Accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft grouped by the year that the incident or accident occurred. This list is also available grouped: by airline, by location, alphabetically, by death toll.

See also: Accidents and incidents in aviation.

This list is not complete. For more exhaustive lists, see the Aircraft Crash Record Office or the Air Safety Network. Airlines seem to be remembered by their worst accidents, and in that sense this list presents a good overview, but it is far from being complete.

1950

• June 24 – Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 with 58 people on board disappears without a trace over Lake Michigan.
• August 31 – TWA Flight 903, a Lockheed Constellation 749A, crashed in the desert about 65 miles NNW of Cairo, Egypt, while returning due to an engine fire. All 55 on board were killed.

1951

• April 25 – Cubana de Aviacion Flight 493, a Douglas DC-4 en route from Miami, Florida to Havana, Cuba, collided in the air with a United States Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan (39939) at an altitude of 4000 feet off Key West. All 39 on board the DC-4 and all four on board the SNB-1 are killed.

• June 22 – Pan Am Flight 151, a Lockheed L-049 Constellation named the "Clipper Great Republic" en route from Accra, Ghana to Monrovia, Liberia crashed at 1050 feet into a hill near Sanoye, Liberia while on approach 54 miles from the airport. There were no survivors amongst the 31 passengers and nine crew members.

• July 21 – A Canadian Pacific Airlines Douglas C-54A-10-DC departed Vancouver, British Columbia for Anchorage, Alaska but disappeared en route without a trace. Eventually, all 37 on board would be declared legally dead.

• December 16 – A Miami Airlines Curtiss C-46F-1-CU departed Newark, New Jersey bound for Tampa, Florida but caught fire and crashed in Elizabeth, New Jersey while attempting to return to the airport. All 56 people on board died.

1952

• April 28 - Pan Am Flight 202, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, crashes in a remote area of Brazil on its way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to New York City via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The No. 2 propeller failed, causing damage to various control surfaces. All 50 on board are killed.

• May 26 – BOAC four-engined Handley Page Hermes IV G-ALDN with 10 passengers on board, crash-landed in the Sahara Desert, 1,300 miles off-course on a flight between Tripoli and Kano. All passengers and crew survived the initial crash landing, but the First Officer later died of injuries sustained in the crash.

1953

• May 2 – A De Havilland Comet crashed soon after take-off from Calcutta – first of a series of crashes that led to Comet 1 fleet being grounded and eventually scrapped. This may be the first known crash of a passenger jetliner.
• September 1, Air France Lockheed 749C Constellation flew into Mt Cemet in the French Alps killing all 42 people on board including renowned French classical violinist Jacques Thibaud.
• October 29, British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Flight 304, Douglas DC-6 VH-BPE named Resolution crashed into King’s Mountain at an altitude of 1,950 feet, 7-1/2 miles southeast of Half Moon Bay, on its approach to the San Francisco International Airport, killing all 11 passengers, including American pianist William Kapell, and the crew of eight.

1954

• January 10, BOAC Flight 781, de Havilland Comet (G-ALYP) flying from Rome to London on the last leg of a flight from Singapore, disintegrated in mid-flight, killing all 29 passengers and six crew. The accident was eventually discovered to have been caused by metal fatigue from repeated pressurization and depressurization of the fuselage.
• March 13, BOAC Lockheed Constellation, "Belfast", arrived at Singapore from Sydney, Australia, and crashed on landing at the Kallang Airport, killing 32 passengers and one crew.
• April 8, South African Airways Flight 201, de Havilland Comet G-ALYY flying from Rome to Cairo, bound for Johannesburg, disintegrated in mid-flight, killing all 14 passengers and seven crew. This accident, like the earlier BOAC Flight 781, was eventually discovered to have been caused by metal fatigue from repeated pressurization and depressurization of the fuselage.
• September 5, KLM Flight 633, KLM Lockheed Super Constellation "Triton" ditched after takeoff from Shannon Airport. 28 people were killed.

1955

• April 11 - Air India "Kashmir Princess", flight bombed. 16 people were killed and three survived.
• July 27 – El Al Constellation shot down over Bulgaria, 58 killed.
• October 6 – United Airlines Flight 409 crashes near Centennial, Wyoming, killing all 66 onboard.
• November 1 – United Airlines Flight 629 bombed by Jack Gilbert Graham. All 44 on board were killed.

1956

• April 2 - Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, a Boeing Stratocruiser, ditched into Puget Sound after takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The cowl flaps were incorrectly set for takeoff. Four passengers and one flight attendant died, likely of hypothermia while waiting for rescue.

• June 30 – United Airlines Flight 718, a DC-7 flying from Los Angeles to Chicago and TWA Flight 2, a Constellation flying from Los Angeles to Kansas City collided over the Grand Canyon. The 58 passengers and crew on the DC-7 and the 70 passengers and crew on the Constellation were all killed. The pilots were flying in uncontrolled airspace; the crash was attributed to the pilots not seeing each other.

• July 9 - a Trans-Canada Air Lines Vickers Viscount, CF-TGR, shed a propeller blade over Flat Rock, Michigan. The blade entered the passenger cabin, killing one. This was the first known incident in which a turbo-prop engine shed a propeller in passenger service.

• December 9 — Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810, a Canadair Northstar, crashes near Hope, British Columbia, Canada, killing all 62 people on board.

1957

• February 1 – Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashes during a snowstorm shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.

1958

• February 6 – British European Flight 609 crashes during take-off from Munich-Riem airport, killing 23, including eight Manchester United footballers.
• August 14 - KLM Flight 607-E en route from Brussels to New York crashes into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 99 passengers and crew on board, including six members of the Egyptian fencing team; the probable cause is undetermined but is thought to be an overspeeding propeller.

1959

• February 3 – American Airlines Flight 320 crashes into the East River, New York City, due to pilot error.
• October 30 - Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, DC-3 N55V, crashes on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Charlottesville, Virginia, killing the crew of three and 23 of 24 passengers. Sole survivor was seriously injured. Cause was a navigational error during an Instrument Landing System approach.
• November 16 - National Airlines Flight 967 crashes into the Gulf of Mexico while on a flight from Tampa to New Orleans; reportedly caused by a bomb planted on the aircraft by Dr Richard Spears.

1960

• January 6 – National Airlines Flight 2511 from New York to Miami, a propeller-driven DC-6B, explodes in mid-air and crashes near Bolivia, North Carolina. The accident was caused by a bomb allegedly planted by Julian A. Frank, a New York lawyer, who was heavily insured; all 34 people on board are killed.
• March 17 – A Northwest Airlines Lockheed Electra lost a wing due to propeller whirl mode and crashed in southern Indiana near Tell City. All 63 on board including the crew perished. The victims were impacted in a 30-foot deep crater, which became their final resting place. A monument with the names of the victims and the date of the tragedy marks the grave.
• October 4 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 crashed on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport. The aircraft had struck a flock of starlings seconds after lifting off, damaging three engines, clogging the Pitot tubes, and obstructing the pilots' view. The aircraft crashed into Winthrop Bay; 62 of 72 aboard died.
• December 16 – The 1960 New York air disaster: United Airlines Flight 826, a DC-8, and TWA Flight 266, a Super Constellation, collided over Staten Island in New York. All 134 on board the two planes and six people on the ground were killed.

1961

• January 3 - Aero DC-3 Flight 311 that was being flown by a drunken pilot stalled and crashed in the woods in the village of Koivulahti (Kvevlax in Swedish) near Vaasa, Finland. All 25 on board were killed. The accident remains the worst in Finnish aviation history.
• February 15 – Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707, crashes on approach in Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team. A runaway stabilizer is thought to have been the cause. The crash was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 707 in regular passenger service.
• September 17 - Northwest Airlines Flight 706, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashed on takeoff from Chicago, Illinois, killing 37. A maintenance error caused the ailerons to become detached from the control wheels.

1962

• March 1 – American Airlines Flight 1, a Boeing 707, crashed in Jamaica Bay, Queens, New York and 95 died.
• March 4 – Caledonian Flight 153, a Douglas DC-7C, crashed into a jungle swamp at Douala, Cameroon, 111 died.
• March 16 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, chartered by the US military, disappeared over the western Pacific. It was carrying 96 US soldiers en route to South Vietnam.
• May 22 – Continental Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 707, near Unionville, Missouri.
• June 3 – Air France Charter Flight Chateau de Sully a Boeing 707 at Orly Airport killing many of Atlanta Georgia's civil and cultural leaders.
• November 23 - United Airlines Flight 297, a Vickers Viscount 745D, crashes near Ellicott City, Maryland, USA after a bird strike, killing all 17 people on board.
• November 30 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 512 crashes due to pilot error on missed approach.

1963

• February 1 - Middle East Airlines Flight 265 - Vickers Viscount and Turkish Air Force C-47 CBK28 collide in Ankara, Turkey killing 87.
• August 21 - Soviet Aeroflot Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva river in Leningrad
• July 3 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 121, a Martin 404, crashes near Rochester, New York while attempting a takeoff killing seven of the 43 people on board.
• November 8 A Finnair DC-3 crashed near Mariehamn, Åland Islands, during poor visibility, due to a malfunctioning altimeter, killing 22 passengers and crew.
• November 29 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831, a Douglas DC-8, crashes shortly after takeoff from Montréal/Dorval Airport, killing all 118 people on board.
• December 8 – Pan Am Flight 214 struck by positive lightning

1964

• May 7 – Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 - after a passenger shot both the pilot and co-pilot before turning the gun on himself, crashed killing all 44 aboard.
• December 24 - Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashed near San Bruno, California after an unexplained course deviation.

1965

• February 8 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 forced to take evasive action on takeoff to avoid colliding with another commercial aircraft, lost control and crashed. All 84 persons on board are killed.
• March 31 – Iberia Airlines Convair CV-440-62, crashes into the sea on approach to Tangier killing 50 of 53 occupants; the crash is blamed on a stall due to 'undetermined reasons'.

1966

• August 6 – Braniff Flight 250 flies into an active squall line and the plane breaks apart in midair. Crashes near Falls City, Nebraska. All 42 on board killed.

1967

• March 9 – TWA Flight 553 collides with a Beechcraft Baron near Dayton, Ohio killing all 26 on both planes.
• June 4 – Stockport Air Disaster, Stockport, UK. A British Midland Canadair C4 Argonaut carrying passengers returning from Palma de Mallorca was on the approach to Ringway Airport when an engine lost power due to a design failure in the aircraft's fuel system. 72 of 84 on board died.
• June 23 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, a BAC One-Eleven, crashes in Blossburg, Pennsylvania killing all 34 people on board.
• July 19 - Piedmont Airlines Flight 22, a Boeing 727 from Asheville, North Carolina to Roanoke, Virginia crashes shortly after departure, after colliding in midair with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on instrument approach to the same airport, killing all 82 passengers and crew on both aircraft.

1968

• March 24 – Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashes off the Irish coast.
• May 3 - Braniff Flight 352, a Lockheed L-188A Electra enroute from Houston, Texas to Dallas, crashes in a thunderstorm, killing its 5 crew and 80 passengers.
• July 1 – Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253 is forced to land in the Soviet Union. On board are over 200 American troops bound for Vietnam.
• October 25 - Northeast Airlines Flight 946 crashes near Etna, New Hampshire, killing 32 passengers and crew.

1969

• February 18 – Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708, a Douglas DC-3, crashes near Lone Pine, California, killing all 35 people on board.
• April – In the Seaboard World Airlines landing at Marble Mountain incident a Douglas DC-8 Super 63 lands at a helicopter airstrip in Vietnam
• September 9 – Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 DC-9 (N988VJ) collided in flight at 3550 feet with a Piper PA-28 and crashed near Fairland, Indiana killing all 83 occupants aboard the two aircraft.
• November 19 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 crashes near Glens Falls, New York killing all 14 people on board.

1970

• March 31 – Japan Airlines Flight 351 Boeing 727 Domestic JAL flight hijacked to North Korea by Red Army Faction
• February 15 – Dominicana DC-9 air disaster Contaminated fuel causes dual engine failure shortly after takeoff.
• February 21 – Swissair Flight 330 Convair CV-990 Bomb in cargo hold detonates 9 minutes after takeoff.
• May 2 - Overseas National Airways DC-9, operated by Air ALM as Flight 980, ditched nearby the Island of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, killing 23 including 2 infants and 1 crewmember; 40 including 4 crewmembers survived.
• July 3 – Dan-Air Comet jet crashed into the Montseny mountains near Barcelona, Spain, killing 112
• July 5 – Air Canada Flight 621 DC-8 exploded following a failed landing at Toronto Int'l Airport (now Pearson), with 109 fatalities.
• August 9 - LANSA Cuzco Crash - LANSA Lockheed Electra OB-R-939 crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Cuzco, Peru, killing 99 people on the plane and 2 on the ground; among the dead were 49 American high school exchange students
• September 6 – Dawson's Field hijackings of El Al 219, Pan Am 93, SwissAir 100, TWA 741, and (on September 9) BOAC 775. This event triggered a civil war in Jordan.
• October 2: A chartered Martin 4-0-4 twin-prop airliner, N464M, crashes just over ten miles west of Silver Plume, Colorado, killing 30 of those on board including the coach and 13 members of the Wichita State football team, en route to play Utah State. Cause was controlled flight into terrain due to poor flight planning.
• November 14 – Southern Airways Flight 932, a chartered DC-9-31, N97S, crashed on approach at Tri-State/Milton Ferguson Airport in Huntington, West Virginia, en route from Kinston, North Carolina, killing all 75 on board, including the entire coaching staff and 37 members of the Marshall University football team. (See also We Are Marshall, a 2006 film about the aftermath of the crash.)

1971

• June 6 - Hughes Airwest Flight 706, a McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-31 commercial flight was flying from Los Angeles, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Following a mid-air collision with a United States Marine Corps F-4B Phantom II jet fighter, the flight crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains near Duarte, California, killing all 49 people aboard. The pilot of the Phantom also died. The radar intercept officer successfully bailed out.
• July 30 - An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727-281 crashed after colliding with a Japan Air Force F86 fighter jet in flight. 163 killed.
• November 24 – A man using the name Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 out of Portland, Oregon. In exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes he released the passengers. The crew took off and he parachuted from the plane. He was never found although a roll of bills from his ransom was found in a riverbed many years later.
• December 24 – LANSA Flight 508, a Lockheed Electra OB-R-941 enroute from Lima to Pucallpa, Peru, breaks apart in mid-air after being set aflame by lightning. It crashes in the Amazonian rainforest and 91 people die; the sole survivor is Juliane Koepcke, a 17-year old girl who survives a fall from 2 miles and a 10-day walk through the jungle before being found by hunters. Her mother, famous ornithologist Maria Koepcke, dies; director Werner Herzog had narrowly missed being on the same flight.

1972

• January 26 – JAT Yugoslav Flight 364 DC-9 Bomb exploded while enroute from Copenhagen to Zagreb. One survivor now entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for surviving the highest fall without a parachute - over 10,000 meters.
• March 3 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, a Fairchild FH227B twin-engine turboprop, crashes near Albany, New York while descending to land, killing 16 people on board and 1 on the ground.
• June 12 - American Airlines Flight 96, a DC-10, suffered explosive decompression when one of its cargo doors failed in flight. The crew managed an emergency landing at Detroit, Michigan, and everyone on board evacuated safely.
• June 15 - Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z Convair CV-880 Suitcase bomb in cabin exploded at 29,000 feet over Vietnam.
• June 18 – British European Airways Flight 548 (Staines air disaster)
• June 24 – Prinair Flight 191
• October 13 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 (The Andes flight disaster), see also Alive: The Miracle of the Andes.
• December 23 – Braathens Flight 239
• December 29 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Lockheed L-1011 Crash in the Florida Everglades. Crew distraction with faulty gear down light resulting in controlled flight into terrain. First crash of a wide-body aircraft. Salvaged aircraft parts resulted in reports of paranormal activity on craft with salvaged parts installed.

1973

• February 21 – Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114, off course Boeing 727 shot down by Israeli jets in the Sinai War Zone.
• July 11 – Varig Flight 820 Boeing 707 on board fire and crash landing near Paris, France.
• September 11 - Yugoslav Airlines Sud SE-210 Caravelle struck a mountain at 6300 while descending from 9000 to 6000 feet near in IMC conditions Podgorica. All 41 on board died.
• December 17 – Pan Am Flight 110 Boeing 707 attempted hijacking while at gate in Rome, Italy. Aircraft severely damaged at gate and never departed.

1974

• March 3 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 DC-10 crashes in the Ermenonville forest near Senlis, France after the rear underfloor cargo door was incorrectly latched; 346 on board die.
• September 8 – TWA Flight 841 is destroyed by a bomb in the cargo hold; 88 on board are killed.
• September 15 – Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked and crashes; 75 on board die.
• November 20 – Lufthansa Flight 540 crashes shortly after takeoff, the first ever crash involving a Boeing 747; 59 of 157 on board are killed.
• December 1 - TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727 inbound to Dulles International Airport crashes into Mount Weather in Bluemont, Virginia.
• December 4 – A chartered Martinair DC-8 Series 55F hits the Seven Virgins mountain range in Maskeliya, Sri Lanka; 191 are killed.
• September 11 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 DC-9 crashes on approach to the Charlotte, North Carolina airport; 72 people are killed.