When the plane crash occurred. The worst plane crashes in the world: review, history and interesting facts. Horrible plane crashes - mid-air collisions

Ten years ago, a plane crash occurred in the skies over Germany, as a result of which 52 children and 19 adults died - passengers and crew of a Tu-154 and a Boeing 757 cargo plane that collided as a result of an error by Swiss air traffic controllers.

On the night of July 1–2, 2002, in Germany, in the area of ​​Lake Constance, a Russian passenger airliner Tu‑154 of the company " Bashkir Airlines", who performed chartered flight from Moscow to Barcelona (Spain), and a Boeing-757 cargo plane of the international air transportation company DHL, flying from Bergamo (Italy) to Brussels (Belgium). On board the Tu-154 there were 12 crew members and 57 passengers - 52 children and five adults. Most of the children were sent on vacation to Spain as a reward for excellent studies by the UNESCO Committee of Bashkiria. By a tragic accident, Svetlana Kaloyeva was on the plane with 10-year-old Kostya and 4-year-old Diana, who was flying to her husband, Vitaly Kaloyev, in Spain, where he worked under a contract. The Boeing cargo plane was flown by two pilots.

The collision caused the Tu-154 to fall apart in the air into several pieces that fell in the surrounding area. German city Uberlingen.

As a result of the plane crash, 52 children and 19 adults were killed.

The tragedy occurred a few minutes after German air traffic controllers transmitted the escort Russian plane Swiss colleagues from the SkyGuide air control center operating at one of the largest European airports, Zurich-Kloten (Switzerland).

That night, at the Skyguide air traffic control center, there was one controller on duty instead of the required two - Peter Nielsen. He gave the Tu-154 crew a command to descend when the approaching aircraft could no longer occupy safe levels.

Basic equipment telephone communication and automatic notification of center personnel about dangerous approach of aircraft was disabled. The main and backup telephone lines did not work. A dispatcher from the German city of Karlsruhe, who noticed the dangerous approach of the planes, tried to call 11 times - and was unsuccessful.

After the plane crash, Nielsen was suspended from work, and Swiss investigative authorities conducted a criminal investigation into the Skyguide company and its management.

On February 24, 2004, Peter Nielsen in the Zurich suburb of Kloten by Russian citizen Vitaly Kaloev, who lost his entire family - his wife, daughter and son - in a plane crash over Lake Constance. On this day, Kaloev came to the dispatcher’s house to show him photographs of his dead wife and children, but Nilsen pushed him away, and the photographs fell to the ground, which led to the grief-stricken man losing control of himself.

In October 2005, Kaloev was found guilty of murder and. In November 2007, he was released early and returned to his homeland, North Ossetia. In 2008, Vitaly Kaloev construction and architecture of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.

Immediately after the crash, the Swiss company Skyguide placed all the blame on the Russian pilots, who, in its opinion, did not understand the air traffic controller's instructions well in English.

In May 2004, the Federal Investigation Office aviation accidents Germany published a conclusion following an investigation into the disaster.

Experts admitted that the collision of a passenger airliner Tu-154 of Bashkir Airlines with a cargo Boeing from Skyguide.

The control center in Zurich did not notice in time the danger of two aircraft converging on the same flight level. The crew of the Russian Tu-154 followed the dispatcher's command to descend, despite the fact that the on-board TICAS flight safety system required an urgent climb to altitude.

Only after the publication of the report did the Skyguide company admit its mistakes and, two years after the disaster, its director Alain Rossier apologized to the families of the victims. On May 19, 2004, Swiss President Joseph Deiss sent an official letter of apology to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the plane crash over Lake Constance.

In December 2006, Skyguide director Alain Rossier.

In September 2007, the district court of the Swiss city of Bülach found four employees of the Skyguide air traffic control service guilty of criminal negligence leading to a plane crash over Lake Constance. In total, eight employees of the Swiss company appeared in court. The accused, shifting it to the murdered dispatcher Peter Nielsen.

Four Skyguide managers accused of manslaughter. Three of them were sentenced to suspended imprisonment, one to a fine. Four other defendants were acquitted.

The Skyguide company offered the families of the victims of the disaster some compensation, provided that their claim was not considered in one of the US courts. Some families did not agree with this proposal, and at a meeting of the committee of parents of dead children in June 2004 in Ufa, in which 29 people took part, there was legal action, including the payment of compensation.

On July 1, 2004, it became known that claims were filed in the courts of the United States and Spain against the Swiss air traffic control service Skyguide, who lost relatives in a plane crash over Lake Constance.

In February 2010, the Federal Administrative Court of Switzerland opened to the relatives of the victims of the plane crash. memorial Complex, dedicated to the victims of the disaster.

In 2004, at the scene of the tragedy in the German city of Uberlingen, in a plane crash, it was a torn necklace, the pearls of which scattered along the trajectory of the wreckage of two planes.

In 2006, in Zurich, in front of the Skyguide building, there was a spiral with 72 candles in memory of the 71 victims of the plane crash and the killed air traffic controller.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Many people prefer to get to this or that region using an airliner, because traveling by air is much more convenient and faster than traveling by train. According to statistics every 2-3 seconds a plane lands and takes off around the world. Should you give in to fear when you board an airplane? How often do planes crash? Such questions always plague passengers, especially those who rarely fly on an aircraft.

Everyone fears for their life, so it is not surprising why such questions arise. If you watch the news, which constantly talks about some kind of disaster, often related to air travel, then the desire to go somewhere immediately disappears. Of course, there is always danger. Even while staying at home, there is a risk of death, for example, from a gas leak. Thus, to fly or not to fly on aircraft is a very controversial issue and here everyone decides for himself what is best for him to do. In order to understand how many airliners crash, let's look at the statistics.

How many planes crash per year is a question that interests many people, even those who are not planning to fly. The following data can be provided:

  1. Statistics show that about 10,000 airliners take off into the sky every day.
  2. Approximately 4.5 billion people fly on airplanes – that’s more than half the world’s population.
  3. Of these, about 1,000 people die in plane crashes.
  4. For 100 years passenger aviation 150,000 people died.

This figure is several times less than the number of victims in road accidents per month. So, what is the safest way to travel? The answer is obvious. People die in road accidents much more often, so driving in cars is much more dangerous for life than flying in airplanes.

According to statistics, since 2009 there have been 107 plane crashes, killing 3,245 passengers.

How often do planes crash in Russia?

Unfortunately, our country occupies a leading position in the ranking of countries that have suffered greatest number aircraft accidents. This is due to the fact that Russia is the largest power in the world. If we take statistics from 2009, then the largest number of accidents involving airliners occurred in the Russian Federation - 38. 378 people died in them. Next comes America, where 11 incidents have occurred over the past 6 years. If we take into account the data for the entire existence of civil aviation, then the United States of America occupies first place.

  • Russia (38 accidents);
  • USA (11 for this period);
  • Ukraine (7 in 6 years);
  • Congo (6 over the same period);
  • Germany (4 disasters in 2010).

Which planes crash most often?

If we talk about which planes crash most often, here we need to give a rating of the most dangerous airliners. So the list is:

  1. Boeing 737. This passenger plane was recognized as the most dangerous, as several plane crashes occurred on it.
  2. IL-76. A terrible disaster happened on this aircraft 13 years ago and claimed many lives.
  3. Tu-154. There were also a lot of accidents on it.
  4. Airbus A310. The last disaster was this year, which claimed more than 150 lives and only one girl managed to survive.
  5. McDonnell-Douglas DC-9. It has not been produced for many years, but ready-made aircraft fly quite often. During the entire period of existence on board of this aircraft only 44 people died.

Compared to the years of the last 20th century, the number of plane crashes, alas, has increased. Planes crash for various reasons. This could be a malfunction of the airliner itself, weather conditions or human error. It is difficult to say unequivocally whether planes crash often. Compared to a road accident, it is much safer to travel on an aircraft. But in general, you shouldn’t be afraid of airplanes, because on the ground the risk of dying is much greater than in the air.

Undoubtedly, man's conquest of airspace can be considered one of the greatest events. But to great regret, it was during this process that many brave testers died, who needed to test the operation of the first aircraft in the airspace.

Currently, air Transport is the most convenient, fast and comfortable. After all, it is by plane that you can quickly cover a huge distance. But air transport, which seems so large and reliable both on the surface of the earth and in the skies, can still face numerous problems that lead to accidents. We will look at what were the worst plane crashes in the world in this article, and it would be useful to give a rating. After all, accidents are caused by a variety of factors. We'll consider major plane crashes in the form of TOP 10.

The number of victims is 290. In early July 1988, an airbus belonging to the Iranian state was shot down by a United States cruiser. The tragedy occurred in the Persian Gulf region. According to statistics, there were 290 dead, including 65 minors. According to the authorities of the United States of America, the crew of the sea vessel mistook the airbus for a military fighter, so they opened fire “to kill.”

Location No. 9: 1980, disaster near Riyadh

In the summer of 1980, a terrible tragedy occurred in the Riyadh area. Neither the plane's passengers nor the crew members could survive the plane crash. In total, she took the lives of 301 people. These people had a chance to be saved, but the Riyadh airport service did not show skill and resourcefulness, which did not allow them to open in a timely manner. emergency exit from air transport. The doors were open, but, unfortunately, it was too late, since more than 20 minutes had passed after landing, and this provoked an immediate ignition of the cabin. The fire did not allow anyone to leave the air transport, so all the people died a terrible death. Why the door did not open for so long was never found out.

While in the sky on board this aircraft, a special device notified the start of a fire in the compartment carrying passenger cargo. The captain of the plane decided to turn around the air transport and land at the airport near the city of Riyadh, since the team, who did not speak a foreign language, could not independently understand the existing firefighting instructions.

Place No. 8: 1996, An-32B air transport crash

The number of victims is 298. Russian air transport was supposed to transport cargo; on board there were crew members and the person responsible for transporting the goods, a citizen of Zaire. The takeoff was supposed to take place from the capital of the Congo, but during it the air transport could not get off the ground. The runway had no barriers, so the plane ended up in a market located near the runway. The damage led to a fire, followed by an explosion that killed 297 people, including everyone on board. The cause of the crash was overloading of goods for transportation.

Location #7: July 2014, Boeing 777 crash

The number of victims is 298. In the summer of 2014, a Boeing 777, owned by a Malaysian airline, flew from Amsterdam and was supposed to land in Kuala Lumpur. A downed plane was found near Donetsk, Ukraine, where there was confrontation. Neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian side took the blame for this crime.

Airplane with burning engine

Place No. 6: summer 1980, Boeing 747 plane crash

The number of victims is 329. The largest plane crash in the world over water occurred in the summer of 1980. Unfortunately, no one was able to escape. Both passengers and crew were victims of the crash. Tragedy befell a Boeing 747 that belonged to an Indian airline over the waters Atlantic Ocean which are considered neutral. The airliner was flying from Montreal to Bombay when, unexpectedly for everyone on board, there was a terrifying explosion. Everything happened so quickly that the team did not even have time to send a distress signal to Earth. As a result of the explosion, air vehicle was destroyed in the sky. After the flight recorder was found, experts were able to determine that the accident was organized by terrorists. Sikh extremists claimed responsibility for the attack.

Location #5: March 1974, DC-10 crash

The number of victims is 346. In the spring of 1974, a Turkish airliner taking off from Paris airport crashed after 6 minutes of flight. The air transport was discovered in the Ermenonville forest, but no survivors could be found. The cause of the plane crash was a broken lock on the door leading to the cargo compartment. During the climb, the faulty lock could not withstand the overload, during which the door opened wide open. As a result, decompression occurred, which, under the influence of the blast wave, damaged the system responsible for controlling air transport. The airliner, having lost control, entered a so-called “dive”; the plane’s fall lasted 1.5 minutes until the transport reached the surface of the earth. Unfortunately, after this tragedy, the largest plane crashes were replenished with another tragedy.

Place No. 4: November 1996, the crash of two airliners - a Boeing 747 and an Il-76

The number of victims is 349. Air transport crashes for many reasons:

  • due to technical problems;
  • due to terrorist attacks;
  • in unforeseen situations;
  • due to the fault of the crew.

It was the irresponsibility of people that led to another terrible tragedy, which occurred in 1996, in the fall. In the area of ​​the city of Charkhi Dadri, an Il-76 and a Boeing 747 plane crashed, the pilots of which were unable to control the airliners in the sky due to a lack of understanding of a foreign language by the pilot flying the Il-76. A miscommunication caused the plane to descend to an unacceptable level, which led to the inevitable collision. This is the world's worst air disaster due to human error, with 349 people killed in the crash. Survivors, 4 people, were found at the scene of the disaster, but, unfortunately, they were not provided with timely assistance, so they died before reaching the nearest hospital.

Place number 3: August 1985, tragedy on board the Boeing 747 airliner

In the summer of 1985, a tragic fate befell a plane flying on the Tokyo-Osaka route. The air transport had been in the sky for only 12 minutes when the hydraulic system began to work intermittently, after the team heard a soft bang. For more than half an hour, the air transport crew tried to turn the airliner around and land at the nearest airport. To do this, the team tried to use all the thrust generated by the engine, since the steering system completely refused to work. But despite the enormous efforts of the entire crew, the airliner could not be delivered to the airport; the ship crashed, crashing into a mountain called Otsutaka. The crash occurred at an altitude of 1.7 kilometers. It took rescue teams more than 12 hours to arrive at the scene of the tragedy, but despite this long time they managed to find 4 surviving passengers, among whom were two children. The death toll in this accident is 520 people.

Airliner crash site

Place No. 2: March 1977, crash of two Boeing 747s

In the spring, in 1977, another terrible tragedy occurred that took the lives of 583 people. It happened due to the human factor, which led to the collision of two Boeing 747s. The planes collided with each other while taking off near the airport located in the city of Los Rodeos, due to an incorrect command voiced by the dispatcher of one of the airlines. This tragedy has forced the global aviation industry to take a very careful look at its previously used safety measures.

Place number 1: autumn 2001, terrorist attack on board an airplane

The worst plane crash in the world was caused by a terrorist organization that called itself Al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. On a terrible September day, terrorists hijacked 4 air transports at once, with only civilians and crew on board. 2 airliners were redirected by terrorists to world-famous American towers in order to ram them. The third plane was forced to ram the Pentagon building. The terrorist organization redirected the fourth air transport to Pennsylvania. It was in this state that the collapse of the last one took place. civil aircraft. These major plane crashes took the lives of 2,977 people in total and became victims of the disasters.

The history of air travel goes back hundreds of years. major disasters. Such accidents, although rare, are usually fatal. The worst plane crash to date claimed the lives of almost six hundred people.

The most famous plane crashes

As you know, even a minor mistake made when flying an airliner can lead to its crash. It is the human factor that often becomes the cause of most disasters. Today, large-capacity aircraft take to the skies, and because of this, disasters are becoming more and more widespread. Here are some of the most famous major plane crashes.


Japan Airlines Flight No. 123

Five hundred and twenty people were killed in the 1985 crash of a Boeing 747 owned by Japan Airlines. He was supposed to fly from Tokyo to Osaka. After twelve minutes of flight, technical problems made themselves felt.


After the Boeing's fin came off, the crew continued to fly the plane for thirty-two minutes, trying to stabilize the condition of the airliner. However, it went out of control and crashed into mountain range. It is known that four passengers managed to survive.

Disaster over India (Charkhi Dadri)

Three hundred and forty-nine victims - this is the result of a mid-air collision between a Boeing 747-100B and an Il-76 aircraft. The disaster occurred just sixty kilometers from Delhi. An Il-76 belonging to Kazakh Airlines descended from fifteen to fourteen thousand feet without receiving permission. As a result, he rammed the stabilizer and left wing of the Boeing.


No one survived this terrible accident. The Boeing disintegrated in the air after the collision, the IL remained “intact”, but lost control.

Plane crash in Ermenonville

In France, the largest plane crash is considered to have occurred in 1974. We are talking about Turkish Airlines flight 981. The plane was supposed to fly from Istanbul to Paris and then fly to London. After takeoff from the airport in Paris, there was a sharp decompression of the cabin. This happened due to a poorly fixed cargo hatch, which, unable to withstand the load, opened. The control systems were damaged.


Just seventy-two seconds after the incident, the plane crashed. Three hundred and forty-six people were killed in the Ermenonville disaster.

L-1011 disaster

The Saudi plane, which stopped in Riyadh, was heading to its destination - Jeddah. Seven minutes into the flight, a fire started in the cargo compartment. The team decided to return to Riyadh.


The airliner managed to land, but for unknown reasons did not turn off the engines, but continued to move, stopping much further than the firefighters who were waiting for it. They did not dare to approach the board. Twenty-three minutes later the plane was completely engulfed in flames. Everyone inside, three hundred and one people, burned or died from suffocation.

Flight IR655

In the summer of 1988 over Persian Gulf An Airbus A300 was shot down in Iranian airspace. He was flying from Tehran to Dubai. The American military cruiser Vincennes incorrectly identified it, which is why it was shot down using surface-to-air missiles.


America never admitted its guilt, and no apologies were made to the families of the two hundred and ninety victims. However, the US authorities paid compensation in the amount of almost sixty-two million dollars.

American Airlines Flight 191

In the history of American air travel, the largest in terms of the number of victims and the most famous is the disaster that occurred in 1979. The plane was flying from Chicago to Los Angeles. After takeoff, one of the engines failed, which was a consequence of poor maintenance of the airliner. As a result, the engine came off, damaging the wing - the airliner crashed next to the runway. Two hundred and seventy-three people died.


Plane crash near Donetsk

On July 17, 2014, the worst plane crash of a Malaysian Boeing 777 occurred near Donetsk. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to the city of Kuala Lumpur.


Its crash occurred over Donetsk. Almost three hundred people died. As you know, the Boeing fell into a zone of active military operations and was shot down.

The results of the investigation are due to be made public in 2018.

A321 crash over the Sinai Peninsula

On October 31, 2015, the Airbus A321-231 airliner, performing a charter flight on the Sharm el-Sheikh-St. Petersburg route, disappeared from radar 23 minutes after takeoff. The wreckage of the plane was found near the town of Nekhel. The tragedy claimed the lives of 224 people - 7 crew members, 192 adult passengers and 25 children were killed.


Among those returning from vacation was a little ten-month-old girl, Darina Gromova. Her photo at Pulkovo airport, which her mother posted on a social network with the caption " Main passenger", became a symbol of the plane crash and was replicated by many media. The A321 crash became the largest mass death of Russian citizens in the entire history of world aviation.

The worst plane crash to date The most terrible, unexpected and even ridiculous plane crash is considered to be the one that occurred in 1977. It claimed the lives of nearly six hundred people.

At the Tenerife airport in 1977, two large airliners collided during takeoff. We are talking about Boeing 747, owned by Dutch and American airlines. They ended up in Tenerife by chance. Airplanes were redirected there due to the terrorist attack that took place in Gran Canaria the day before.


The Boeings were moving along the taxiway towards each other and did not have time to avoid the collision. Five hundred and eighty-three people died in that disaster. Only sixty-one passengers managed to survive.

According to the site, the fastest aircraft in the world were taken out of service precisely because emergency situations often occurred with them.
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