List of aircraft structural failures

Main article: List of structural failures and collapses

The List of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by structural failure summarizes notable accidents and incidents such as the 1933 United Airlines Chesterton Crash due to a bombing and a 1964 B-52 test that landed after the vertical stabilizer broke off. Loss of structural integrity during flight can be caused by: 1) faulty design, 2) faulty maintenance, 3) pilot error, 4) weather conditions, 5) sabotage (e.g., an airliner bombing by a skyjacker).

See also: List of airliner shootdown incidents
This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
List of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by structural failure
Date Accident/incident Location Aircraft Cause Fatalities Notes
1913-8-7 death of S F Cody UK Cody Floatplane "inherent structural weakness" 2 broke up
1921-08-23 1921 Humber crash UK: Hull R28 (ZR-2) weather combined with weakened hull 44 deformation followed by fire & explosion
1925-9-3 Caldwell, Ohio, USA USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) weather 14 torn apart by turbulence
1933-10-10 United Airlines Chesterton Crash USA: Indiana Boeing 247 sabotage 7 explosion severed tail section
1952-08-30 1952 F-89 airshow crash USA: Detroit F-89 Scorpion design 2 wing broke off during flypast[1]
1952-09-06 1952 Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash UK: Farnborough, Hampshire de Havilland DH.110 design fault 31 leading edge aeroelastic flutter, aircraft breakup and crash into crowd
1954-01-10 BOAC Flight 781 Mediterranean Sea de Havilland Comet faulty design 35 near Elba: roof fatigue fracture, decompression
1954-04-08 South African Airways Flight 201 Mediterranean Sea de Havilland Comet faulty design 21 near Naples: decompression due to fatigue
1958-09-20 1958 Vulcan crash at RAF Syerston UK: Nottinghamshire Avro Vulcan pilot error 7 overspeed during air show flypast, wing broke off
1959-10-01 1959 Lightning crash UK: Irish Sea Lightning T.4 (first aircraft) Fin collapse during high speed tests 0 first supersonic ejection by a UK pilot (M 1.7)[2] Fin enlarged
1963-01-24 1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash USA: Maine B-52 Stratofortress faulty design 7 loss of vertical stabilizer
1963-01-30 1963 B-52 crash in New Mexico USA: New Mexico B-52 Stratofortress faulty design 2 near Mora:[3] loss of vertical stabilizer[4]
1964-01-04 1964 B-57 crash USA: Dayton NRB-57 Canberra both wings failed
1964-01-10 B-52 flight test of vertical stabilizer USA: New Mexico B-52 Stratofortress faulty design 0 loss of vertical stabilizer, landed
1964-01-13 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash USA: Maryland B-52 Stratofortress faulty design 3 loss of vertical stabilizer
1964-01-04 1964 USAF Thunderbird crash USA: California F-105 Thunderchief faulty design 1 spine failure during 6G tactical pitch up for air show
1966-03-05 BOAC Flight 911 Japan: Mount Fuji Boeing 707-436 weather 124 severe clear-air turbulence, gust load over design limit
1967-11-15 X-15 Flight 3-65-97 USA: Edwards AFB North American X-15 1 loss of control followed by airframe failure
1971-03-05 BEA Flight 706 Belgium Vickers Vanguard maintenance: corrosion due to clogged drainage holes 63 near Aarsele:rear pressure bulkhead failure, tailplane destruction
1972-06-12 American Airlines Flight 96 USA: Detroit MD DC-10 faulty design 0 cargo door mechanism allowed it to burst open, landed
1974-03-03 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 France: Picardy MD DC-10 faulty design 346 cargo door burst open: cabin floor collapse, severed cables
1979-05-25 American Airlines Flight 191 USA: Chicago MD DC-10 maintenance 273 engine broke off, slats retracted: stall and crash
1985-06-23 Air India Flight 182 Atlantic Ocean off County Cork Boeing 747 sabotage 329 terrorist bomb in forward cargo hold
1985-08-12 Japan Airlines Flight 123 Japan: Mount Osutaka Boeing 747SR maintenance 520 faulty repair: rear bulkhead blew out, blowing off tail fin
1988-04-28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 USA: Hawaii Boeing 737 improper adhesive bonding of fuselage lap joints 1 corrosion and fatigue: 18 ft of roof blew off
1988-12-21 Pan Am Flight 103 UK: Lockerbie Boeing 747 sabotage 270 terrorist bomb in the forward luggage hold
1989-02-24 United Airlines Flight 811 USA: Hawaii Boeing 747 dirt on microswitch/short circuit 9 cargo door burst open (electrical fault), ripping large hole
1992-10-04 El Al Flight 1862 Bijlmermeer Boeing 747 Metal Fatigue 4 on board, 39 on ground engine broke off, ripped of slats; stall and crash on attempted landing
2001-11-12 American Airlines Flight 587 USA: New York Airbus A300 pilot error 265 overuse of rudder leading to loss of vertical stabilizer
2002-04-30 2002 Eglin F-15 crash USA: Gulf of Mexico F-15 Eagle 1 near Eglin AFB: leading edge failed during test dive
2002-05-25 China Airlines Flight 611 Taiwan: Taiwan Strait near Penghu Islands Boeing 747 maintenance 225 faulty repair: tail section broke off, causing aircraft to disintegrate
2003-02-01 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster USA: Texas Space Shuttle faulty design 7 damaged TPS during launch, breakup during reentry
2008-05-30 2008 general aviation crash Spain Pilatus PC-6 2 wing failure

Notes

  1. ^ "WORK IN PROGRESS - More to add". Ejection-history.org.uk. http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/F-89/F-89.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-31. 
  2. ^ "2005". Ejection-history.org.uk. http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/project/year_pages/1959.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-31. 
  3. ^ "B-52_Stratofortress". Ejection-history.org.uk. http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-31. 
  4. ^ "Look mom, I lost my tail! We gotta bring this Buff in anyway". TalkingProud.us. http://www.talkingproud.us/HistoryB52NoTail.html. Retrieved 2009-11-16. 

References