List of accidents and incidents involving general aviation
This list of accidents and incidents involving general aviation is grouped by the years in which the accidents or incidents occurred. "General aviation" here includes private as well as corporate aircraft operating under general aviation rules,[note A] i.e. not flights of airliners, commuter or military aircraft.
Overall, this is an incomplete listing, but is intended to be a complete listing of notable accidents and incidents with Wikipedia articles and those involving notable persons with Wikipedia articles. For more exhaustive lists, see the Crash Record Office[1] or the Aviation Safety Network.[2]
The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles.[3][4] For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles for 2000 : 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.
About three accidents per day are reported in Europe. As the reporting of every GA accident and incident is not mandatory everywhere, these figures may be higher. However, most major accidents are likely to be reflected due to involvement of outside authorities. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the national civil aviation authorities support and encourage the collection of light aircraft accident data in order to provide more in-depth statistics and analysis.
In the UK, there were 27 fatal accidents involving GA aircraft in 2007, resulting in the loss of 48 lives. This compares with 16 accidents claiming a total of 19 lives the previous year, and although the 2007 statistics are higher than average, they are not exceptional.[5]
In 2018, 12 persons were killed in general aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft with a MTOM above 2250 kg, an increase of around 70 % compared to the previous year where 7 fatalities were recorded. Since 2006, it is only the second time that more than 10 fatalities were registered from accidents on EU territory involving such large aircraft registered in the EU. In 2013, there were 11 fatalities registered in such accidents.
For light general aviation, i.e. involving aircraft under 2250 kg MTOM, 159 persons lost their lives in accidents with EU-registered aircraft within the EU-28 territory in 2018. This category includes, in addition to smaller aeroplanes, balloons, dirigibles, para- and motorgliders, microlights and small helicopters. EASA’s Annual Safety Review notes that most fatalities occur in accidents with small aeroplanes (especially during the landing phase) and gliders.
— EASA
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
1912
May 13 – A Flanders Monoplanecrashed at Brooklands, England, killing the pilot and his passenger. The accident was investigated by the Royal Aero Club, which issued the first-ever report into an aviation accident and established the science of aviation accident investigation.
1935
August 15 – Wiley Post and passenger Will Rogers died in the crash of Post's modified seaplane en route from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Point Barrow, Alaska, while taking off from a lagoon, after landing to ask for directions.
June 28 – A private Temco Swift collided with American Airlines Flight 910, a Douglas DC-6 on final approach to Dallas Love Field. The pilot and single passenger aboard the Swift were killed on impact with the ground; the DC-6 made a safe landing with no injuries to the 55 passengers and five crew.
July 31 – A Beechcraft Debonair piloted by country musician and songwriter Jim Reeves crashed on a flight from Batesville, Arkansas to Nashville, Tennessee, killing Reeves and his manager/pianist.
October 16 – A twin-engine Cessna 310 carrying U.S. Representative Nick Begich of Alaska and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana disappeared during a flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska. An unsuccessful 39-day search was called off on November 24; the aircraft's wreckage and Begich and Boggs' bodies were never found.
January 22 – The personal Piaggio P.136L-2 airplane of Alexander Onassis crashed at Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece.[6] A few seconds after takeoff from runway 33, the plane's right wing dropped and stayed down, and the plane crashed shortly after losing balance.[7] The pilot, Donald McCusker, and another passenger both suffered serious injuries in the crash, and Onassis died the next day from his injuries.[8] Reports into the crash concluded that it had occurred as a result of the reversing of the aileron connecting cables during the installation of a new control column. Manslaughter proceedings initiated against McCusker were later dropped,[9] and six people were also charged over Onassis's death in January 1974, with their indictment indicating that faulty controls had been fitted to his plane.[10] Onassis's father, Aristotle Onassis refused to believe his son's death was an accident.[11]
August 24 – A Stearman biplane, aircraft registration number N48784,[13][14] flew into electrical transmission lines that cross Lake Natoma at Mississippi Bar.[15][16][17] Jacquelyn Burnett, a passenger in the biplane, was killed.[18] The pilot, Stephen Francis Williams, was convicted of manslaughter.[19] His conviction marked the first time in United States history that a pilot was held criminally responsible for the death of a passenger. Williams had previously killed his own 12-year-old daughter, Patricia Ann Williams, by attempting a takeoff in dense fog at the Salinas Municipal Airport.[20]
December 31 – Popular singer and actor Ricky Nelson and six others died in a Douglas DC-3 near De Kalb, Texas, United States during an off-airport emergency landing attempt prompted by dense smoke in the cabin; the aircraft struck trees and utility poles, suffering severe damage and bursting into flames. The National Transportation Safety Board was unable to verify the origin of the smoke, stating in the final report that "... the ignition and fuel source were not determined."[21][22]
April 11 – Cessna 177B, N35207. Jessica Dubroff, a seven-year-old pilot trainee who was attempting to become the youngest person to fly an airplane across the United States, died when her aircraft crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional Airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
December 24 – A Learjet 35Acrashed near Lebanon, New Hampshire which led to the longest missing aircraft search in that state's history, lasting almost three years.
July 10 – A Sikorsky H-34 crashed and sank into the Brookville Reservoir in Brookville, Indiana. The pilot Steve Myler and co-pilot Joseph Rukazina, both made it out while the mechanic Michael Jarski lost his life.[32]
2003
March 5 – at Saint-Forget, France a Socata Rallye MS.892 (registered as F-BLSO) collided midair with a Cessna F150 (registered as F-BSIQ) killing the instructor and student pilot in the latter aircraft. After investigation, the BEA called for obligatory use of transponders in a large zone around Paris.[33]
July 21 – a South African registered aircraft, carrying 12 passengers and two crew, crashed into Mount Kenya: there were no survivors.[34][35]
October 10 - A Utva 75 crashed after suffering left wing damage when it got shot midair by revolver bullets fired by the guests of the traditional wedding in Ratina, Serbia. The aircraft crashed into overhead power-cables, seriously injuring two on board.[36][37]
October 24 – a Beechcraft Super King Air aircraft, registered N501RH[2] and owned by Hendrick Motorsports, crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport. All ten people on board were killed; among them, members of the Hendrick family including John Hendrick, president of Hendrick Motorsports, and former NASCAR Busch Series driver and owner Ricky Hendrick.
September 11 – A Cessna A152 – G-BHAC crashed near Bethesda, Gwynedd, Wales minutes after takeoff resulting in the death of the passenger Mr. S. Kingsbury (73) and serious injury to the pilot Mr. P. Vaux (61). The AAIB attributed the cause of the crash to the pilot who shortly before had aborted a flight on an alternative return route due to bad weather! The official report is:[39]
February 15 – A Bell 205 helicopter while flying in dense mist and light rain crashed into Polhuín Hill, Chanco, Cauquenes Province, Chile. The accident occurred when the Bell helicopter owned by Flight Services Helicópteros was ferrying local fire-fighters from a Eucalyptus plantation to a forest fire in the Quirihue Sector of the Eighth Region. The wreckage from the accident was scattered over a large area killing the pilot, a former Chilean Air Force officer, and 12 fire-fighters from the Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (CELCO) company.[44]
12 March – A Sikorsky S-92 helicopter (C-GZCH) flying from St. John's International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada to the offshore SeaRose FPSO in the White Rose oil field was forced to ditch in the North Atlantic Ocean, 30 nautical miles (56 km) east-southeast of Newfoundland. The Sikorsky S-92 owned by Cougar Helicopters issued a mayday after experiencing low oil pressure in the main gear-box and requesting emergency clearance to return to St. John's airport. The aircraft ditched in the North Atlantic approximately 10 minutes after issuing the mayday at 7:58 am ET resulting in 17 fatalities and 1 passenger rescued from the crash site.[47]
April 1 – A Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma (G-REDL) flying from the BP Miller Oil Platform located 168 nautical miles (270 km) north-east from Aberdeen, Scotland to the heliport at Aberdeen Airportcrashes into the North Sea 11 nautical miles (20 km) east of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The Super Puma helicopter owned by Bond Offshore Helicopters made a brief mayday call at 12:54 pm BST and was then seen to crash 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) from a supply vessel resulting in the death of 2 crew and 14 passengers.[53] The cause of the accident was the catastrophic failure of the main rotor gearbox, which caused the main rotor to detach and severed the pylon and tail boom.[54]
2010
February 18 - the 2010 Austin suicide attack, in which a Piper Dakota was intentionally flown into the side of a building housing a local IRS office. The pilot and an IRS manager were killed, 2 people were critically injured, and another 13 were also injured.
January 16 – An Agusta AW109 helicopter crashed in Vauxhall, London,[57] after colliding with the jib of a construction crane attached to St George Wharf Tower. Two people died in the incident:[58] the pilot, Captain Pete Barnes;[57] 50, and a pedestrian, Matthew Wood, 39, from Sutton in South London.[58][59] Five people were taken to hospital and seven more were treated at the scene.[58] In March 2013, BBC London report indicated that the crash could have been prevented, based on a study written to which "19 experts contributed, from organisations including National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the MoD, the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit and the British Helicopter Advisory Board". A number of safety issues had been raised by the study — particularly relating to visibility, meteorology and flying in a crowded and complex urban environment — but the CAA had not yet made any changes to the air rules. However, the studies and commentary were claimed to be productive.[60]
July 23 – An American pilot attempting to fly around the world in 30 days to promote education crashed with his plane in the Pacific Ocean, killing him and leaving his father, also on board, missing.[66]
December 29 – A United Arab Emirates EMSAgustaWestland AW139 on a mission to lift an injured person clipped the world's longest zip line and crashed in Jebel Jais, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, killing all four crew members.[76]
July 14 – A Gippsland GA8 Airvan was reported to have suffered structural failure of a wing in flight and crashed on Storlandskär, Sweden, killing all nine people on board.[80] The aircraft type was consequently grounded in Australia and the European Union.[81]
September 15 – A single-seater Aero Ultra-Light plane piloted by Mike Stefanik crashed in Sterling, CT, killing him.[82]
October 2 – A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress had engine problems during a fundraising flight and crashed during a precautionary landing at Bradley International Airport, Connecticut, killing seven and injuring six on board, injuring a bystander on the ground, and destroying the historic aircraft.[83] The Collings Foundation, its operator, was subsequently barred from carrying passengers on fundraising flights after serious safety violations were uncovered during the accident investigation.[84]
2020
January 26 – A Sikorsky S-76 helicopter carrying retired basketball player Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria "Gigi" Bryant, crashed outside of Calabasas, California, killing all nine on board.
March 3 - A Cessna 172 carrying two wildlife biologists, who were conducting a survey of eagle's nests, and a pilot, crashed near Lincoln. IL, killing all on board.[85]
November 24 – American snowboarder and YouTuber Trevor Jacob parachuted out of a Taylorcraft BL-65, which then crashed unoccupied in Los Padres National Forest in California; Jacob suffered minor injuries from the parachute landing. Jacob later posted a video of the event on YouTube, provoking controversy among members of the aviation community who believed that the crash was staged.[86][87][88] The FAA revoked Jacob's pilot certificate in 2022 after determining that he crashed the aircraft for the sole purpose of filming it.[89][90] Jacob pleaded guilty in 2023 to a federal felony charge of destroying the aircraft wreckage without authorization while lying to federal investigators about its disposition.[91][92]
2022
April 2 - A Piper PA-28R carrying two pilots was lost in the English Channel during a flight from the UK to Le Touquet in France. The pilots became disoriented when flying into a cloud. Despite searching, neither plane or pilots has been found.[93]
September 4 - A Cessna 551 Citation business jet crashed into the Baltic sea after widely diverting from its course to Cologne, Germany after taking off in Jerez, Spain.
^Westin, Adam; Tronarp, Gustaf; Jamshidi, Jamshid; Toll, Michael; Laneby, Sebastien (14 July 2019). "Flygplan har kraschat utanför Umeå – nio personer döda" [Aircraft has crashed near Umeå – nine people dead]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 July 2019.