American Airlines plane crashes
The following are significant events involving the airline or its subsidiares since 1970. The numbered events are those involving at least one airline passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur.
- 28 December 1970; American Airlines (Trans Caribbean Airways) 727-200; N8790R; flight 505; St. Thomas, VI:
This was a scheduled domestic flight from San Juan, PR to St. Thomas, VI.
The aircraft had a hard landing which caused it to bounce.
The crew executed a second touchdown which caused on of the main landing gear to fail.
The aircraft overran the runway on the right side and hit an embankment.
All seven crew members survived, but two of the 46 passengers were killed.
Boeing 727 plane crashes - 27 April 1976; American Airlines 727-23; N1963; flight 625; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands:
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight domestic flight from JFK airport in New York to St. Thomas, VI.
The aircraft overran the runway after an unsuccessful attempt at aborting the landing, striking an antenna and proceeding through a fence before hitting a gas station.
Two of the seven crew members and 35 of the 81 passengers were killed.
One person on the ground was seriously injured.
Boeing 727 plane crashes
More about this event - 25 May 1979; American Airlines DC10-10; N110AA; flight 191; Chicago, USA:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA.
During the takeoff roll, the left engine and pylon separated from the wing, damaging several hydraulic lines at the same time.
The crew continued the takeoff, but the damage caused by the engine separation led to the uncommanded retraction of some flight control surfaces on the left wing as well as the loss of warning systems associated with those control surfaces.
The aircraft rolled to the left, lost altitude, and crashed shortly after takeoff.
All 258 passengers and 13 crew members were killed. Two people on the ground were also killed.
DC10 plane crashes
More about this event
15 November 1979; American Airlines 727-200; flight 444; en route from Chicago to Washington, DC: This was a scheduled domestic flight from Chicago, IL, to National Airport (Arlington, VA) near Washington, DC. The Unabomber (Theodore Kaczynski) had shipped a package containing an explosive device, and it was triggered in flight. The bomb failed to explode, but it did generate large quantities of smoke. The crew diverted to Dulles Airport near Washington and landed without further incident. All six crew members and 72 passengers survived, though 12 passengers suffered from smoke inhalation. This was the only known bombing attempt on an aircraft by the Unabomber. Investigators determined that if the bomb had successfully detonated, it would have led to the loss of the aircraft. A total of 16 bombing events between 1978 and 1995 were attributed to Kaczynski, and those explosions led to three deaths and a number of serious injuries. He was arrested in 1996, plead guilty to all charges against him, and he is now serving a life sentence in a US federal prison.
About Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber) - 19 February 1988; American Eagle (Avair) Fairchild Metro III; N622AV; flight 3378; Cary, NC:
This was a scheduled domestic flight from Raleigh/Durham, NC to Richmond, VA.
The aircraft departed during low ceiling, low visibility, and night conditions.
The aircraft ascended to about 300 feet, but shortly thereafter crashed into a nearby reservoir.
Analysis of radar data indicated the aircraft was in a 45 degree descending turn.
Both crew members and all 10 passengers were killed.
More about this event - 7 June 1992; American Eagle (Executive Air) CASA 212-200; N355CA; flight 5456; Mayaguez, PR:
This was a scheduled domestic flight from San Juan, PR to Mayaguez, PR.
The aircraft encountered an engine problem during descent, and crashed one kilometer short of the runway.
The NTSB also noted that crew actions, specifically inadvertently advancing one of the engine throttles, led to a loss of control.
Both crew and all three passengers were killed.
More about this event - 31 October 1994; American Eagle (Simmons Airlines) ATR 72-200; N401AM; flight 4184; near Roselawn, IN:
This was a scheduled domestic flight from Indianapolis, IN to Chicago, IL.
During descent, the crew activated the airframe deicing system.
The crew was in a holding pattern at about 10,000 feet (3050 m) and while the aircraft was descending to 8,000 feet, the aircraft went out of control due to the effects of icing and crashed.
The four crew members and 64 passengers were all killed.
The icing occurred in areas of the wings that were beyond the area protected by the deicing system.
ATR plane crashes
More about this event
NTSB Accident Report Volume I
NTSB Accident Report Volume II - 13 December 1994; American Eagle (Flagship Airlines) Jetstream 31; N918AE; flight 3379; Raleigh/Durham, NC:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Greensboro, NC to Raleigh/Durham, NC.
The NTSB found that after a suspected engine failure, the flight crew did not follow established procedures.
While executing a missed approach the crew lost control of the aircraft and crashed about five miles (eight km) short of the runway.
Both crew members and 13 of the 18 passengers were killed.
More about this event
Jetstream plane crashes - 12 November 1995; American Airlines MD83; N566AA; flight 1572; near Hartford, CT:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Chicago, IL and Hartford, CT.
While on approach, the crew was descending below the minimum descent altitude, and impacted a number of trees on a ridge near the airport.
The material ingested by the engines led to a complete loss of engine power on the left engine and a partial loss on the right engine.
The crew continued the approach, touching down short of the runway and hitting a tree and an antenna array near the approach end of the runway.
The crew was able to land on the runway, and after stopping initiated an emergency evacuation.
There was no post crash fire. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the event.
None of the five crew members 73 passengers were seriously injured.
NTSB Accident Summary
NTSB Accident Report
MD80 plane crashes
More on this event - 20 December 1995; American Airlines 757-200; flight 965; near Buga, Colombia:
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Miami, FL to Cali, Colombia.
During their nighttime descent toward their destination, the flight crew became somewhat confused about their altitude and position relative to the terrain, and crashed into Mt. San Jose about the 9,000 foot level.
All eight crew members and 155 of the 159 passengers were killed in the crash.
Boeing 757 plane crashes
Accident Report
More about this crash - 1 June 1999; American Airlines MD80; N215AA; flight 1120; Little Rock, AR:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Little Rock, AR.
The crew was approaching the destination airport at night with thunderstorms in the airport area, and continued the landing even though the crosswinds were in excess of their company's limit.
The crew was not able to keep the aircraft on the runway after landing, and the aircraft ran off the runway, broke up, and caught fire.
One of the six crew members and eight of the 139 passengers were killed.
NTSB Accident Report
MD80 plane crashes - 11 September 2001; American Airlines 767; N334AA; flight 11; World Trade Center, New York:
The aircraft was on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles when it was hijacked and flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center .
Another jet, a United Airlines 767, was hijacked and flown into the other tower.
Both towers later collapsed.
All 11 crew members, 76 passengers, and five hijackers were killed, as were about about 3,000 of people on the ground due to this crash and the crash of a United 767 into the south tower of the World Trade Center Tower.
Boeing 767 plane crashes
Attack on New York and Washington
More on this event - 11 September 2001; American Airlines 757-200; N644AA; flight 77; the Pentagon, Arlington, VA:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Dulles airport in outside of Washington, DC to Los Angeles, CA when it was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon, collapsing part of the structure.
All six crew members, 53 passengers, and five hijackers were killed, as were 125 people in the Pentagon.
Boeing 757 plane crashes
Attacks on New York and Washington
More on this event - 12 November 2001; American Airlines A300-600; flight 587; Queens, New York:
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from New York, NY to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed after the vertical fin separated from the aircraft as a result of flight crew control inputs in response to an encounter with wake turbulence from another aircraft.
Shortly before impact, both engines also separated from the aircraft.
The crash damaged or destroyed several homes, and killed five people on the ground.
Also killed were all nine crew members and 251 passengers on the aircraft, including five infants.
Airbus A300 plane crashes
More about this event
22 December 2001; American Airlines 767-300; flight 63; en route from Paris to Miami: While in cruise on a scheduled international flight from Paris, France to New York, NY, flight attendants noticed that passenger Richard Reid, a British citizen, was attempting to light some type of fuse that was attached to an explosive device in one of his shoes. Working together, passengers and flight attendants foiled the attempt to explode the device, and restrained Reid using among other things belts from passengers and drugs from an on board medical kit. The flight was diverted to Boston and landed without further incident. Later analysis showed that the shoe contained the explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and if detonated would have been powerful enough to blow a hole in the fuselage. None of the 12 crew members or the 184 passengers were injured.
In November 2003, British citizen Saajid Mohammed Badat was arrested and later convicted of being part of a conspiracy that was to detonate on an aircraft a device that was identical to the one used by Reid. Badat had received a device, but did not attempt to detonate it on an aircraft.
Boeing 767 plane crashes
Fatal US and Canadian bombing events
More on this event - 19 October 2004; AmericanConnection (Corporate Airlines) BAe Jetstream 32; N875JX; flight 5966; near Kirksville, MO:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from St. Louis, MO to Kirksville, MO.
The crew continued the approach after reaching minimum descent altitude event though at least one flight crew member could not see the ground.
The aircraft hit several trees, crashed, and caught fire about four miles (6.4 km) south of the destination airport.
According to the National Weather Service, visibility was about four miles at the time of the crash, with low
clouds created a 300-foot ceiling.
Both crew members and 11 of the 13 passengers were killed.
BAe Jetstream plane craashes
More on this event
18 March 2005; American Airlines 767; flight 4; en route from Los Angeles to New York JFK: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Los Angeles, CA to JFK airport in New York, NY when a passenger allegedly assaulted a flight attendant. The 48-year-old passenger, William Lee, was then restrained by the cabin crew using flexible handcuffs. Reportedly, seven passengers also helped to restrain the passenger during the latter stages of the flight. At some point, the passenger had difficulty breathing. After landing at JFK, the unconscious passenger was then taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The New York City medical examiner's office later ruled the death an accident that was caused by acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication, which was aggravated by heart trouble. No other crew members or any of the 146 other passengers were seriously injured or killed.
Boeing 767 plane crashes
7 December 2005; American Airlines 757-200; flight 924; Miami, Fl: The aircraft had arrived from Medellin, Colombia, and was on a roughly two hour stopover in Miami before continuing to Orlando. It is alleged that one of the passengers, Rigoberto Alpizar, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen, claimed to have a bomb in his carry on luggage. Air marshals confronted the man on the jetway and shot him after he appeared to reach into his bag. The man died sometime later as a result of his wounds. No explosive was found in the bag. It was reported that this passenger had previously arrived in Miami on an American flight from Quito, Ecuador and had cleared US customs before boarding the Orlando flight. No one else was injured in this event. This was the first time since 11 September 2001 that air marshals have fired a weapon on or near an aircraft.
Boeing 757 plane crashes
More on this event
22 December 2009; American Airlines 737-800; N977AN; flight 331; Kingston, Jamaica: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Miami, FL to Kingston, Jamaica. The aircraft landed during a rainstorm, and was unable to stop on the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft went beyond the airport fence, and crossed a road before coming to rest on a beach. The landing gear collapsed, both engines separated from the wings, and there were two major breaks in the fuselage, but all 148 passengers and six crew members survived. The landing was carried out with a slight tail wind
Boeing 737 plane crashes
More on this event
28 October 2016; American Airlines 767-300; N345AN; flight AAL383; Chicago, IL: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Chicago, IL to Miami, FL. During the takeoff, the right engine experienced an uncontained failure, and the flight crew aborted the takeoff. The aircraft caught fire in the area of the right engine, and the aircaft occupants evacuated the aircraft. There were eight minor injuries among the 161 passengers and nine crew members.
Other 767 plane crashes
Related information
Recent plane crashes
Plane crashes by airline
Plane crashes by model
Plane crash rates by model
American Airlines fleet
US airline fleets
American Airlines plane crashes
http://airsafe.com/events/airlines/american.htm -- Revised 30 October 2016
http://airsafe.com/events/airlines/american.htm -- Revised 30 October 2016