniversary air show, killing pilot Capt. Takashima Kiyoshi. Thirteen civilians injured, 28 civilian houses and about 290 cars damaged.

North American F-86 Sabre

On 2 May 1993, during the 1993 MCAS El Toro airshow, an F-86 Sabre was going to engage with a MiG-15 in a mock dogfight when it crashed on the runway. The F-86 pilot, James A. Gregory, died on impact.

North American F-86 Sabre.

North American F-86 Sabre.

Panavia Tornado

Panavia Tornado.

Panavia Tornado.

Pitts S-1S Special

Registration HB-MSG. Aircraft crashed on 19 March 1988 during aerobatic maneuvers. The pilot survived, but the aircraft was written off.

Reg. HB-MSG Pitts S-1S Special of Groupement d´Acrobatie du Club Fribourgeois d´Aviation.

Reg. HB-MSG Pitts S-1S Special of Groupement d´Acrobatie du Club Fribourgeois d´Aviation.

Reg. HB-MSG Pitts S-1S Special of Groupement d´Acrobatie du Club Fribourgeois d´Aviation.

Reg. HB-MSG Pitts S-1S Special of Groupement d´Acrobatie du Club Fribourgeois d´Aviation.

Reg. HB-MSG Pitts S-1S Special of Groupement d´Acrobatie du Club Fribourgeois d´Aviation.

Rockwell-MBB X-31

Rockwell-MBB X-31 s/n 164584 crashed on 19 January 1995, north of Edwards AFB, California.

Saab JAS 39A Gripen

On 8th August 1993, a JAS 39A (s/n 39-102), a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab with a test pilot jockey, crashed during a display at the Stockholm Water Festival.

Saab JAS 39-1 Gripen

Incident occurred on 2 February 1989 as a result of pilot-induced oscillation. The pilot survived the crash with minor injuries. Same aircraft in other works at: IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft

Saab JAS 39-1 Gripen.

Saab JAS 39-1 Gripen.

Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King.

Sukhoi Su-27

Sukhoi Su-27.

Sukhoi Su-27.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV

Registration G-ALGT, c/n 6S-432263. Aircraft struck ground at the bottom of low level loop during aerobatics at Woodford Airshow, killing pilot David Moore.

Reg. G-ALGT Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV.

Reg. G-ALGT Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV.

Various Aircraft

Front row: British Aerospace BAe 125, Handley Page HP.137 Jetstream, BAe Systems Hawk, and another BAe Systems Hawk. De Havilland DH106 Comet in the background.

Wassmer WA-20 Javelot I

Reg. F-CBGV (airframe number 3) or F-CBGY (airframe number 6).

Westland Wessex HC.2

Registration XR524, c/n WA146 built in 1964. On 12 August 1993, this Wessex, with 3 crew and 4 passengers (all of them Air Training Corps cadets) on board suffered a catastrophic tail rotor failure and plunged into Llyn Padarn, a lake in North Wales. Three passengers perished.

Reg. XR524 Westland Wessex HC.2 of the Royal Air Force.

Reg. XR524 Westland Wessex HC.2 of the Royal Air Force.

Reg. XR524 Westland Wessex HC.2 of the Royal Air Force.

Unidentified Aircraft

Unidentified Aircraft

Unidentified Aircraft

Unidentified Aircraft

Unidentified Aircraft

CASA C-101 of Patrulla Aguila aerobatics team of Spanish Air Force?

Unidentified Aircraft

Looks like a Croses LC.6 or EC-7.

Croses LC.6 (?) biplane in the front of Reg. F-GFKC Airbus A320-211 of Air France(already listed above).

Miscellaneous.

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See also

• Air Disasters at IMCDb