A plane carrying 181 people burst into flames after veering off a runway at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday, killing at least 120 people on board. Video shared by the local MBC broadcaster showed the Jeju Aeroplane -- a Boeing 737-8AS according to Flight Radar -- landing at the Muan airport runway, with smoke streaming out from the engines before the entire aircraft was quickly engulfed in flames.
The crash marks one of the deadliest aviation tragedies in history. Here is a timeline of such mishaps.
- December 25, 2024. : 38 passengers were killed after Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8432 crashed as it attempted to make an emergency landing near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Russian surface-to-air missiles caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau. Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident."
- August 9, 2024: A passenger plane crashed into a gated residential community in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state on August 9, 2024, killing all 61 people aboard. The airline VOEPASS said that its plane, an ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop, was headed for Sao Paulo’s international airport Guarulhos with 57 passengers and 4 crew members aboard when it crashed in Vinhedo.
- July 24, 2024: At least 18 people died after an aircraft belonging to a private airline company with 19 people on board crashed during takeoff at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on July 24 morning. The plane belonging to Saurya Airlines was carrying 19 people, including the technical staff, and was bound for Nepal's Pokhara when the incident happened.
- January 15, 2023: A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge on January 15, while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard.
- March 21, 2022: Chinese aircraft with 133 on board crashes, ignites forest fire. According to reports, a Boeing 737 flown by China Eastern Airlines has crashed in Guangxi. State media in China has reported that a Boeing 737 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines with 132 people on board has crashed in southern China.
- January 10, 2020: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US believes it is 'likely' that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed this week in Iran, killing all 176 on board.
- March 10, 2019: An Ethiopia, Airlines new Boeing 737-8 MAX crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa killing all 157 people on board. 35 nationalities were represented. 19 people from at least five UN and affiliated agencies, including the IOM, were among 157 victims.
- October 29, 2018: In Indonesia a Lion Air plane crashed into the sea likely killing all 189 people on board. The 2-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet plunged into the Java Sea early today, just 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta for an island off Sumatra. The privately owned carrier was founded in 1999 to provide access to air travel to everyone.
- May 18, 2018: In Cuba, a State Airways plane crashed shortly after taking off from Jose Marti airport killing all but three of its 110 passengers and crew.
- April 11, 2018: In Algeria a military plane crashed in a field near Boufarik airport southwest of Algiers, killing 257 people. A number of survivors were being treated at an army hospital following the crash of the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane.
- June 7, 2017: A Myanmar military transport plane with 122 people on board went down on a flight from southern Myanmar to Yangon.
- March 8, 2014: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a 777 carrying 239 people en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, dropped off the radar screens on March 8, 2014.
- June 1, 2009: Around three hours into its journey from Rio to Paris on June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-200, headed into an area of severe thunderstorm activity—it was never heard from again. From an envelope-pushing altitude of 38,000 feet, the aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall before plunging into the depths of the southern Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people aboard.
- September 2. 1999: The pilots of Swissair's Flight 111 from New York to Geneva—a McDonnell Douglas MD-11—smelled smoke in the cockpit. Four minutes later, they began an immediate descent toward Halifax, Nova Scotia, about 65 miles away. But with the fire spreading and cockpit lights and instruments failing, the plane crashed into the Atlantic about 5 miles off the Nova Scotia coast. All 229 people aboard were killed.
- November 12, 1996: This is the world’s deadliest mid-air crash that involved Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 over the city of Charkhi Dadri in northern India. The Saudia-operated Boeing 747 was bound for Dhahran from Delhi while the Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin II-76 was bound for Indira airport from Shymkent when they collided, killing 312 people on board the former and 37 on the latter. The crash occurred after the Ilyushin aircraft was cleared to descend to 15,000 feet, but then descended past that level to 14,500 feet while the 747 was ascending in the opposite direction. The Fatalities were 349.
- May 11, 1996: The fire in the DC-9 was caused by chemical oxygen generators that had been illegally packaged by SabreTech, the airline's maintenance contractor. A bump apparently set one-off, and the resulting heat started a fire, which was fed by the oxygen being given off. The pilots were unable to land the burning plane in time, and 110 people died. The FAA responded by mandating smoke detectors and automatic fire extinguishers in the cargo holds of all commercial airliners. It also bolstered rules against carrying hazardous cargo on aircraft.
- July 3, 1988: The Airbus A300, a civilian airline, was shot down by surface-to-air missiles fired from the US military cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all on board. The flight was in Iranian airspace, over Iranian territorial waters and on its usual flight path, yet, according to the US government, Vincennes mistook it for an F-14A Tomcat fighter plane. The crew on the American ship made 10 attempts to contact the Iran Air aircraft on military and civilian radio frequencies, with no response, before firing. The fatalities were 290.
- August 12, 1985: JAL flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed, killing 520 out of the 524 onboard, after a faulty repair of the tail by Boeing technicians – not the airline’s – following an earlier incident. To this day, it is the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.
- August 2, 1985: As Delta Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011, approached for landing at Dallas/Fort Worth airport on August 2, 1985, a thunderstorm lurked near the runway. Lightning flashed around the plane at 800 feet, and the jetliner encountered a microburst wind shear—a strong downdraft and abrupt shift in the wind that caused the plane to lose 54 knots of airspeed in a few seconds. The plane then veered left and crashed into two huge airport water tanks. On board, 134 of 163 people were killed.
- June 23, 1985: Deemed the deadliest terror attack involving a plane at the time, the Air India Boeing 747 crashed off the coast of Ireland en route from Toronto to Sahar International in India, after a bomb placed in the cargo hold by Sikh extremists Babbar Khalsa exploded over the Atlantic. The fatalities were 329.
- August 19, 1980: This was not a case of a crash or a mid-air collision. But sadly, all 301 passengers on board the Lockheed L-1011 died on the runway at Riyadh due to smoke inhalation.
- May 25, 1979: The DC-10 left Chicago O’Hare afternoon of Memorial Day weekend. But its left engine detached from its wing and the plane fell off, rolling in the air and then crashing a mile from the runway. The plane burst into flames and smoke immediately. The Fatalities were 272.
- March 27, 1977: This deadly crash involved a collision of two flights ù KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736— which collided at the Tenerife North Airport (formerly Los Rodeos). Both were Boeing 747s. It was a foggy day, neither of the two aircraft were supposed to be at Los Rodeos. Both flights were diverted to the airport. The collision occurred when the KLM aircraft attempted to take off without clearance, while the Pan Am aircraft was still taxiing along the same runway, having missed its turn to leave. There were no survivors. The fatalities were 583.
- March 3, 1974: The plane was carrying 335 passengers and 11 crew. It crashed in the Ermenonville Forest north of Paris, after taking off from Orly Airport. The flight was bound for London Heathrow, en route from Istanbul. The fatalities were 346.
June 30, 1956: In the skies above the Grand Canyon, which had recently taken off from Los Angeles International Airport—a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 headed to Chicago and a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation on its way to Kansas City—collided. All 128 passengers and crew aboard both flights were killed.
