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15 worst airplane disasters since 2000

List of the 15 worst airplane disasters and accidents since 2000, in terms of combined onboard and ground fatalities :

American Airlines Boeing 767 crash
Date :
Airline : American / United Airline
Aircraft : Two Boeing 767-200
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Location : New York, NY, USA
People on board : 92 and 65
Fatalities : 157 + 2606 on ground
September 11th terrorist attack in New York: two hijacked Boeing 767 smash into the World Trade Center in Manhattan (USA) making 2763 fatalities
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash
Date :
Airline : Malaysia Airlines
Aircraft : Boeing 777-200
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Location : Donetsk, Ukraine
People on board : 298
Fatalities : 298
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 people onboard shot down in Ukraine
The Boeing 777-200 operated by Malaysia Airlines took off from Amsterdam, Netherlands, for a passenger flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 283 passengers and 15 crewmember were onboard. The…
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Ilyushin IL-76MD crash
Date :
Airline : Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Aircraft : Ilyushin IL-76MD
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Location : SE Kerman, Iran
People on board : 275
Fatalities : 275
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Ilyushin IL-76MD with 275 people onboard crashes in Iran
The aircraft was on a flight from Zahedan to Kerman. It crashed 330 feet below the peak of Sirach Mountain approximately 35nm southeast of Kerman. Weather at the time of the accident was poor.…
Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76TD crash
Date :
Airline : Algerian Air Force
Aircraft : Ilyushin Il-76TD
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Location : Boufarik, Algeria
People on board : 257
Fatalities : 257
Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76TD with 257 people onboard crashes in Algeria
The Ilyushin Il-76 operated by the Algerian Air Force took off from Boufarik, Algeria, for a military flight to Béchar Boudghene Ben Ali Lotfi Airport, Algeria. 247 soldiers with their…
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash
Date :
Airline : Malaysia Airlines
Aircraft : Boeing 777-2H6ER
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Location : Indian Ocean, off Perth, Australia
People on board : 239
Fatalities : 239
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people onboard crashes in off Perth, Australia
The Boeing 777-200 operated by Malaysia Airlines took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a passenger flight to Beijing, China. 226 passengers and 12 crew was onboard. The plane disappeared…
Air France Airbus A330 crash
Date :
Airline : Air France
Aircraft : Airbus A330-203
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Location : Atlantic ocean
People on board : 228
Fatalities : 228
Air France Airbus A330 with 228 people onboard crashes in Atlantic ocean
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…
China airlines Boeing 747 crash
Date :
Airline : China airlines
Aircraft : Boeing 747-209B
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Location : off Penghu, Taiwan
People on board : 225
Fatalities : 225
China airlines Boeing 747 with 225 people onboard crashes in Taiwan
The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Taiwan's Chiang Kai Shek Airport to Hong Kong. The flight duration was expected to be 1h20. About 20 minutes after takeoff, while cruising at…
Metrojet Airbus A321 crash
Date :
Airline : Metrojet
Aircraft : Airbus A321-231
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Location : Al-Arish, North Sinai, Egypt
People on board : 224
Fatalities : 224
Metrojet Airbus A321 with 224 people onboard crashes in North Sinai, Egypt
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…
Lion Air Boeing 737 crash
Date :
Airline : Lion Air
Aircraft : Boeing 737-800MAX
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Location : Off Jakarta, Indonesia
People on board : 189
Fatalities : 189
Lion Air Boeing 737 with 189 people onboard crashes in Indonesia
The Boeing 737-800 MAX operated by Lion Air took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia. 181 passengers and 8 crewmembers were onboard. The plane…
Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crash
Date :
Airline : Ukraine International Airlines
Aircraft : Boeing 737-8KV
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Location : Tehran, Iran
People on board : 176
Fatalities : 176
Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 with 176 people onboard shot down in Iran
The Boeing 737-800, operated by UIA Ukraine International Airlines, took off from Tehran, Iran, for a passenger flight to Kiev, Ukraine. 167 passengers and 9 crewmembers were onboard. The…
Pulkovo Airlines Tupolev 154 crash
Date :
Airline : Pulkovo Airlines
Aircraft : Tupolev TU-154
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Location : Donetsk, Ukraine
People on board : 170
Fatalities : 170
Pulkovo Airlines Tupolev 154 with 170 people onboard crashes in Ukraine
Kenya Airways Airbus A310 crash
Date :
Airline : Kenya Airways
Aircraft : Airbus A310-304
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Location : Abidjan, Ivory Coast
People on board : 179
Fatalities : 169
Kenya Airways Airbus A310 with 179 people onboard crashes in Ivory Coast
The A310 was on a passenger flight, and departed from Abidjan. The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from Abidjan. Numerous eyewitnesses who saw the airplane…
Caspian Airlines Tupolev 154M crash
Date :
Airline : Caspian Airlines
Aircraft : Tupolev TU-154M
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Location : Qazvin, Iran
People on board : 168
Fatalities : 168
Caspian Airlines Tupolev 154M with 168 people onboard crashes in Iran
The Caspian Airlines Tupolev 154M passenger plane was destroyed when it struck terrain near Qazvin, Iran, 16 minutes after takeoff. The airplane was en route from Tehran, Iran to Yerevan,…
AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320 crash
Date :
Airline : AirAsia Indonesia
Aircraft : Airbus A320-216
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Location : Java Sea, Indonesia
People on board : 162
Fatalities : 162
AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320 with 162 people onboard crashes in Indonesia
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…
West Caribbean Airways MD-82 crash
Date :
Airline : West Caribbean Airways
Aircraft : MD-82
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Location : Machiques, Venezuela
People on board : 160
Fatalities : 160
West Caribbean Airways MD-82 with 160 people onboard crashes in Venezuela
The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Panama City, Panama to Fort de France on the Caribbean Island of Martinique. The crew announced intentions to divert to Caracas. Then the aircraft…

Criteria for the inclusion of an airplane accident in our database

All airplane crashes that happened since January 1st 2000 and matching all the following criteria are part of this database:

  • The accident involves at least one public transport airplane. A flight is considered as public transport when it carries, from point A to point B, passengers or cargo for commercial purposes. Public transport operators must hold a national air operator’s certificate and an operating licence.
  • The accident involves at least one airplane having a maximum take off weight equal or more than 12,000 lb (5,7 tons). This corresponds to the definition of a large aeroplane in the sense of the civil aviation regulation. Airplanes in this category comply with more stringent regulations.
  • The accident resulted in a hull loss of at least one public transport airplane. Hull loss means the airplane is damage beyond repairs.

A few events in that database don’t match with those criteria, such as relevant events of flight tests aircraft, or military transport planes.