Plane Crashes with a Sole Survivor
The following events are those from 1970 to the present involving either jet airliners or selected large turboprop driven airliners where there was only a single survivor.
- 26 January 1972; JAT DC9-32; near Hermsdorf, Czechoslovakia:
The aircraft suffered an in-flight breakup due to a bomb.
Five of the six crew members and all 22 passengers were killed.
The sole survivor was a crew member who reportedly fell to the ground inside of the tail section.
Fatal DC9 Events - 29 January 1985; Galaxy Airlines Lockheed Electra; near Reno, NV: The aircraft was on a charter flight from Reno to Minneapolis. Shortly after takeoff, aicraft vibrabration caused the crew to reduce power and execute a return to the airport. Shortly after reducing power, the aircraft lost airspeed and entered a stall, crashing near the airport. All six crew and 64 of 65 passengers were killed. Three people initially survived the accident, but died within a month of the accident. The sole survivor was a 17-year old boy who was thrown from the wreckage.
- 3 January 1987; Varig 707-300; near Abidjan, Ivory Coast: The aircraft had an engine problem shortly after a night takeoff for an international flight from Abidjan to Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft crashed about 11 miles (18 km) from the airport. All 12 crew members and 38 of the 39 passengers were killed.
- 16 August 1987; Northwest MD82; Detroit, USA:
The crew neglected to properly set flaps for takeoff.
The aircraft stalled soon after takeoff and crashed onto a highway.
All six crew and 148 of 149 passengers were killed.
Two people on the ground were also killed.
The sole survivor was Cecilia Cichan, a four-year old girl.
The girl's mother, as well as two people on the ground, were also killed in the crash.
Fatal MD80 Events - 14 November 1992; Vietnam Airlines Yak 40; Nha Trang, Vietnam
The aircraft was on approach to Nha Trang when it deviated from its assigned airway and struck a ridge.
All six crew members and 24 of the 25 passengers were killed.
A rescue team did not find either the crashed aircraft or the injured sole survivor for eight days.
Extensive details on the accident
Fatal Events for Airlines of Asia - 20 November 1993; Avioimpex Yak 42D; near Ohrid, Macedonia The aircraft was on a flight from Geneva, Switzerland to Skopje, but had diverted to Ohrid due to weather at Skopje. The aircraft subsequently crashed into Mount Trojani near Ohrid. All eight crew members and 115 of the 116 passengers were killed.
- 17 March 1995; Intercontinental Colombia DC9-10; South of Cartegena, Colombia:
The aircraft crashed in marsh 37 miles (60 km) from the airport.
All five crew members and 46 of the 47 passengers were killed.
The sole survivor was a nine-year old girl.
Fatal DC9 Events - 3 September 1997; Vietnam Airlines Tu-134B; Flight 815; Phnom Penh, Cambodia:
The aircraft was arriving from Ho Chi Minh City during heavy rain and crashed about one half mile (800 meters) short of the runway.
All six crew members and 59 of the 60 passengers were killed. The lone survivor was a small child.
Fatal Events for Airlines of Asia - 15 December 1997; Tajikistan Airlines Tupolev 154B; Sharjah, United Arab Emirates:
The aircraft was on approach to Sharjah after a flight from Khodzhent, Tajikistan when it crashed in a river about 8 miles (13 km) from the airport.
Eight of the nine crew members and all 77 passengers were killed.
Fatal Events for Airlines of the former Soviet Union - 6 March 2003; Air Algérie 737-200; near Tamanrasset, Algeria:
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff on a domestic flight from Tamanrasset to Ghardaia.
One of the engines reportedly caught fire during takeoff.
Five of the six crew members and all 97 passengers were killed.
Fatal Events for Airlines of the Middle East and Africa - 8 July 2003; Sudan Airways 737-200C; near Port Sudan, Sudan:
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff on a domestic flight from Port Sudan to Khartoum.
The flight crew reported technical difficulties shortly after takeoff and the aircraft crashed about three miles (five km) from the airport.
All 11 crew members and 105 of the 106 passengers were killed.
The sole survivor was a three-year old boy, Mohamed al-Fateh , who suffered major injuries, including a severed right leg.
The boy's mother was killed in the crash as well.
Fatal 737 Events
Fatal Events for Airlines of the Middle East and Africa - 27 August 2006; Delta Connection (Comair) CRJ-100; Lexington, KY:
The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Lexington, KY to Atlanta, GA.
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, about one half mile (800 m) from the end of the departure runway.
The event occurred shortly before sunrise, and there was no reported precipitation at the time of the event.
The aircraft took off on a shorter runway that is typically used by smaller private aircraft rather than the airport's main runway.
Two of the three crew members and all 47 passengers were killed.
Fatal events involving Delta Airlines
Fatal events Canadair CRJ aircraft - 30 June 2009; Yemenia Airlines; A310-300; Flight 626; near Moroni, Comoros Islands:
The aircraft was on a flight from SanaĠa, Yemen to Moroni, Comoros Islands with 142 passengers and 11 crew on board. The aircraft crashed in the sea near the town of Mitsamiouli, which is on the main island of Grande Comore, in the early morning hours of June 30th. One passenger, a twelve-year-old girl named Bahia Bakari, was rescued about 10 hours after the crash, and is the sole survivor of this plane crash. The girl's mother was also killed in the crash.
More Accident Details
Fatal Events for Airlines from Africa and the Middle East
Fatal A310 Plane Crashes
Plane Crashes with a Sole Survivor
Yemenia Airlines Wikipedia page
24 December 1971; LANSA Lockheed L-188 Electra; Flight 508; en route Lima, Peru to Pucallpa, Peru:
About forty minutes after takeoff, the aircraft entered an area of strong turbulence and lightning. About 20 minutes later, lightning struck the aircraft and caused a fire in the right wing. The right wing and part of the left wing separated, and the remainder of the aircraft broke up.
All six crew members and 91 of the 92 passengers were killed. The sole survivor was a 17-year-old girl who remained strapped in her seat and fell about 10,000 feet (3 km) into the jungle. She then made her way through the jungle for about 10 days before being rescued.
While this was a sole survivor event, it is not a numbered event because this crash did not fit the criteria of a significant event as defined by AirSafe.com.
Plane Crashes with a Sole Survivor
http://www.airsafe.com/events/survivor.htm -- Revised: 3 July 2009
http://www.airsafe.com/events/survivor.htm -- Revised: 3 July 2009
