Major Aviation Accidents of the Super70s

By Patrick Mondout

The Super70s saw some of the most notorious aviation accidents of all time. This includes the Eastern TriStar that was flown into the Everglades because of the crew's obsession with a 20 cent light! It also includes the PSA 727 which crashed into a residential area in San Diego after it collided with a Cessna it had been warned about. You can also read about the crew that was warned three times not to land on runway 23L. Guess which runway they landed on?

There was also the bizarre story of a stewardess surviving a crash from 33,000 feet. There is the story of a teenage sole-survivor of a crash in the Amazon wading through water for over a week before being rescued and perhaps the most notorious of all was the crashing of the plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team in the Andes which led to cannibalism, a best-selling book, and a pair of movies.

This was not the only time a planeload of athletes crashed. There was the Marshall football team in 1970, the Wichita State football team also in 1970, and the Evansville basketball team in 1977.

The introduction of the jumbo jets was going to lead to higher death counts, but no one was prepared for two 747s colliding in the worst aviation accident of all time.

We have listed some of the more well-known disasters here. This list is by no means comprehensive. Thousands of aircraft are involved in fatal accidents around the world each decade. (Air safety figures from the FAA for the years 1975-1996 are also available.)

Note: = We have more detailed reports for those with a note. To see the report, click on the linked date in the first column (other links are for the type of aircraft and airline and will not take you to an accident report).

Date	Location	Aircraft/Airline	Deaths	Cause/Notes
February 6, 2024	Uzbekistan	Il-18/Aeroflot	92	Crashed into mountain
February 15, 2024	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	DC-9/Dominicana	102	Crashed on takeoff/lost engine power (featherweight champion Carlos Cruz and the Puerto Rican women's volleyball team died)
February 21, 1970	Switzerland	CV-990/Swissair	47	Terrorist bomb
May 2, 1970	Near St. Croix, Virgin Islands	DC-9/Dutch Antillian Airlines	23	Ditched into ocean after running out of fuel
July 3, 2024	Montseny Mountains, Spain	DH-106 Comet/Dan Air	112	Crashed into mountain/ATC error
July 5, 1970	Toronto, Canada	DC-8/Air Canada	109	Crashed on landing
July 19, 1970	Philadelphia, PA	737/United	0	Crashed shortly after takeoff
August 9, 2024	near Cuzco, Peru	Lockheed 188A Electra/Lansa	99	Crashed on takeoff after #3 engine failed
October 2, 1970	near Silver Plume, Colorado	Martin 404/Golden Eagle Aviation	32	Crashed into mountain (members of the Wichita State football team died)
November 14, 1970	Huntington, West Virginia	DC-9/Southern	75	Crashed into hill on landing (members of the Marshall University football team died)
November 27, 1970	Anchorage, Alaska	DC-8/Capitol	47	Crashed on takeoff
January 18, 2024	Zurich, Switzerland	IL-18/Balkan	35	Crashed in heavy fog
May 23, 2024	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	TU-134/Aviogenex	78	Crashed on landing
May 28, 2024	Roanoke, Virginia	Aero Commander 680	?	Crashed into mountains during thunderstorm. (actor Audie Murphy died.)
June 6, 2024	Near Duarte, California	DC-9/Hughes	49	Mid-air collision with Navy jet
July 3, 2024	Hokkaido, Japan	YS-11/TOA	68	Crashed into mountain
July 24, 2024	Aspen, Colorado	Cessna U206	4	Crashed into mountain during storm (Lance Reventow, Woolworth heir and Formula One race car driver died)
July 30, 1971	Morika, Japan	727/All Nippon Airways	162	Collided with Air Force jet. Worst aviation death toll at time.
August 11, 2024	Irkutsk Airport	TU-104/Aeroflot	100	Exploded on takeoff
September 4, 1971	Juneau, Alaska	727/Alaska	111	Crashed on approach
September 6, 1971	Near Hasloh, West Germany	BAC 1-11/Pan International	22	Crashed shortly after takeoff
September 16, 2024	Ukraine	Tu-134/Aeroflot	49	Crashed on approach
October 2, 2024	near Ghent, Belgium	Vickers Vanguard/BEA	63	Structural failure
December 24, 1971	Puerto Inca, Peru	Lockheed 188A Electra/LANSA	91	Structural failure in bad weather (one survivor)
January 7, 2024	Valencia, Spain	Caravelle/Spanish Iberia	104	Crashed into mountain on approach
January 26, 1972	Srbska-Kamenice, Czechoslovakia	DC-9/Yugoslav Airlines	27	Bomb exploded at 33,000 feet
March 14, 2024	near Kalba, United Arab Emirates	Caravelle/Danish Sterling Airways	112	Crashed on landing during heavy rain
March 19, 2024	near Aden, S. Yemon	DC-9/Egypt Air	30	Crashed into Shamsan Mountain
April 18, 1972	Addis Abada, Ethiopia	VC-10/East African Airways	41	Hit a farmhouse on takeoff
May 5, 2024	nearPalermo, Sicily	DC-8/Alitalia	115	Crashed into mountain on approach
May 30, 1972	Fort Worth, Texas	DC-9/Delta	4	Crashed on landing
June 14, 2024	Near Delhi, India	DC-8/JAL	82	Controlled descent into terrain during approach
June 15, 2024	Pleiku, South Vietnam	Convair 880/Cathay Pacific	81	Bomb exploded at high altitude
June 18, 1972	London's Heathrow Airport	Trident-1/BEA	118	Stalled during takeoff
July 29, 2024	Los Palamos, Columbia	Douglas DC-3/Colombia Avianca	37	Mid-air collision between DC-3s
August 14, 2024	East Germany	Ilyushin 62/Interflug	156	Crashed moments after takeoff.
September 24, 2024	Sacramento, California	F-86 Saberjet	22	Crashed into ice cream parlor on takeoff at airshow. Pilot escaped
October 2, 2024	Sochia, Russia	Il-18/Aeroflot	100	Crashed.
October 13, 2024	Krasnaya, USSR	Ilyushin 62/Aeroflot	174	Crashed in bad weather during landing. Worst aviation death toll at time.
October 13, 1972	Andes Mountains in Argentina	F-227/Uruguayan Air Force	29	Crashed into mountain; lost over Andes
October 21, 2024	Athens, Greece	YS-11/Olympic Airways	37	Undershot runway in heavy rain and plunged into sea. 16 rescued.
December 3, 2024	Tenerife, Canary Islands	CV-990/Spantax Airlines	155	Crashed during takeoff in bad weather
December 8, 1972	Chicago, Illinois	737/United	45	Descent into terrain during landing.
December 29, 1972	Florida Everglades	L-1011/Eastern	101	Controlled descent into terrain during approach.
January 22, 2024	Kano, Nigeria	707/Royal Jordanian (Chartered by Nigerian Airways)	176	Landing gear failure during landing and resulting fire. Worst aviation death toll at time.
February 21, 1973	Sinai Desert (Egypt)	727/Libyan Arab Airlines	106	Shot down by Israeli fighters
March 5, 2024	Nantes, France	DC-9/Iberia	68	Mid-air collision with Spantax CV-990 (the Convair landed safely)
April 10, 2024	near Basle-Mulhouse, Switzerland	Vanguard 952/Invicta	108	Instrument misreading; disorientation.
May 18, 2024	Siberia	Tu-104A/Aeroflot	81	Hijacker demanded flight to China; bomb exploded at 30,000 ft.
July 11, 2024	Near Orly (Paris)	707/Varig	123	Toilet fire & smoke led to attempted landing 3 miles short of runway. 10 of 11 survivors were crewmembers.
July 22, 2024	just off Tahiti	707/Pan Am	78	Crashed into sea after takeoff. One survivor
July 23, 2024	near St. Louis	FH-227/Ozark	39	Crashed
July 31, 1973	Boston (Logan)	DC-9/Delta	89	Confused pilots descended into ocean during approach
November 3, 2024	Boston (Logan)	707/Pan Am	3	Crashed due to heavy smoke in cockpit (from improperly packed acid)
November 3, 1973	Over New Mexico	DC-10/National	1	Curious crew overspeeds engine which fails.
December 22, 2024	Mt. Mellaline, Morroco	Caravelle/Royal Air Maroc	106	Pilot navigation error; crashed into mountain.
January 30, 2024	Boston (Pago)	707/Pan Am	97	Descended too rapidly during approach; crashed
March 3, 1974	near Paris (Orly)	DC-10/Turkish Air	346	Cargo door failure; loss of control. Worst aviation death toll at time.
April 22, 2024	Denpasar Bali, Indonesia	707/Pan Am	107	Premature turn into mountain during approach
September 8, 2024	Ionian Sea, 58 miles west of Greece	707/TWA	88	Terrorist bomb rendered plane uncontrollable.
September 11, 1974	near Charlotte	DC-9/Eastern	72	Descended too quickly during approach; struck trees & crashed.
September 15, 1974	Phan Rang, Vietnam	727/Air Vietnam	75	Hijacked; overshot runway and crashed on attempted landing.
November 20, 1974	Nairobi, Kenya	747/Lufthansa	59	Leading edge flaps retracted during takeoff; crashed
December 1, 1974	Berryville, Virginia	727/TWA	92	Unaware of height of surrounding terrain, crashed into hill
December 4, 1974	Sri Lanka	DC-8/MartinAir Holland	191	Unaware of height of surrounding terrain, crashed into mountain.
April 4, 1975	Near Saigon, South Vietnam	Lockheed C-5A/US Air Force	150+	Rear hatch failed. Plane carrying mostly orphaned children.
June 24, 1975	New York (JFK)	727/Eastern	113	Struck light towers short of runway in lightning storm; wind shear.
August 3, 1975	near Imzizen, Morocco	707/Air Morocco	188	Crashed into fog-covered mountain.
August 7, 1975	Denver (Stapleton)	727/Continental	0	Severe wind sheer on takeoff
August 19, 2024	near Damascus, Syria	Ilyushin 62/Czechoslovakia	126	Crashed into hill during approach; 2 survivors
November 12, 1975	Raleigh, North Carolina	727/Eastern	0	Failure to execute a missed approach; undershot runway, bounced & skid
November 12, 1975	New York (JFK)	DC-10/Overseas National	0	Bird intake to engines at takeoff
December 16, 1975	Anchorage, Alaska	747/JAL	0	Skidded off runway during taxi for takeoff
January 1, 2024	Northeastern Saudi Arabia	707/Middle East Airlines	82	Terrorist bomb
April 27, 1976	St Thomas, Virgin Islands	727/American	37	Overran runway on landing
June 4, 2024	Guam	Lockheed 188 Electra/Air Manila	46	Plane hit truck during takeoff
September 10, 1976	Zagreb, Yugoslavia	Trident/British Airways - DC-9/Inex Adria	176	Mid air collision; ATC did not maintain separation
October 12, 2024	Bombay	Caravelle/Indian Airlines	95	Engine failure at takeoff; failure to stop fuel flow to engine resulted in damage to hydraulics
December 25, 2023	Bangkok, Thailand	707/Egypt Air	52	Crashed into factory on approach
March 27, 1977	Tenerife, Canary Islands	747/KLM 747/Pan Am	335 + 248 = 583	KLM pilot took off before the PanAm had cleared the runway and collided. World's worst aviation death toll to date.
April 4, 1977	New Hope, Georgia	DC-9/Southern	70	Lost both engines during a thunderstorm; landing on highway failed
September 27, 2024	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	DC-8/JAL	34	Hit hill 3 miles short of runway
November 19, 2024	Funchal, Portugal	727/Air Portugal	131	Landed long, overran runway, burst into flames
December 4, 1977	near Kampung Ladang, Malaysia	737/Malaysian	100	Hijacked. Fuel exhaustion due to length to new destination
December 13, 1977	Evansville, Indiana	Douglas DC-3/NJS	29	Crashed on takeoff.
January 1, 1978	near Bandra, Arabian Sea	747/Air India	213	Rolled beyond 90 degrees after a turn and lost control due to faulty instrument reading
February 2, 2024	Cranbrook, Canada	737/Pacific West	42	Evasive actions to miss snow plow on runway result in crash
April 20, 1978	Kola Peninsula, USSR	707/KAL	2	Shot down by Soviets.
May 8, 1978	near Pensacola, Florida	727/National	3	High descent rate; struck water 3 miles short of runway
September 25, 1978	San Diego, California	727/PSA	144	Mid-air collision with Cessna
November 15, 1978	Colombo- Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka	DC-8/Loftleidir	183	Crashed about 1 mile from airport
December 23, 2023	near Palermo, Italy	DC-9/Alitalia	108	Crashed into sea on approach
December 28, 1978	near Portland, Oregon	DC-8/United	10	Ran out of fuel while trying to determine cause of landing gear problem
May 25, 1979	Chicago (O'Hare)	DC-10/American	273	Crashed on takeoff after engine fell off. Worst U.S. aviation death toll at time.
August 11, 1979	Near Donetsk in the Ukraine	TU-134A/Aeroflot (both)	84/94=178	Midair collision of two Aeroflot jets; ATC error
October 31, 1979	Mexico City (Benito Juarez)	DC-10/Western	73	Missed proper runway and hit construction vehicle on landing
November 26, 1979	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	707/Pakistan (PIA)	156	On board fire at 33,000 feet; descended through 30,000 then crashed
November 28, 1979	Mt Erebus, Antarctica	DC-10/Air New Zealand	257	Crashed into mountain while off-course
Date	Location	Aircraft/Airline	Fatalities	Reason/Notes

Sources: NTSB and books below.

Air Safety References:
Bartelski, Jan. Disasters in the Air: Mysterious Air Disasters Explained. Airlife Publishing: England, 2001.
Beaty, David. The Naked Pilot: The Human Factor in Aircraft Accidents. Airlife Publishing: England, 1996.
Cushing, Steven. Fatal Words: Communication Clashes and Aircraft Crashes University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1997.
Faith, Nicholas. Black Box: The Air-Crash Detectives-Why Air Safety Is No Accident. Motorbooks International, 1997.
Gero, David. Aviation Disasters: The World's Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950. Sutton, 2003.
Job, Macarthur. Air Disaster (Volume 1). Aerospace Publications: Fyshwick, Australia, 1995.
Job, Macarthur. Air Disaster (Volume 2). Aerospace Publications: Fyshwick, Australia, 1996.
Job, Macarthur. Air Disaster (Volume 3). Aerospace Publications: Fyshwick, Australia, 1999.
Krause, Shari Stamford. Aircraft Safety: Accident Investigations, Analyses & Applications. McGraw Hill, New York, 1996.
Macpherson, Malcolm. The Black Box : All-New Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts Of In-flight Accidents. New York: William Morrow, 1998.
Macpherson, Malcolm. On a Wing and a Prayer: Interviews with Airline Disaster Survivors. Perennial, 2002.
Owen, David. Air Accident Investigation, 2nd Edition. Motorbooks International, 2002.
Stewart, Stanley. Emergency! - Crisis on the Flight Deck, 2nd Edition. Airlife Publishing, England, 2003.
Walters, James M. Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000.
Wells, Alexander T. Commercial Aviation Safety, 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001.