As of February 2025, a total of 64 Boeing 747 aircraft, or just above 4% of the total number of 747s built, first flown commercially in 1970, have been involved in accidents and incidents resulting in a hull loss, meaning that the aircraft was either destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair.[1] Of the 64 Boeing 747 aircraft losses, 32 resulted in no loss of life; in one, a hostage was murdered; and in one, a terrorist died.[1]
Some of the aircraft that were declared damaged beyond economical repair were older 747s that sustained relatively minor damage. If these planes had been newer, repairing them might have been economically viable. This is becoming less common with the 747's increasing obsolescence as a passenger aircraft. [2][3]
Pan Am Flight 93 was the first hull loss of a Boeing 747 (747-121), the result of terrorism after it was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On September 6, 1970, a new Pan Am aircraft flying from Amsterdam to New York City was hijacked and flown first to Beirut, then to Cairo. Shortly after the occupants were evacuated from the aircraft after arriving at Cairo, it was blown up.[4]
Japan Airlines Flight 404, the second 747 hull loss was very similar to the first. The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, on July 20, 1973, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine working with the Japanese Red Army. It flew to Dubai, then Damascus, before ending its journey at Benghazi. The occupants were released and the aircraft was blown up. One of the hijackers died.[5]
Lufthansa Flight 540 was the first fatal crash of a 747. On November 20, 1974, it stalled and crashed moments after taking off from Nairobi, with 59 deaths and 98 survivors. The cause was an error by the flight engineer in combination with a lack of a sufficient warning system.[6]
Air France Flight 193, a Boeing 747-128 (N28888) operating the sector between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Tel Aviv to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, was destroyed by fire, June 12, 1975, on the ground at Bombay’s (now Mumbai’s) Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted take-off, with no fatalities.[6]
Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight ULF48, a 747 freighter, crashed near Madrid on May 9, 1976, due to the structural failure of its left wing in flight, killing the 17 people on board. The accident investigation determined that a lightning strike caused an explosion in a fuel tank in the wing, leading to flutter and the separation of the wing.[7][8]The wreckage of KLM Flight 4805
On March 27, 1977, the deadliest aviation accident in history occurred when KLM Flight 4805 collided on the runway with Pan Am 1736 in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities. Both aircraft were 747s. The 61 survivors were all from the Pan Am 747. The Pan Am aircraft was the first 747 to enter commercial service.[9]
Air India Flight 855 crashed into the sea off the coast of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on New Year's Day, 1978. All 213 passengers and crew died. The cause was lack of situational awareness on the captain's part after executing a banked turn.[6]
1980s
On November 19, 1980, Korean Air Lines Flight 015, operating a flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, with a refueling stop at Anchorage, Alaska, was damaged beyond repair at landing. Of the 226 occupants, 15 passengers and crew died.[6]
On August 4, 1983, Pan Am Flight 73, a 747-100, struck a VASI light installation and its concrete base landing at Karachi International Airport, causing the nose gear to collapse backwards and to the left, resulting in total destruction of the VASI light installation and damage to the forward cargo hold, floor of the first class section, and the stairway leading to the upper deck.[10] (Not to be confused with a later hijacking in 1986 of a Pan Am Flight 73.)
On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a 747-200B from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, was shot down by the Soviet Air Force just west of Sakhalin Island while flying through prohibited airspace. All 269 passengers and crew were killed.[11]
On March 16, 1985, a UTA Boeing 747-300 (registration F-GDUA) was destroyed on the ground at Paris CDG when a fire was accidentally started while the aircraft's cabin was being cleaned.[12]
On June 23, 1985, a bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182, a 747-200B en route from Montreal to New Delhi, causing the aircraft to explode by Sikh extremists and crash off the southwest coast of Ireland, killing all 329 on board. Until the September 11 attacks of 2001, the Air India bombing was the single deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft. It remains the "worst mass murder in Canadian history."[13]
On August 12, 1985, Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed when the rear pressure bulkhead of a 747SR flying from Tokyo to Osaka failed at cruising altitude, severing the aircraft's vertical stabilizer. The pilots kept it in the air for 32 minutes, but it eventually struck Mount Takamagahara and crashed. Of the 524 people on board, only four passengers survived, making it the deadliest-ever single-aircraft accident. The accident was caused by Boeing improperly repairing the tail strike suffered by the same aircraft seven years earlier.[14]
On December 2, 1985, Air France Flight 091 overshot the runway during a landing at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, Brazil. No fatalities occurred, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[15]
On November 28, 1987, South African Airways Flight 295, a 747-200BSCD "Combi" en route from Taipei to Johannesburg, crashed into the ocean off Mauritius after a fire broke out in the rear cargo hold, damaging vital control systems. All 159 people on board died.[16]The wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, a 747-100, disintegrated in midair after a bomb in the luggage hold exploded; the wings, with their tanks full of fuel, crashed on Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people on board and 11 people in Lockerbie died. A Libyan national was eventually convicted at a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands of murder in connection with the bombing.[16]
On May 7, 1990, Air India Flight 132 touched down at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport after a flight from London-Heathrow. On application of reverse thrust, a failure of the number-one engine pylon-to-wing attachment caused this engine to tilt nose down. Hot exhaust gasses caused a fire on the left wing. The aircraft, VT-EBO, was damaged beyond repair.[18]
On December 29, 1991, China Airlines Flight 358, a 747-200F, crashed shortly after takeoff from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, killing all five crewmembers, when the number-three and number-four engines (both right engines) detached from the aircraft.[20]The aftermath of the building after Flight 1862 crashed into it
On October 4, 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a 747-200F, crashed shortly after takeoff from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport after the right-side engines both fell off, due to metal fatigue, and damaged the right wing, killing all three crew members and the single passenger on board, as well as 43 people on the ground.[21]:8China Airlines Flight 605 after overrunning the runway
On November 4, 1993, China Airlines Flight 605, a brand-new 747-400 from Taipei to Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, landed 2,000 feet (610m) past the threshold on runway 13, with insufficient braking power. Unable to stop before the end of the runway, the captain steered the aircraft into Victoria Harbour. All passengers were evacuated via inflatable life rafts. The vertical fin was blown off with explosives, as it disrupted airport operations. The aircraft was recovered from the harbor days later and was written off.[22]
On December 20, 1995, Tower Air Flight 41, a 747-100, veered off the left side of runway 4L during an attempted takeoff at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York City, New York. The flight was a regularly scheduled passenger/cargo flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. Of the 468 persons aboard (451 passengers, 12 cabin crew members, three flight crew members, and two cockpit jumpseat occupants), 24 passengers sustained minor injuries, and a flight attendant received serious injuries. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[23]
On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, a 747-100 bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, exploded during its climb from JFK in New York, killing all 230 people aboard. A spark from a wire in the center fuel tank is believed to have caused the explosion. Changes in fuel tank management were adopted after the accident.[24]
The reconstructed wreckage of TWA Flight 800
On November 12, 1996, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, a 747-100B, collided with Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76, in midair over Charkhi Dadri in Haryana, India, resulting in the deaths of all 349 occupants of both aircraft, the deadliest midair collision in history.[25]
On October 5, 1998, a Boeing 747SP-44, owned by South African Airways and leased to LAM Mozambique Airlines, registered as ZS-SPF, experienced an engine failure shortly after takeoff on Engine 3, the inner right hand engine. As a result, debris flew off from that engine to Engine 4, the outer right hand engine, and parts of the wing, damaging it and causing a fire.[28][29]
On March 5, 1999, Air France flight 6745, a 747-2B3F (F-GPAN) carrying 66 tons of cargo from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Madras International Airport, Madras via Karachi and Bangalore HAL Airport, was destroyed by fire after landing with the nose gear up. No fatalities occurred.[30]
The tail of Singapore Airlines Flight 006On October 31, 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a 747-400 flying from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, collided with construction equipment while attempting to take off from a closed runway at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport), killing 79 passengers and four crew members on board.[32] There were 96 survivors, including all 3 pilots.
On November 5, 2000, Cameroon Airlines Flight 070, a Boeing 747-2H7B (SCD), flying from Douala, Cameroon to Paris, France, overran the runway while attempting to land due to pilot error. All 203 occupants on-board survived.[33]
On August 23, 2001, Saudia Flight 3830, a 747-300, rolled into a drainage ditch at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and toppled forward, causing severe damage to the nose section. Reportedly, the aircraft was being taxied by a ground engineer on the number two and -three engines. When trying to make a turn, the brakes and steering had no effect, and the aircraft continued into the ditch. The auxiliary hydraulic pumps, which actuated brakes and steering, were thought to be switched off.[34]
On November 27, 2001, an MK Airlines 747-200F crashed about 700 m short of the runway near Port Harcourt Airport, Nigeria. Of the 13 on board, one died.[35]
On May 25, 2002, China Airlines Flight 611, a 747-200B en route to Hong Kong International Airport from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, broke up in midair 20 minutes after take-off and crashed into the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 occupants on board. Subsequent investigation determined the cause to be metal fatigue cracking due to an improperly performed repair after a tail strike.[36]
On November 29, 2003, Hydro Air Cargo Flight 501, a Boeing 747-258C, registered as ZS-OOS, landed on an incorrect runway which was closed for maintenance, damaging the aircraft. All nine occupants survived.[37]
On October 14, 2004, MK Airlines Flight 1602, a 747-200F, crashed while attempting to take off from Halifax Stanfield International Airport, killing all seven on board. The aircraft's take-off weight had been incorrectly calculated, and it was only airborne briefly before stalling at the end of the runway.[38]
On November 7, 2004, an Air Atlanta Icelandic Boeing 747-230F registered as TR-ARR, wet leased to Lufthansa Cargo, overran the runway at Sharjah Airport because of information relayed to the pilots that there was smoke coming out of the engines. The pilots aborted takeoff but it was too late. All four occupants onboard survived.[39]The damage done to Atlas Air Flight 8995
On January 24, 2005, Atlas Air Flight 8995, registered as N808MC, overran the 23L runway on landing at Düsseldorf Airport. It collided with ILS aerials, which caused a fire in engines two and three.[40]
On August 19, 2005, Northwest Airlines Flight 74, a Boeing 747-251B registered as N627US, landed with its nose gear retracted due to the pilots believing otherwise. All 340 occupants on-board survived without any injuries.[41]
On June 7, 2006, Tradewinds Airlines Flight 444, a 747-200F, aborted a take-off from Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport and overran the runway. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and withdrawn from service.[42]
On February 2, 2008, an Atlas Air Boeing 747-2D7B, registered as N527MC, was written off after the cargo broke loose and demolished the aft bulkhead. All occupants survived.[43][44]
On March 25, 2008, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 810, a Boeing 747-357 registered as TF-ARS, caught fire on the right wing immediately after landing due to faulty maintenance. All 325 occupants on-board survived without any serious injuries.[45]
On May 25, 2008, Kalitta Air Flight 207, a 747-200F, suffered a bird strike during take-off from Brussels Airport, Belgium. The crew aborted take-off, but the aircraft was unable to stop before it overran the runway and broke up, with minor injuries.[46]
On July 7, 2008, Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164, a 747-200F, crashed into a farm field near the small village of Madrid, Colombia, shortly after take-off from El Dorado International Airport. The crew had reported an engine fire and were attempting to return to the airport. One of the aircraft's engines hit a farmhouse and killed two people inside it.[47]
On August 3, 2008, a Boeing 747-481D (Domestic) owned by All Nippon Airways, chemically caught fire during internal cleaning of the aircraft. An inflammable cleaning agent was to blame. Fortunately, no one was on-board the aircraft.[48]
On October 27, 2008, a Boeing 747-228F (SCD) operating for Cargo B Airlines, registered as OO-CBA, suffered a major tail strike incident while attempting to takeoff from Brussel-Zaventem Airport. All six occupants survive without any injuries.[49]
On September 4, 2009, Air India Flight 829, a 747-437 registered as VT-ESM, suffered an engine fire at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, shortly before take-off. None of the 229 occupants were injured or killed, but the aircraft was written off.[50]
On September 3, 2010, UPS Airlines Flight 6, a 747-400F, crashed near Dubai International Airport, killing both crew members. The crash was blamed on lithium-ion batteries in the cargo hold that caught fire.[52]
On February 16, 2011, Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 817, a Boeing 747-368, was involved in a taxiway excursion and suffered substantial damage. All 277 occupants onboard survived without injury.[53]
On December 4, 2013, a leased Boeing 747-281B(SF) operating for Saudi Arabian Airlines, ran off the runway to avoid construction equipment but, unfortunately, it hit other construction equipment parked. Interestingly, the flight crew weren't updated on new ATIS about not using the first 1100 meters on the runway.[56]
On December 22, 2013, the right wing on British Airways Flight 34, a Boeing 747-436 registered as G-BNLL, struck a building at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg while taxiing on the wrong taxiway. Both the aircraft's wing and the building sustained severe damage, but no injuries occurred amongst the crew or 189 passengers, although four on the ground were injured. The aircraft was officially written off in February 2014.[57]
On June 8, 2014, there was an attack on Jinnah International Airport. Several aircraft were damaged and written off, including a PIA Boeing 747-367, registered as AP-BFV. There were 36 fatalities, including the 10 attackers.
On March 19, 2015, a 747-SP registered as 7O-YMN used by the president of Yemen, was damaged by gunfire from troops loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Photos released a few months later showed the remains of the destroyed aircraft.[58]
On June 16, 2015, Delta Air Lines Flight 159, a 747-400 registered as N664US, was en route from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Incheon International Airport in Seoul. About two and a half hours from landing, the flight encountered a hailstorm that caused damage to the radome and leading edges on the wings. Additionally there was severe turbulence that caused items to fall inside the cabin, although no injuries were reported.[59] The aircraft eventually had temporary repairs made in order for the aircraft to fly to storage at Pinal Airpark in Marana, Arizona on July 10, 2015. It was determined that it was not economically feasible to complete repairs, and the aircraft was scrapped in 2016.[60]
On November 7, 2018, Sky Lease Cargo Flight 4854, a 747-400F, overran the runway while landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage but all four occupants survived, three with minor injuries.[64]
On August 27, 2020, A Boeing 747SP belonging to Las Vegas Sands Corporation was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Laura while stored at Chennault International Airport in Louisiana, U.S. The tip of the right wing struck a steel beam, causing the tip to separate. The nose section of the aircraft was also damaged by the wing of another aircraft stored at the airport.[65]
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