36 accidents of Airbus aircraft since 2000

The Airbus A321 operated by Air Busan was scheduled to operate from Busan-Gimhae, South Korea, to Hong Kong, China. There were 170 passengers and 6 crew members on board. While the aircraft was still parked at the gate after boarding, a fire broke out in the rear section of the cabin. The crew ordered an emergency evacuation. All 176 occupants evacuated the aircraft. The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.

The Airbus A350-900 operated by JAL Japan Airlines took off from Sapporo, Japan, for a passenger flight to Tokyo, Japan. 367 passengers and 12 crewmembers were onboard. The A350 landed on Tokyo airport in nighttime conditions but collided with Japanese Coast Guard aircraft on the runway upon touchdown. The nose landing gear collapsed and the A350 burst into flames. The A350 came to a stop down on the runway and was evacuated. All 379 occupants escaped, and the A350 burned down. 17 occupants of the A350 received injuries. The Coast Guard aircraft also burst into flames: its captain was seriously injured, and the five other occupants were killed.

The Airbus A320-200 operated by LATAM Airlines Chile, took off from Lima, Peru, for a passenger flight to Juliaca, Peru. 102 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was accelerating for takeoff when multiple fire trucks crossed the runway in front of the aircraft. The crew rejected takeoff at high speed but couldn’t avoid collision with one of the fire trucks. The right main gear collapsed causing the aircraft to veer right towards the right-hand runway edge. A fire erupted on right hand engine at the moment of the collision. All occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft: 4 passengers received serious injuries, and 36 passengers received minor injuries. Two fire fighters on board the truck were killed, and a third one received serious injuries.

The Airbus A330-300 operated by Korean Airlines took off from Seoul, South Korea, for a passenger flight to Cebu City, Philippines. 162 passengers and 11 crewmembers were onboard. The plane had gone around at low height twice following approaches to Cebu's airport. The Airbus A330 then landed but overran the runway end at high speed and came to rest about 360 meters (1200 feet) past the runway end close to the airport perimeter fence. The aircraft received substantial damage. All the occupants escaped uninjured.

The Airbus A320 operated by Pakistan International Airlines took off from Lahore, Pakistan, for a passenger flight to Karachi, Pakistan. 91 passengers and 8 crewmembers were onboard. After a first aborted approach to Karachi the plane positioned for a second one, but crashed short of the runway in a residential area. 97 occupants were killed, and 2 passengers survived. 4 people on the ground were taken to hospitals with burns.

The Airbus A320-200 operated by Egyptair took off from Paris, France, for a passenger flight to Cairo, Egypt. 56 passengers and 10 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was enroute at FL370 (around 11 km) over the Mediterranean Sea about 210 NM (390 km) north-northwest of Cairo when the transponder signals of the aircraft ceased. The aircraft was located crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. All 66 people onboard were killed. The crew was talking normally to Greek air traffic control a few minutes prior the crash. When Air traffic Controllers attempted to hand the aircraft off to Egypt the crew did not respond, radar contact was lost 2 minutes after the first attempt to raise the crew for hand off. The Egyptian authorities published the following elements about the accident: The flight recorders stopped operating while the aircraft was in cruise at an altitude of 37,000 feet; The aircraft systems sent ACARS messages indicating the presence of smoke in toilets and the avionics bay; The data from the data recorder confirms these messages; The playback of the cockpit voice recorder reveals, in particular, that the crew mentioned the existence of a fire on board; Several pieces of debris were retrieved from the accident site. Some of these had signs of having been subject to high temperatures, and traces of soot. In addition, the BEA had collected the following elements: A signal from an emergency locator transmitter was sent at 00:37 (source CNES (3) ) i.e. around eight minutes after the transmission of the last ACARS message; Data from a Greek primary radar (sent by the Greek authorities to the BEA) shows that the aeroplane had descended in a turn until collision with the surface of the water. Based on these elements, the BEA considers that the most likely hypothesis is that a fire broke out in the cockpit while the aeroplane was flying at its cruise altitude and that the fire spread rapidly resulting in the loss of control of the aeroplane.

The Airbus A321-200 operated by Metrojet took off from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, for a passenger flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. 217 passengers and 7 crewmembers were onboard. 23 minutes after takeoff, while the plane was over the Sinai desert, it plummeted from the sky and crashed in Wadi Al-Zolomat, about 60 NM south of Al-Arish. All 224 occupants were killed. The plane departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, near the southern tip of the Sinai. It vanished from radar 23 minutes into the flight, while it was climbing through FL307 over the Sinai desert. There was no distress call from the crew. The wreckage has located in mountainous terrain straight below the last transmitted transponder position. The debris field expands 350 by 3200 meters (1150 by 10460 feet). Due to the large surface of the debris field, investigators believe that the aircraft broke up in midair. According to Egyptian Authorities, there is no evidence of hostile or missile activity around the flight path of the aircraft. The weather in the area was clear at the time of the accident. The director of Russia's Federal Security Service stated that he has studied the passengers’ personal belongings and luggage and fragments of the plane that crashed in Egypt. An expert examination of all these objects has found traces of foreign-made explosives. According to the experts, a self-made explosive device equivalent up to 1 kg of TNT was set off on board, which explains why the fragments of the aircraft were scattered over a large area. On November 17th 2015, the cause of the accident has been officially recognised as being a terrorist act.

The Airbus A400M Atlas military transport plane operated by Airbus Defence and Space took off from Sevilla airport for a test flight. Shortly after takeoff the plane lost altitude, crashed in a field and burned. 6 crewmembers were onboard. 4 people were killed, and 2 people were seriously injured. The aircraft took off from runway 09 at 12:54 hours local time. Weather conditions were good. The aircraft was newly built. It was intended to be delivered soon to the Turkish Air Force. For that purpose, the pilot, co-pilot, a mechanic and three engineers were conducting a test flight. The aircraft took off, climbed but started to lose altitude about 2 minutes after takeoff and crashed around 1 minute later.

The Airbus A320 operated by Air Canada from Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a passenger flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. There were 133 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane crashed on landing at Halifax airport. All the occupants exited the aircraft. 25 people were taken to hospital for treatment of injuries. Weather conditions were bad with heavy winds and snowfalls at the time of the accident. The plane collided with terrain approximately 1100 feet (335 meters) from the threshold of Runway 05, eventually coming to rest about 1100 feet (335 meters) down the runway. The initial impact was significant and caused substantial damage to the aircraft. The main landing gear separated and the underside of the aircraft was heavily damaged (fuselage and wings). During this impact, the aircraft collided with a localizer antenna array – part of the instrument landing system – and became airborne again, travelling forward on Runway 05. There is an extensive debris field between the localizer antenna location and the threshold of the runway.

The A320-200 operated by Germanwings took off from Barcelona, Spain, for a passenger flight to Dusseldorf, Germany. 144 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was enroute at FL380 about 30nm southeast of Marseille (France) when the aircraft initiated a rapid descent and crash in the Alps, about 12nm southwest of Barcelonnette (France), 75nm northeast of Marseille. The 150 people onboard were killed. The aircraft reached its cruising altitude at FL380. A few minutes later the aircraft initiated a descend. It descended from FL380 through FL110 in 8 minutes (average rate of descent 3375 ft/min). The last radar position recorded by French ATC was at 6175 feet MSL on a northeasterly heading of 26 degrees true. Mountains rise up to 8900 feet about 1NM north of the last reported aircraft position. The aircraft impacted ground at very high speed (at about 500 km/h) and was completely destroyed. Both CVR and DFDR (black boxes) were recovered. The first officer was alone in the cockpit when the plane started the descent, until the crash. The captain left the cockpit for a toilet break. The first officer was not talking, only normal breathing could be heard after the captain departed the cockpit. The captain was not able to get back into the cockpit. The first officer initiated a rapid descent, there was no reason to initiate the rapid descent, there was no reason to not communicate with air traffic control, and there was no reason why the door wouldn't open. Breathing of the first officer is not consistent with someone suffering a heart attack or other health issue. Other than that there is absolute silence in the cockpit, screams are heard only in the last few moments. There were no words heard during the last 10 minutes of the flight. Investigations showed that the pilot in the cockpit used the autopilot to descend the aircraft down to 100 feet, on several occasions the speed of the aircraft was adjusted during the descent. Investigators stated the first officer deliberately crashed the aircraft, and kept locked the cockpit door to avoid the captain coming back in the cockpit. Cockpit door functioning

The AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Singapore, Singapore. 155 passengers and 7 crewmembers were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screen while it was enroute at FL320 over the Java Sea. Debris and bodies have been recovered in the Java Sea. All 162 people onboard were killed. The aircraft experienced difficult weather conditions with storm cells while it was cruising over the java sea at FL320. The crew requested to deviate left of its airway and to climb to FL380. At that time, the aircraft was observed normally. Due to other traffic the aircraft could not get cleared to FL380 instantly and was cleared to FL340 at first. When the aircraft was radioed with the clearance to climb to FL340, there was no response anymore, but the aircraft was still visible on radar screens (the ADS-B was still emitting). 1 minute later, the aircraft disappeared from radar screen. The last recorded position was about 110 NM East-South-East of Pulau Belitung. There were seven aircraft passing through the area at that time at flight levels between 290 and 380, neither of them encountered any difficulties. Debris and bodies of the aircraft have been located two days later, on Dec 30th 2014, in the Java Sea about 110 NM from Pulau Belitung, about 5 NM (8 km) from the last radar position. Bigger debris of what appeared to be the aircraft wreckage have been located 40 Nm (70 km) from the last radar position. Both black boxes (CVR and DFDR) have been founded more than two weeks after the accident, on January 13th 2015. AirAsia Indonesia did not have a license to fly the Surabaya-to-Singapore route the day the accident occurred. The airline was approved to fly the route four days a week but it did not include Sunday. AirAsia Indonesia is a subsidiary of the Malaysian-based AirAsia group. The parent company owns almost 49% of the Indonesian operation.

The Airbus A300-600F operated by UPS took off from Louisville, KY, USA, for a cargo flight to Birmingham, AL, USA. 2 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed half-mile short of Birmingham’s runway in open terrain and burst into flames. Both occupants were killed. The accident occurred while the plane was on approach to Birmingham's runway 18. The plane touched down in an isolated grassy field on the outskirts of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, near the intersection Airport Road/Tarrant Huffman Road about half-mile short of the runway. The aircraft crashed, struck a massive hardwood tree and broke up. The nose of the plane was detached from the body. The plane skidded, leaving a trail of debris, and burst into flame. A piece of the fuselage and an engine are visible on the crest of the hill. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were rainy with low clouds. No people on the ground or houses on the ground were affected.

The AirBlue Airbus A321-200 was performing a passenger flight from Karachi, Pakistan to Islamabad, Pakistan with 146 passengers and 6 crew. The plane was on approach to Islamabad in poor weather conditions when the airplane impacted the terrain. All 152 occupants of the airplane perished in the crash. Monsoon rain and low visibility were prevailing during the Airbus A321 approach to Islamabad airport. The airplane had first approached the airport from the Southeast (suggesting an approach to runway 30), and ended by a go-around. The crew was about to try a second attempt from the Northwest (suggesting an approach to runway 12). While repositioning for the second approach the airplane impacted the Margalla Hills. The location of the impact is about 10 NM (18 km) North of the airport at a height of about 1000 feet (300 meters) above the airport. At the time of the arrival runway 12 was active. The airplane was performing an ILS approach to runway 30 circling runway 12. Initial investigation results suggest the airplane was flying too low in poor weather conditions and low visibility and incorrectly turned too late.

The Airbus A300B4-203F cargo plane, operated by AeroUnion, took off from Mexico city, Mexico, on a cargo service to Los Angeles, CA, USA, with an en route stop at Monterrey, Mexico. Five crewmembers were onboard. The plane was destroyed when it crashed on final approach to Monterrey-Gen Mariano Escobedo Airport. All five crew members were killed as well as one person on the ground. The flight had been cleared to land in Monterrey airport. It was approaching in poor weather conditions, with rain showers and thunderstorms, when it crashed onto the Avenida Miguel Alemán motorway, almost 2 km short of the runway threshold. It struck a car, killing the driver. The airplane broke up and burst into flames.

The Airbus A310-304 owned by International Lease Finance Corporation and operated by Yemenia Airways was on a passenger flight from Sana'a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros. The plane was carrying 142 passengers and 11 crewmembers. It crashed into the ocean as it approached the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros in bad weather.

The Air France Airbus A330-200 went missing on transatlantic flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. The airplane carried 12 crew members and 216 passengers. The plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all onboard. Flight AF447 departed Rio de Janeiro heading toward Paris. Three hours later, while the plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, the aircraft reportedly went through a thunderstorm with strong turbulence. A few minutes later, Air France received an automatic message from the A330 indicating electrical circuits malfunction. It was the last information received from AF447. Six minutes later, Brazilian Air Force said plane failed to make previously scheduled radio contact with Brazil. Last radio contact with the flight was at 01:33 UTC. The crew was in contact with the Atlantic Area Control Centre (CINDACTA III) when the flight reported over the INTOL waypoint, estimating TASIL at 02:20 UTC. INTOL is an RNAV waypoint located in the Atlantic Ocean, 565 km from Natal, Brazil. The TASIL waypoint is located 1228 kilometers from Natal. Over a time span of four minutes, starting at 02:10 UTC, a series of ACARS messages were sent -automatically- from the plane. Indication was that the autopilot had disengaged and the fly by wire system had changed to alternate law (mode allowing the flight control to work properly while some inputs parameters are not available or detected as erroneous). Between 02:11Z and 02:13Z a flurry of messages indicating failure of navigation and air data systems arrived. At 02:13Z flight control system faults were indicated, at 02:14Z the last message received was an advisory regarding cabin vertical speed. An analysis of meteorological information shows that AF447 crossed through three key thunderstorm clusters: a small one around 01:51 UTC, a new rapidly growing one at about 01:59 UTC, and finally a large multicell convective system (MCS) around 02:05-02:16 UTC.

The Airbus A320 operated by US Airways jet en route to Charlotte, N.C, USA, from New York City, USA, crashed into the Hudson River off the west side of Manhattan with 150 passengers and five crew members. All of the people on board had managed to escape alive. Within three minutes of take-off the plane was in trouble. A loud bang came from close to the wings on both sides as it hit a flock of geese, and smoke and fire began to appear from the engines. The plane's pilot reported a bird strike and declared an emergency. As the Airbus A320 quickly banked south, the plane lost power and rapidly dropped altitude, heading towards the icy waters of the Hudson river. The crew attempted a ditching. It was a slow contact with the water, and the plane remained in one part, and rapidly stopped in the water. The A320 was then rapidly submerged in the icy waters up to the windows. Rescue crews pulled passengers in yellow life vests from the plane. Several boats surrounded the scene.