AirSafe.com

Fatal Boeing 727 Events

Other Boeing Models: 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777

The following events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role. Excluded would be events where the only passengers killed were stowaways, hijackers, or saboteurs.

1. 16 August 1965; United Airlines 727; near Lake Forest, IL: The aircraft had a controlled flight into the waters of Lake Michigan while on approach to Chicago. There was no indication of any unusual problem prior to impact. All six crew members and 24 passengers were killed.
2. 8 November 1965; American Airlines 727; near Cincinnati, OH: The aircraft flew into a low hill during approach, impacting about two miles (3.2 km) short of the runway. The crash occurred during a visual approach in darkness and light rain. Five of the six crew members and 53 of the 56 passengers were killed.
3. 11 November 1965; United Airlines 727; Salt Lake City, UT: The aircraft crashed about 340 feet (103 meters) short of the runway after an excessively steep final approach. The main landing gear failed and the aircraft slid to a stop and caught fire. None of the crew members and 43 of the 85 passengers were killed.
4. 4 February 1966; All Nippon Airways 727; near Tokyo, Japan: During a night approach, the aircraft crashed into the waters of Tokyo Bay about 6.5 miles (10.4 km) from Haneda airport. All seven crew members and 126 passengers were killed.
5. 19 July 1967; Piedmont 727; Hendersonville, NC: The 727 was climbing away from the Asheville airport when it hit a Cessna 310 about eight miles (13 km) from the airport. All five crew members and 74 passengers were killed. The three occupants of the Cessna were also killed.
6. 16 February 1968; Civil Air Transport 727; near Linkuo, Taiwan: The aircraft impacted trees and a house short of the runway during a night approach in poor weather. Three of the 11 crew members and 18 of the 52 passengers were killed. One person in the house was also killed.
7. 5 January 1969; Ariana Afghan Airlines 727-100; near Gatwick Airport, England: The aircraft hit trees and a house about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) short of the runway during approach. Five of the eight crew members and 43 of the 54 passengers were killed. Two people in the house were also killed.
8. 18 January 1969; United Airlines 727; Los Angeles, CA: The aircraft crashed into Santa Monica Bay shortly after a night takeoff in poor weather. The crew reported an engine one fire warning, shut down the engine, and initiated an air turn back before crashing into the water at high speed and an unusual attitude. Electrical failure was suspected. All six crew members and 32 passengers were killed.
9. 4 June 1969; Mexicana 727; near Monterey, Mexico: The aircraft hit high ground during descent. The crash happened in daylight under poor weather conditions. All seven crew members and 72 passengers were killed.
10. 21 September 1969; Mexicana 727; Mexico City, Mexico: The aircraft undershot the runway and landed about 0.9 miles (1.5 km) short of the runway. The aircraft hit a railway embankment and broke up. Five of the seven crew members and 22 of the 111 passengers were killed.
11. 28 December 1970; Trans Caribbean Airways (American Airlines) 727-200; 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. None of the crew members and two of the 46 passengers were killed.
12. 30 July 1971; All Nippon Airways 727-200; northern Honshu, Japan, CA: The aircraft crashed after an in flight collision with a jet fighter. All seven crew members and 155 passengers were killed. The fighter pilot was able to bail out successfully.
13. 4 September 1971; Alaska Airlines 727-100; near Juneau, AK: The aircraft was inbound for landing when it flew into the slopes of a mountain about 28 miles (30 km) west of the airfield. The crew had received misleading navigational information for reasons that were not determined. All seven crew members and 104 passengers were killed.
14. 21 February 1973; Libyan Arab Airlines 727-200; Israeli occupied Sinai Desert: The aircraft was shot down by Israeli fighters after the 727 had strayed into the airspace of the occupied territory. Eight of the nine crew members and 100 of the 104 passengers were killed.
15. 15 September 1974; Air Vietnam 727-100; near Phan Rang, South Vietnam: The aircraft crashed after a hijack. All eight crew members and 62 passengers were killed.
16. 1 December 1974; TWA 727-200; near Berryville, VA: The aircraft crashed into a mountain while on approach. All eight crew members and 85 passengers were killed.
17. 24 June 1975; Eastern Airlines 727-200; New York, NY: The aircraft was a scheduled flight from New Orleans to JFK Airport in New York that crashed on approach after encountering wind shear associated with a very strong thunderstorm. Six of the eight crew members and 107 of the 116 passengers were killed.
18. 5 April 1976; Alaska Airlines 727; Ketchikan, AK: The aircraft overran the runway after landing. One of the 50 passengers was killed.
19. 27 April 1976; American Airlines 727; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from JFK airport in New York to St. Thomas. The aircraft overran the runway after an unsuccessful attempt at aborting the landing. Two of the seven crew members and 35 of the 81 passengers were killed.
20. 19 September 1976; THY 727-200; near Isparta, Turkey: The aircraft struck a mountain during the approach. All eight crew members and 146 passengers were killed.
21. 19 November 1977; TAP Air Portugal 727-200; Funchal, Portugal: The aircraft touched down long on a wet runway, overran the runway, broke up, and caught fire. Six of the eight crew members and 125 of the 156 passengers were killed.
22. 8 May 1978; National Airlines 727-200; near Pensacola, FL : The aircraft landed in the water short of the airport due to a combination of low visibility and pilot judgment. Three of the 52 passengers were killed.
23. 25 September 1978; Pacific Southwest 727-200; San Diego, CA: The aircraft had a midair collision with a single engine Cessna and crashed. All seven crew members, all 128 passengers, both occupants of the second aircraft, and 13 others on the ground were killed.
24. 13 March 1979; Royal Jordanian 727-200; near Doha Airport, Qatar: The plane landed in the midst of a thunderstorm. The crash killed three of the 15 crew members and 42 of the 49 passengers were killed.
25. 21 January 1980; Iran Air 727-86; near Tehran, Iran : The aircraft hit high ground in snowstorm during approach. All eight crew members and 120 passengers were killed.
26. 12 April 1980; Transbrasil 727-200; Florianopolis, Brazil : The aircraft hit high ground during thunderstorm during approach. All eight crew members and 47 of the 50 passengers were killed.
27. 25 April 1980; Dan-Air 727-46; Tenerife, Canary Islands : The aircraft hit high ground in cloud while in controlled flight. All eight crew members and 138 passengers were killed.
28. 14 October 1980; THY 727; Diyarbakir, Turkey : One passenger was killed during a hijacking.
29. 8 June 1982; VASP 727-200; near Fortaleza, Brazil : The aircraft crashed into a 2500 foot (760 meter) hill during approach. There were also technical problems reported before starting the approach. All nine crew members and 126 passengers were killed.
30. 9 July 1982; Pan Am 727-200; New Orleans, LA: The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from New Orleans to Las Vegas and crashed shortly after takeoff due to wind shear. All seven crew members and 138 passengers were killed. Eight people on the ground were also killed.
31. 16 January 1983; THY 727-200; Ankara, Turkey: The aircraft crashed about 500 feet (150m) short of runway during poor visibility (fog and snow) and possibly wind shear. There were 47 fatalities among the 60 passengers.
32. 7 December 1983; Iberia 727-200; Madrid, Spain: During takeoff under foggy conditions, the aircraft struck an Aviaco DC9 that had not been cleared onto the runway. One of the nine crew members and 50 of the 84 passengers on the 727 were killed. All 42 on the DC9 were also killed.
33. 1 January 1985; Eastern Airlines 727-200; near La Paz, Bolivia The aircraft hit a mountain at about 19,600 feet (6000 meters) while approaching La Paz at elevation 13,106 feet (4000 meters) All eight crew members and 21 passengers were killed.
34. 19 February 1985; Iberia 727-200; Madrid, Spain: The aircraft crashed into high ground during procedural letdown. All seven crew members and 141 passengers were killed.
35. 14 June 1985; TWA 727 Athens, Greece: The aircraft was hijacked and the 153 crew and passengers were taken hostage for several days. A U.S. military member was killed by the hijackers during this time.
36. 31 March 1986; Mexicana 727-200; near Maravatio, Mexico: One of the tires on the main gear exploded in the wheel well shortly after takeoff and damaged the hydraulic and electrical systems. All eight crew members and 159 passengers were killed.
37. 2 April 1986; TWA 727 near Athens, Greece: A bomb exploded in the cabin and blew a hole in the fuselage while the aircraft was approaching Athens. Four of the 114 passengers were sucked through the hole and killed.
38. 17 March 1988; Avianca 727-21; near Cucuta, Colombia: The aircraft hit high ground in haze and mist after takeoff. All seven crew members and 132 passengers were killed
39. 31 August 1988; Delta Air Lines 727-200; Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, TX: The aircraft stalled and crashed on takeoff due to the flaps not being properly set by the flight crew. Two of the seven crew members and 12 of the 101 passengers were killed
40. 21 October 1989; SAHSA 727-200; near Tegucigalpa, Honduras: The aircraft forced landed short of the airport an during approach in bad weather and broke up on high ground. Three of the five crew members and 129 of the 139 passengers were killed.
41. 27 November 1989; Avianca 727-21; near Bogota, Colombia: The aircraft crashed after a bomb detonated during climb. All six crew and 101 passengers were killed.
42. 22 December 1992; Libyan Arab Airlines 727-200; near Tripoli, Libya: The aircraft Collided with a MiG 23. There is no information on MiG crew or casualties, but all 10 crew members and 147 passengers on the 727 were killed.
43. 19 May 1993; SAM Colombia 727-100; near Medillin, Colombia: The aircraft hit terrain after starting descent 44 miles (70 km) early. All 125 passengers and seven crew members were killed.
44. 7 November 1996; ADC 727; near Lagos, Nigeria: The aircraft crashed into a lagoon near the village Imota about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Lagos. The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Port Harcourt to Lagos. All nine crew members and 132 passengers were killed.

45. 19 March 1998; Ariana Afghan Airlines 727-200 near Charasyab, Afghanistan: The aircraft was on a flight from Sharjah to Kabul via Kandahar. The plane was descending for Kabul when it struck the 3000 feet (914 m)Sharki Baratayi mountain 300 feet (91 m) below the summit. All 45 passengers and crew members were killed.

46. 20 April 1998; Air France 727-200 near Bogota, Colombia: The aircraft was on a flight from Bogota to Quito, Ecuador. Three minues after takeoff, the plane crashed into the mountain at about 1600 feet (500m) above the airport elevation. Although it was an Air France flight, the aircraft was leased from TAME airlines of Ecuador and was flown by an Ecuadorean crew. All 43 passengers and 10 crew members were killed.
47. 28 January 2002; TAME 727-100; near Tulcán, Ecuador: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Quito, Ecuador to near the border with Colombia. During descent into Tulcán, the aircraft crashed into the side of the Nevado el Cumbal Volcano at about the 14,700 foot level, about 1,400 feet (425 meters) below the summit. This volcano is in Colombian territory, The last aircraft transmission was a routine request for a landing clearance while the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 12,000 feet. During descent, the aircraft was traveling at about 50 knots higher than the recommended approach speed. All seven crew members and 87 passengers were killed.
    Fatal TAME Events

48. 25 December 2003; Union des Transports Africains (UTA) 727-200; near Cotonou , Benin: The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff on a scheduled flight from Cotonou, Benin to Kufrah, Libya. The aircraft lifted off, but struck localizer antennas and a small building just off the end of the runway. After striking the airport perimeter fence, the aircraft crashed along the shoreline. Five of the 10 crew members and 136 of the 153 passengers were killed. The pilot was among the survivors. About 15 of the dead were Bangladeshi peacekeepers returning from missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Fatal Events by Model
Fatal Event Rates by Model
Accidents by Model