Date Airline Operator Place Description 3/28/1933 Imperial Airways Dixmude, Belgium A fire, possibly started by a passenger attempting to commit suicide, caused the plane to crash killing all 15 aboard. This is thought to be the first act of Armstrong Argosy II sabotage on a commercial airliner. 10/10/1933 United Air Lines Chesterton, Indiana The aircraft was destroyed by an explosive device using nitroglycerin. This was the first proven case of sabotage in the history of commercial aviation. Boeing 247 2/9/1937 United Air Lines San Francisco, California The co-pilot dropped his microphone which jammed the controls preventing the pilot from pulling out of the glide. The plane crashed killing all 11 aboard. DC-3 7/28/1945 U.S. Army New York City, New York A U.S. Army Air Force B-25 crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building in fog, killing 3 aboard and 11 on the ground. B-25 8/2/1947 Brit So Am. Airways Andes, Argentina Wreckage of the plane was found on January 19, 2000, 53 years after the plane crashed. Avro Lancastrain 10/24/1947 United Air Lines Bryce Canyon, Utah While transferring fuel from one tank to another, the crew allowed fuel to overfill and overflow out the vent. A design flaw allowed the gasoline to be DC-6 carried back in the slipstream to the cabin heater combustion air intake scoop. When the cabin heater came on, an explosion and fire destroyed the plane killing all 53 aboard. 10/8/1947 American Airlines El Paso, Texas As a prank, a captain riding in the jump seat engaged the gust lock in flight. The command pilot, not knowing the gust lock had been engaged, rolled the DC-4 elevator trim tab with no response. When the jump seat captain disengaged the gust lock, the aircraft went into into a steep dive, executed part of an outside roll and become inverted. Neither the command nor jump seat captain had seat belts on and they accidentally feathered No. 1, 2 and 4 engines when they hit the controls with their heads. No one realized it at the time but the feathering reduced power and allowed the co-pilot, who was strapped in, to pull out of the dive 350 feet from the ground. 6/17/1948 United Air Lines Mount Carmel, Carbon dioxide extinguishers were discharged in response to a fire warning in the cargo hold. The plane's nose was lowered for an emergency descent and DC-6 Pennsylvania due to a design flaw, carbon dioxide entered the cockpit and rendered the crew unconscious after which the plane crashed killing all 43 aboard. 9/9/1949 Canadian Pacific Sault-aux-Cochons, PQ, The DC-3 disintegrated in flight outside of Quebec killing all 23 aboard.. A dynamite bomb was planted in the forward baggage compartment by Albert Airlines Canada Guay, a jeweler, in a plot to kill his wife who was a passenger on the plane. Guay, who assembled the bomb, had his accomplice, Marguerite Pitre air expressed the bomb on the aircraft. Ms. Pitre's brother, a clockmaker, helped make the timing mechanism. The insurance policy was for 10,000 dollars. All DC-3 three were hanged for their crimes. 3/3/1953 Canadian Pacific Karachi, Pakistan The first crash of a commercial jet airliner in aviation history. Airlines de Havilland Comet 11/1/1955 United Airlines Longmont, Colorado The aircraft crashed 11 minutes after taking off from Denver on a flight to Seattle. John Graham placed a dynamite bomb in his mother's luggage in the DC-6B No. 4 cargo hold in order to collect $37,500 in insurance. A delayed flight caused the bomb to detonate over flat land rather than the mountains as planned. Forty-four people were killed. Graham never showed any remorse for his actions and refused to file any appeals. He was executed for the crime on November 11, 1956. 2/1/1957 Northeast Airlines DC06A New York, NY Shortly after lifting off from La Guardia Airport in a snowstorm, the plane rolled sharply to the left and crashed on Rikers Island. Several inmates from the Rikers Island Prison made some heroic rescues and were later pardoned. 12/1/1959 Alleghney Airlines Williamport, Pensylvania Crashed onto a mountain after a malfunctioning compass indicated an erroneous heading. Only one of the 25 passengers survived, found up in a tree, still Martin 202 buckled in his seat. This was his second plane crash. 1/6/1960 National Airlines Wilmington, North Carolina A despondent passenger detonated a dynamite bomb in his lap blowing the airliner out of the sky and killing 34 people. He was insured for 1 million DC-6B dollars. 10/4/1960 Eastern Air Lines Boston, Massachusetts While taking off, the aircraft hit a flock of Starlings which were ingested into the engines. Three of the 4 engines lost power which resulted in loss of control Lockheed 188A Electra of the aircraft killing 62 out of 72 passengers aboard. 12/21/1961 British European Ankara, Turkey The plane assumed an extremely steep climbing angle, stalled and crashed during takeoff. One of three screws on the captain's horizon indicator worked its Airways way loose and blocked the pointer on the dial indicating an incorrect pitch. Twenty-seven of 34 aboard were killed. de Havilland Comet 7/15/1962 Indian Airlines Lahore, Pakistan A vulture crashed through the cockpit window and killed the copilot. C-47A 11/23/1962 United Air Lines Ellicot, Maryland The aircraft struck a flock of Whistling Swans at night, at 6,000 ft. One, estimated to be 13 pounds, struck the leading edge of the tail stabilizer, weakening the structure and causing it to detach. The aircraft lost control and crashed killing all 21 aboard. 9/4/1963 Swissair Durrenasch, Switzerland Without authorization, the pilot taxied half-way down the runway to try and clear fog. Braking done during the fog clearing overheated the brakes. Soon Caravelle III after takeoff, the overheated brakes caused a tire to burst which damaged a fuel line and started a fire. The plane crashed shortly after killing all 80 people aboard. 5/7/1964 Pacific Air Lines San Ramon, California The aircraft went into a steep dive and crashed while on a flight from Stockton to San Francisco, CA. The last message which had to be obtained through Fairchild F-27A laboratory analysis was "Skipper's shot. We've been shot. I was trying to help." Francisco Gonzales, a passenger, who had told several people he was going to kill himself, shot both the pilot and co-pilot causing the plane to crash killing all 44 aboard. 6/28/1965 Pan American AW San Francisco, California Just after the aircraft took off from San Francisco International Airport the No. 4 engine disintegrated tearing off 25 feet of the right wing. An emergency B-707-321 landing was safely made at Travis Air Force Base. A plane was dispatched to pick up the passengers at Travis Air Force Base. While attempting to land, and in plain view of the passengers, the nose gear collapsed. 3/5/1966 British Overseas Mt. Fuji, Japan The aircraft crashed into Mt. Fuji after encountering severe turbulence when the pilot decided to give the passengers a view of the mountain. The aircraft Airways encountered severe clear air turbulence and started to come apart in the air before crashing killing 124 aboard. 3/5/1966 Mt. Fuji, Japan The aircraft crashed into Mt. Fuji after encountering severe turbulence when the pilot decided to give the passengers a view of the mountain. The aircraft encountered severe clear air turbulence and started to come apart in the air before crashing killing 124 aboard. B-707-436 4/22/1966 American Flyers Ardmore, Oklahoma The airliner crashed into foothills while attempting to land killing 83 of 98 aboard. The captain was incapacitated with a heart attack during the final stages Airline of the approach. The captain, who suffered from a long standing heart condition and diabetes, managed to keep his pilot's license by falsifying his medical records. Lockheed Electra 6/23/1967 Mohawk Airlines Blossburg, Pennsylvania The airplane crashed after an in-flight fire destroyed the pitch control systems. All 34 people aboard were killed. A valve was installed backwards which BAC-111-204AF caused hot air to ignite hydraulic fluid. 11/22/1968 Japan Air Lines San Francisco, California The plane landed in Pacific Ocean, 2.5 mile short of the runway in the shallow waters of San Francisco Bay. All 107 people aboard were safely evacuated off DC-8-62 the plane. The aircraft was recovered from the San Francisco Bay 55 hours after the accident, repaired and eventually flew back home to Japan and was in service for many decades. 4/1/1970 Aeroflot Novosibirsk, Russia The aircraft crashed killing 61 of 82 aboard after colliding with a balloon. Antonov 24 7/5/1970 Air Canada Toronto, Canada While landing and approximately 60 feet above the runway, the spoilers were inadvertently deployed by the first officer causing the aircraft to fall to the DC-8-63 runway and lose the No. 4 engine. The crew then decided to go-around. While circling to land the aircraft exploded after leaking fuel ignited. All 109 aboard were killed. 9/8/1970 Trans International Airlines New York, NY A piece of asphalt flew up and wedged itself in the right stablizer leading to a loss of pitch control The plane crashed killing all 11 aboard.