In-flight breakup
An in-flight breakup or mid-air breakup is a catastrophic failure of an aircraft structure that causes it to break apart in mid-air.
Faults in the design or manufacturing of the aircraft can create weak points or stress concentrations in the structure. Constant use and repeated loading and unloading cycles on the aircraft can lead to fatigue cracking.
Additionally, pilot error or adverse weather conditions can cause the aircraft to experience more extreme conditions than those it was designed to tolerate.
Crashes involving in-flight breakups
- TWA Flight 800
- Air India Flight 182
- South African Airways Flight 295
- China Airlines Flight 611
- Copa Airlines Flight 201
- Continental Express Flight 2574
- Lauda Air Flight 004
- EgyptAir Flight 990
- Adam Air Flight 574
- Itavia Flight 870
- Pan Am Flight 103
- BOAC Flight 911
- Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
- VSS Enterprise
- Japan Air Lines Flight 123
- Aloha Airlines Flight 243
- BOAC Flight 781
- South African Airways Flight 201
- El Al Flight 1862
- Trans-Air Services Flight 671
- Partn Air Flight 394
- Silk Air Flight 185
- American Airlines Flight 587
- Metrojet Flight 9268
- Turkish Air Force Flight 543
- 2025 Ivanovo Antonov An-22 crash
- UTA Flight 772
- Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
- China Airlines Flight 358
- Asiana Airlines Cargo Flight 991
- EgyptAir Flight 804
- Saudia Flight 763
- Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907
- Gol Flight 1907
- Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937
- DHL Flight 611
- Korean Air Lines Flight 007
- Iran Air Flight 655
- Hughes Airwest Flight 706
- British Airways Flight 476
- Piedmont Airlines Flight 22
- Aeromexico Flight 498
- Air Canada Flight 621
- American Airlines Flight 191
- Turkish Airlines Flight 981
- United Airlines Flight 811
- UPS Flight 2976
- 2017 United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash
- 1975 Tan Son Nhut Lockheed C-5 crash
- China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303