Passenger deaths due to missiles or gunfire

The following events include passenger deaths that occur due to the effects of a missile or gunfire. Included are events involving large jet or turboprop commercial airliners, and includes events since 1970. Events that are not numbered, if any, are included because they meet criteria set by AirSafe.com for significant events.

This list includes inflight events involving air-to-air missiles, ground to air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, or other kinds of gunfire from outside of the aircraft. The list excludes fatalities due to hijacking, sabotage, or bombings.

21 February 1973; Libyan Arab Airlines 727-200; flight 114; Israeli occupied Sinai Desert: The aircraft was shot down by Israeli fighter jets 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.
727 plane crashes
Wikipedia page on this event

20 April 1978; Korean Air Lines 707-300; flight 902; near Kem, Soviet Union: The aircraft diverted from its planned course on a flight from Paris to Seoul and strayed over the Soviet Union. After being fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made a forced landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97 passengers were killed by the hostile fire.
Korean Air Lines plane crashes
Wikipedia page on this event

3 September 1978; Air Rhodesia Viscount; near Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe: The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kariba to Salisbury when it was hit by a missile fired by fighters from the Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe Peoples Revolution Army (ZIPRA). The aircraft had a forced landing about 19 miles (30 km) from the Kariba airport. All four crew members and 34 of the 52 passengers were killed. Ten others who survived the landing were later killed by those who shot down the airliner.

12 February 1979; Air Rhodesia Viscount; near Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe: The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kariba to Salisbury and crashed after it was hit by two missiles. All four crew members and 54 passengers were killed.

1 September 1983; Korean Air Lines 747-200; flight 007; near Sakhalin Island, Soviet Union: The aircraft was shot down by at least one Soviet air to air missile after the 747 had strayed into Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers and 29 crew were killed.
International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 Survivors
747 plane crashes
Korean Air Lines plane crashes
Wikipedia page on this event

3 July 1988; Iranair A300; flight 665; Persian Gulf, near Straits of Hormuz: Aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile from the American naval vessel U.S.S. Vincennes. All 16 crew and 274 passengers were killed.
Iran Air plane crashes
Airbus A300 plane crashes
Wikipedia page on this event

21 September 1993; Transair Georgia Tupolev Tu134A; near Sukhumi, Georgia : The charter aircraft departed from Sochi, Russia and was on final approach when it was hit by a missile. The aircraft crashed into the sea about 2.5 miles (four km) from the airport. All five crew members and 22 passengers were killed.
Other crashes involving airlines of the former Soviet Union

22 September 1993; Orbi Georgian Airways Tupolev Tu154B; near Sukhumi, Georgia : The aircraft was on a non-scheduled domestic flight from Tbilisi to Sukhumi, Georgia when it was struck by a missile during approach. Eight of the 12 crew members and 108 of the 120 passengers were killed.
Passenger deaths to to missiles and gunfire
Other crashes involving airlines of the former Soviet Union

4 October 2001; Sibir Airlines Tupolev Tu154M; flight 1812; Black Sea near Adler, Russia: The plane crashed about 184 kilometers (114 miles) from southern Russia in the Black Sea, shortly after the aircraft exploded in flight. The aircraft had departed from Tel Aviv, Israel on a charter flight to Novosibirsk, Russia and was at cruise altitude when the explosion occurred. The in-flight explosion was due to a surface-to-air missile that had been launched during a training exercise by the Ukrainian military. All 12 crew members and 64 passengers were killed.
Other crashes involving airlines of the former Soviet Union
Wikipedia page on this event

24 June 2014; Pakistan International Airlines (PIA); A31-300; AP-BGN; flight PK756; Peshawar, Pakistan The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Peshawar, Pakistan, when it was struck by several bullets shortly before landing. Two cabin crew members and one passenger were hit, and the passenger died of her injuries. There were no other injuries among the 10 other crew members or 177 other passengers.
Fatal PIA Events
Airbus A310 plane crashes

17 July 2014; Malaysia Airlines 777-200ER; 9M-MRD; flight MH17; near Grabovo, Ukraine: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The aircraft in cruise at about 33,000 feet when it experienced a catastrophic in flight breakup. Substantial circumstantial evidence indicates that the jet was hit by a surface to air missile fired by a military force supported by the Russian government. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed.
Fatal Malaysia Airlines Events
777 plane crashes
Wikipedia page on this event

8 January 2020; Ukraine International Airlines 737-800; UR-PSR; flight PS752; Tehran, Iran: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Tehran, Iran to Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was damaged by a surface to air missile that was inadvertently launched by the Iranian military. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control, and was turning back toward the airport when it lost altitude and crashed in a residential area. All nine crew members and 167 passengers were killed. No one on the ground was injured or killed.
Boeing 737 plane crashes
Other crashes involving airlines of the former Soviet Union

Other items of interest:

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Fear of flying resource guide

Passenger deaths due to missiles or gunfire
http://www.airsafe.com/plane-crash/missile.htm -- Revised: 11 January 2020