List of aircraft structural failures
The list of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by structural failures 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:
- faulty design
- faulty maintenance
- manufacturing flaws
- pilot error
- weather conditions
- sabotage.
| Date | Accident/incident | Location | Aircraft | Cause | Fatalities | Notes |
| 1913-08-07 | Death of S F Cody | United Kingdom | Cody Floatplane | "inherent structural weakness" | 2 | Broke up |
| 1919-08-02 | Airliner crash at Verona | Italy | Caproni Ca.48 | Wing flutter followed by wing collapse | 14, 15, or 17 | The crash killed all aboard |
| 1921-08-23 | 1921 Humber crash | UK: Hull | R38 (ZR-2) | Weather combined with weakened hull | 44 | Deformation followed by fire & explosion |
| 1925-09-03 | Crash of the USS Shenandoah | Caldwell, Ohio, United States | USS Shenandoah (ZR-1) | Severe weather | 14 | Torn apart by turbulence |
| 1930-07-23 | Meopham air disaster | Meopham, Kent | Junkers F.13 | Overload/metal fatigue | 6 | Tailplane weakened by turbulence and flutter |
| 1933-10-10 | United Airlines Chesterton Crash | Indiana, United States | Boeing 247 | Bombing | 7 | Explosion severed tail section |
| 1935-02-12 | Loss of USS Macon (ZRS-5) | off California, United States | Akron class airship | Weather combined with unrepaired damage | 2 | Wind shear caused structural failure of the tail which damaged gas cells |
| 1943-08-01 | 1943 Lambert Field CG-4A crash | St. Louis, United States | Waco CG-4 | Manufacturing flaw | 10 | Loss of right-hand wing due to failure of defective wing strut fitting |
| 1947-10-24 | United Airlines Flight 608 | USA: about 1.5 Miles southeast of Bryce Canyon Airport | Douglas DC-6 | Pilot error and design flaw | 52 | Fire caused by failure of pilots to stop fuel transfer and design flaw. Fire eventually lead to an in-flight breakup. |
| 1952-08-30 | 1952 F-89 airshow crash | Detroit, Michigan, United States | F-89 Scorpion | Design flaw | 2 | Wing broke off during flypast |
| 1952-09-06 | Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom | de Havilland DH.110 | Design flaw | 31 | Leading edge aeroelastic flutter caused the aircraft to breakup and crash into the crowd | |
| 1953-02-06 | National Airlines Flight 470 | Gulf of Mexico | Douglas DC-6 | Severe weather | 46 | Loss of control and structural failure in severe turbulence |
| 1954-01-10 | BOAC Flight 781 | Mediterranean Sea | de Havilland Comet | Design flaw | 35 | Near Elba: roof fatigue fracture lead to decompression |
| 1954-04-08 | South African Airways Flight 201 | Mediterranean Sea | de Havilland Comet | Design flaw | 21 | Near Naples: decompression due to fatigue |
| 1955-11-01 | United Air Lines Flight 629 | Longmont, Colorado, United States | Douglas DC-6B | Bombing | 44 | Bomb placed in suitcase caused in-flight breakup |
| 1957-04-17 | 1957 [Aqaba Valetta accident] | Near Aqaba, Jordan | Vickers Valetta | Severe weather | 27 | Design strength of left-hand wing exceeded during probable loss of control in severe clear-air turbulence |
| 1957-05-31 | 1957 McNabs Island RCN Banshee crash | Near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | F2H-3 Banshee | Manufacturing flaw | 1 | Loss of outer starboard wing due to improperly manufactured fittings in folding wing mechanism |
| 1958-09-20 | 1958 Vulcan crash at RAF Syerston | RAF Syerston, United Kingdom | Avro Vulcan prototype | Pilot error | 7 | Flew too fast during low pass exceeded g-limit of leading edge structure, aircraft disintegrated |
| 1959-10-01 | 1959 Lightning crash | Irish Sea, United Kingdom | Lightning T.4 | Fin collapse due to inertia coupling during high speed tests | 0 | first supersonic ejection by a UK pilot Fin enlarged |
| 1963-01-24 | 1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash | Maine, United States | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 7 | Loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 1963-01-30 | 1963 B-52 crash in New Mexico | New Mexico, United States | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 2 | Near Mora: loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 1964-01-04 | 1964 B-57 crash | Dayton, United States | NRB-57 Canberra | Mis-management of fuel system, causing CofG to be beyond its safe rearward limit | 2 | Both wings failed |
| 1964-01-10 | B-52 flight test of vertical stabilizer | New Mexico, United States | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 0 | Loss of vertical stabilizer, landed safely |
| 1964-01-13 | 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash | Maryland, United States | B-52 Stratofortress | Unknowingly exceeded design capability | 3 | Loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 1964-01-04 | 1964 USAF Thunderbird crash | Hamilton Field, California, United States | F-105 Thunderchief | Design flaw | 1 | Spine failure during 6G pitch-up at air show |
| 1965-07-06 | 1965 Little Baldon Hastings accident | RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | Handley Page Hastings | Design flaw | 41 | Right-hand elevator became uncontrollable due to metal fatigue-related failure of two bolts in elevator system |
| 1966-03-05 | BOAC Flight 911 | Mount Fuji, Japan | Boeing 707-436 | Severe weather | 124 | Severe clear-air turbulence, gust load over design limit lead to in-flight breakup |
| 1966-08-06 | Braniff Airways Flight 250 | Nebraska, United States | BAC One-Eleven 203AE | Severe weather | 42 | Horizontal and vertical stabilizers detached in severe turbulence |
| 1967-03-05 | Lake Central Flight 527 | Ohio, United States | Convair CV-580 | Propeller manufacturing defect | 38 | Propeller broke apart; one of the blades punctured the fuselage, causing the forward section to break away |
| 1967-06-23 | Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 | Pennsylvania, United States | BAC One-Eleven 204AF | Mechanical failure | 34 | Valve in the auxiliary power unit suffered a complete failure, spreading fire to the tailplane and causing a loss of pitch control |
| 1967-11-15 | X-15 Flight 3-65-97 | Edwards AFB, United States | Pilot error | 1 | Loss of control followed by airframe failure | |
| 1968-05-03 | Braniff Airways Flight 352 | Near Dawson, Texas, United States | Lockheed L188A-Electra | Severe weather | 85 | Controlled flight into thunderstorm with severe turbulence causing in-flight breakup |
| 1970-07-05 | Air Canada Flight 621 | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | McDonnell Douglas DC-8 | Pilot error | 109 | Hard landing caused by crew error, causing engine No.4 and pylon to separate; further damage to the right wing caused leaking fuel to ignite and explode, causing the wing to break up and lead to the crash |
| 1971-03-05 | BEA Flight 706 | Belgium | Vickers Vanguard | Inadequate maintenance: undetected corrosion | 63 | Near Aarsele: rear pressure bulkhead failure caused loss of tailplane |
| 1972-06-12 | American Airlines Flight 96 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | MD DC-10 | Design flaw | 0 | Cargo door locking mechanism failed causing door to separate from the aircraft and causing further damage; landed safely |
| 1973-05-18 | Aeroflot Flight 109 | Chita, Soviet Union | Tupolev Tu-104 | Terrorist bombing | 81 | Bomb put on board by hijacker |
| 1974-03-03 | Turkish Airlines Flight 981 | Picardy, France | MD DC-10 | Design flaw | 346 | Cargo door locking mechanism failed allowing door to separate from the aircraft; cabin floor collapsed, control cables severed, crashed into a forest |
| 1976-04-14 | Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales | Argentina: near Cutral-Co | Hawker Siddeley 748 | Improper maintenance: undetected metal fatigue | 34 | Starboard wing failed outboard of engine |
| 1977-05-14 | 1977 Dan-Air [Boeing 707 crash] | Near Lusaka Airport, Lusaka, Zambia | Boeing 707 | Metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw | 6 | Structural failure of the right horizontal stabiliser due to metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw |
| 1978-06-26 | Helikopter Service Flight 165 | North Sea, Norway | Sikorsky S-61 | Fatigue | 18 | Rotor blade loosened after fatigue to the knuckle joint: crashed into the sea |
| 1979-05-25 | American Airlines Flight 191 | Chicago, United States | MD DC-10 | Improper maintenance | 271 + 2 on ground | No.1 engine broke off due to faulty maintenance procedure; slats retracted, leading the plane to stall and crash |
| 1981-06-02 | NLM CityHopper Flight 431 | Moerdijk, Netherlands | Fokker F28 Fellowship | Severe weather | 17 | Starboard wing detached from airframe due to loads exceeding design limits after the aircraft entered a tornado. |
| 1982-03-11 | Widerøe Flight 933 | Gamvik, Norway | de Havilland Canada Twin Otter | Severe weather | 15 | Vertical stabilizer and rudder failed during clear-air turbulence |
| 1985-06-23 | Air India Flight 182 | Atlantic Ocean off County Cork | Boeing 747 | Terrorist bombing | 329 | Terrorist bomb placed in cargo hold |
| 1985-08-12 | Japan Airlines Flight 123 | Mount Osutaka, Japan | Boeing 747SR | Improper maintenance | 520 | Faulty repair after same plane suffered a tailstrike: the rear bulkhead failed which caused the tail fin to fall off and rupture all four hydraulic systems. The crash remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history. |
| 1987-11-28 | South African Airways Flight 295 | Indian Ocean, 134 nautical miles north-east of Mauritius, | Boeing 747 | Fire | 159 | Catastrophic and contained cargo fire in rear cargo deck lead to the separation of tail section, an in-flight break up and a high-speed dive into ocean |
| 1988-04-28 | Aloha Airlines Flight 243 | Hawaii, United States | Boeing 737 | Improper adhesive bonding of fuselage lap joints | 1 | Corrosion and fatigue: 18 ft of roof separated from fuselage |
| 1988-12-21 | Pan Am Flight 103 | Lockerbie, United Kingdom | Boeing 747 | Terrorist bombing | 259 + 11 on ground | Terrorist bomb in the forward luggage hold |
| 1989-02-24 | United Airlines Flight 811 | Hawaii, United States | Boeing 747 | Dirt on microswitch/short circuit | 9 | Cargo door opened, causing surrounding structure to fail leaving large hole; landed safely |
| 1989-09-08 | Partnair Flight 394 | 18 km north of Hirtshals, Denmark | Convair 580 | Improper maintenance: use of counterfeit aircraft parts | 55 | Highest death toll involving a Convair 580; loosening of vertical stabilizer due to excessive wear on mounting bolts |
| 1989-09-19 | UTA Flight 772 | Sahara Desert, Ténéré, Niger | McDonnell Douglas DC-10 | Terrorist bombing | 170 | Bomb hidden in forward cargo hold detonated at 35,000 feet leading to in-flight break-up scattering debris over a wide area across the Sahara |
| 1990-04-12 | Widerøe Flight 839 | Værøy, Norway | de Havilland Canada Twin Otter | Severe weather | 5 | Rudder and tailplane cracked during extreme winds |
| 1990-06-10 | British Airways Flight 5390 | Didcot, United Kingdom | BAC One-Eleven | Faulty maintenance | 0 | Window separated from plane causing the pilot to be sucked out. First Officer successfully landed the plane in Southampton |
| 1991-02-06 | 1991 Gulf War Boeing KC-135 accident | Near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker | Severe weather and wake turbulence | 0 | Due to excess maneuvering, the airframe was pushed to its limits. Two out of the four engines detached from the aircraft. The plane executed an emergency landing |
| 1991-05-26 | Lauda Air Flight 004 | Phu Toei National Park, Amphoe Dan Chang, Thailand | Boeing 767-300ER | Manufacturing error: faulty thrust reverser | 223 | Thrust reverser in No.1 engine unexpectedly deployed while cruising at 35,000 ft causing it to bank sharply to the left and enter a high-speed dive and breaking up at roughly 4000 ft scattering wreckage over a wide area |
| 1991-09-11 | Continental Express Flight 2574 | Texas, United States | Embraer 120 Brasilia | Improper maintenance | 14 | Failure of the horizontal stabilizer during flight due to misunderstanding during maintenance |
| 1992-10-04 | El Al Flight 1862 | Bijlmermeer, Netherlands | Boeing 747 | Corrosion in pylon fuse pin leading to metal fatigue | 4 on board, 39 on ground | Engine No.3 separated from its pylon which caused the adjacent engine No.4 to also fall off, taking the slats with them; stall and crash on attempted landing |
| 1996-07-17 | TWA Flight 800 | Moriches Inlet, near East Moriches, New York, United States | Boeing 747 | Fuel tank explosion | 230 | Exploded, broke up, and crashed off the coast of Long Island 30 minutes after taking off from New York bound for Paris due to a catastrophic central fuel tank explosion resulting in the forward fuselage section, which included the main flight deck first class and a portion of business class, separating and causing the remaining section to climb, abruptly stall, and enter a high speed dive, causing the left wing to also separate and plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in flames |
| 1997-06-26 | Helikopter Service Flight 451 | Norwegian Sea, Norway | Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Puma | Fatigue | 12 | The accident was caused by a fatigue crack in the spline, which ultimately caused the power transmission shaft to fail. The helicopter crashed into the sea. |
| 1997-12-19 | SilkAir Flight 185 | Musi River, Palembang, Indonesia | Boeing 737-300 | Pilot suicide | 104 | Entered a high-speed vertical dive and broke up on its way down into the Musi River |
| 1999-01-31 | EgyptAir Flight 990 | Atlantic Ocean, 100 km S of Nantucket | Boeing 767-300ER | Pilot suicide | 217 | Abruptly descended rapidly before rapidly climbing before finally entering a high-speed dive, causing the No.1 engine and portions of the wings to break off on its way down towards the ocean |
| 2000-01-31 | Alaska Airlines Flight 261 | Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island | McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | Maintenance intervals extended beyond safe limit | 88 | Lack of lubrication causing structural failure of the jackscrew on the horizontal stabiliser resulting in aircraft descending inverted into sea |
| 2001-11-12 | American Airlines Flight 587 | Queens, New York City, United States | Airbus A300 | Pilot error | 265 | Overuse of rudder leading to loss of vertical stabilizer |
| 2002-04-30 | 2002 Eglin Air Force Base F-15 crash | Gulf of Mexico | F-15 Eagle | Undetected corrosion | 1 | Near Eglin AFB: port fin leading edge failed during test dive |
| 2002-05-25 | China Airlines Flight 611 | Taiwan Strait near Penghu Islands, Taiwan | Boeing 747 | Faulty maintenance, metal fatigue | 225 | Tailstrike leading to faulty repair: tail section broke off, causing aircraft to disintegrate |
| 2003-02-01 | Space Shuttle Columbia disaster | Texas, United States | Space Shuttle | Design flaw | 7 | Damaged TPS during launch, breakup during reentry |
| 2005-12-19 | Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 | Miami Beach, Florida, United States | Grumman Turbo-Mallard | Improper maintenance | 20 | In-flight wing failure due to metal fatigue |
| 2007-01-01 | Adam Air Flight 574 | Makassar Strait off Majene, Sulawesi, Indonesia | Boeing 737-400 | Pilot error | 102 | Spatial disorientation, inertial reference system malfunction gradually banked to the left and entered a high-speed dive and broke up on its way down |
| 2008-05-30 | Pilatus EC-JXH crash | Spain | Pilatus PC-6 | 2 | Wing failure | |
| 2014-10-31 | VSS Enterprise crash | Near the Mojave Desert, California, United States | Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo | Pilot error and design flaw | 1 | Premature activation of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry lead to an in-flight breakup |
| 2015-10-31 | Metrojet Flight 9268 | North Sinai Governorate, Egypt | Airbus A321-200 | Terrorist bombing | 224 | Bomb that was smuggled into rear cargo hold disguised as a soft drink can contained four packs of dynamite, causing the tail section to separate and lead to an in-flight break up, scattering the wreckage in the Sinai Desert |
| 2016-05-19 | EgyptAir Flight 804 | Mediterranean Sea | Airbus A320-200 | Explosion/fire caused by oxygen leak | 66 | Accident was caused by oxygen leak in the cockpit; the following combustion and explosion ignited by the pilot's cigarette caused a fire and the break-up of the airplane into the Mediterranean Sea |
| 2017-10-07 | 2017 [United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash] | Leflore County, Mississippi, United States | Lockheed KC-130T Hercules | Improper maintenance | 16 | Accident was caused by improper repairs conducted in 2011 on a corroded propeller blade |
| 2025-11-10 | 2025 [Turkish Air Force Lockheed C-130 crash] | Rustavi, Georgia | Lockheed C-130 Hercules | Under Investigation | 20 | the Aircraft breaks into Three Pieces, Accident is still Under Investigation. |