New York City plane crashes

The fatal airliner events occurring in New York City in the latter part of 2001 have caused many to question whether New York City and its airports have had a disproportionate share of fatal events. Below is a list of fatal events involving airliners in New York City or airliners that were either inbound or outbound to one of the three New York City area major airports. The list includes scheduled and non-scheduled jet airline flights that occurred since 1970 and may include passenger fatalities due to hijackings, sabotage, or military action.

1. 2 May 1970; ALM DC9-33CF; near St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: The aircraft had departed JFK airport in New York for St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. After three missed approaches, the crew diverted to St. Croix. While en route, the aircraft ran out of fuel and the crew ditched the aircraft. While the flight crew made specific preparations for ditching, the imminent ditching was not communicated to the cabin crew. As a result, several occupants were not belted in at the time of the ditching. The aircraft remained afloat for five to six minutes before sinking in waters about one mile (1600 meters) deep. One of the six crew members and 22 of the 57 passengers were killed. The accident was investigated by the NTSB and the details are available in NTSB report NTSB-AAR-71-8 dated 31 March 1971.
   Information on other ditching events
   Fatal DC9 Events

2. 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.

Information on other ditching events
3. 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.
4. 27 March 1977;Pan Am 747-100; Tenerife, Canary Islands: The aircraft had been scheduled to arrive at the Las Palmas airport after a non-scheduled flight from New York's JFK airport, but was diverted to Tenerife after a bomb explosion at the Las Palmas airport. Because of limited visibility and communications difficulties between air traffic control and a KLM 747 aircraft, the KLM 747 started its takeoff and collided with the Pan Am 747 that was taxiing on the same runway. Nine of the 16 crew and 321 of the 380 passengers on the Pan Am flight were killed. All 234 passengers and 14 crew on the KLM 747 were killed.
   Boeing 747 plane crashes

5. 21 December 1988; Pan Am 747-100; near Lockerbie, Scotland: The aircraft was about a half hour into a scheduled flight from London's Heathrow airport to JFK airport in New York when a bomb detonated in the forward cargo compartment. The explosion led to an in flight breakup of the aircraft. All 16 crew and 243 passengers perished. Eleven people on the ground were also killed.

6. 20 September 1989; USAir 737-400; La Guardia Airport, New York: The crew incorrectly trimmed the rudder for takeoff and were forced to abort the takeoff. The aircraft overran the runway and was partially submerged in water. Two of the 55 passengers were killed.

7. 25 January 1990; Avianca 707-300; Cove Neck, NY: The aircraft crashed about 20 miles (32 km) from the airport due to fuel exhaustion during its second approach to JFK airport after a scheduled flight from Medellin, Colombia. The NTSB determined that the accident happened in part due to the crew's inadequate fuel management and their failure to communicate their fuel status to ATC. Eight of the nine crew members and 65 of the 149 passengers were killed. There were 11 infants among the passengers, and one of the infants was killed.

8. 22 March 1992; USAir F28-4000; New York, NY: The aircraft crashed just after takeoff due to icing on the aircraft's wings. The aircraft was departing from La Guardia airport under in snowy conditions. Three of the four crew members and 24 of the 47 passengers were killed.

9. 17 July 1996; TWA 747-100; Atlantic Ocean near Long Island, NY: The aircraft was on a flight from JFK airport in New York to Paris and had a catastrophic in flight breakup shortly after departure. All 18 crew and 212 passengers perished.
   More about this event

10. 2 September 1998; Swissair MD11; near Halifax, Canada: The aircraft was on a nonstop flight from New York's JFK airport to Geneva, Switzerland. The aircraft crashed at night in the Atlantic Ocean close to shore about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. All 15 crew members and 214 passengers were killed.

11. 31 October 1999; EgyptAir 767-300ER; Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket Is., MA: Radar and radio contact with the aircraft was lost shortly after the aircraft departed JFK Airport in New York on a flight to Cairo. The aircraft was last sighted about 60 miles (96 km) SSE of Nantucket Is. The flight was carrying 15 crew members and 202 passengers.

12. 25 July 2000; Air France Concorde near Paris, France: The aircraft was on a charter flight from Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris to JFK airport in New York. Shortly before rotation, the front right tire of the left landing gear ran over a strip of metal which had fallen off of another aircraft. Pieces of the damaged tire were thrown against the aircraft structure. There was a subsequent fuel leak and major fire under the left wing. Power was lost on engine number two and for a brief period on engine number one. Shortly after engine number one lost power for the second time, the crew lost control of the aircraft and crashed into a hotel in the town of Gonesse. All 100 passengers and nine crew members were killed. Four people on the ground were also killed.
    Fatal Air France events
    More information on the Concorde accident

13. 11 September 2001; American Airlines 767 (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 one of the World Trade Center Towers. Another jet, a United Airlines 767, was hijacked and crashed into the other tower. Both towers later collapsed. All 11 crew members, 76 passengers, and five hijackers were killed, as were untold numbers of people on the ground.
    Fatal American Airlines Events
    Boeing 767 plane crashes
    Attack on New York and Washington

14. 11 September 2001; United Airlines 767 (Flight 175); World Trade Center, New York: The aircraft was on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles when it was hijacked and flown into one of the World Trade Center Towers. Another jet, an American Airlines 767, was hijacked and crashed into the other tower. Both towers later collapsed. All nine crew members, 51 passengers, and five hijackers were killed, as were untold numbers of people on the ground.
    Fatal United Airlines Events
    Boeing 767 plane crashes
    Attack on New York and Washington

15. 11 September 2001; United Airlines 757 (Flight 93); near Pittsburgh, PA: The aircraft was on a flight from Newark to San Francisco when it was hijacked. However, the aircraft crashed outside Pittsburgh. All seven crewmembers, 34 passengers, and four hijackers were killed.
    Fatal American Airlines Events
    Boeing 757 plane crashes
    Attack on New York and Washington

16. 12 November 2001; American Airlines A300; Queens, New York: The aircraft was on a flight from New York to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic when it crashed into a residential neighborhood just outside JFK airport. The aircraft experienced an in-flight breakup, with the vertical fin and one engine landing away from the main impact site. There were a number of homes damaged or destroyed by the crash, and five people on the ground were killed. All nine crew members and 251 passengers on the aircraft were killed, including five infants.
    Fatal A300 Events
    Fatal American Airlines Events
    Accident Investigation Details