Before flight was even invented, humans have been fascinated by the vast skies above them, and for obvious reasons. There is inherent marvel in defying something as fundamental as gravity; in quite literally, reaching for the stars.
And from the early days of military use, the aviation industry is now critical to the movement of goods and people around the world.
Nevertheless, there are accidents, and while few and far between, their scale and tragedy tend to leave a big impact on collective psyches. But which airline companies have seen the most number of incidents?
Using research published by Executive Flyers on September 19, 2023, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranks global airlines based on the number of their plane crashes.
Which Global Airline Has Had the Most Crashes?
Air France and American Airlines tie for most plane crashes, with 11 each.
Notably two of American’s incidents happened on September 11th, 2001, as did two from United Airlines’ seven crashes.
Note: American Eagle is the brand name of a regional branch of American Airlines. Continental Airlines merged with United in 2012.
China Airlines and Korean Air also tie with nine crashes each, followed by Pakistan International Airlines with eight accidents.
While many plane crashes do not result in fatalities, here are some examples that were particularly deadly:
Air France: In June 2009, Flight 477 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 228 onboard.
Air China: In May 2002, Flight 611 disintegrated mid-air due to repair faults, killing all 225 onboard.
United Airlines: In Sept 1965, Flight 389 crashed while landing in Salt Lake City, killing 43 of 91 passengers.
Thai Airlines: In Aug 1987, Flight 365 crashed near Phuket, killing all 83 onboard.
The much-covered disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 in 2014 prompted an overhaul of airline regulations and safety measures including better satellite tracking and improved training for crews during emergency situations.
And aside from pilot error, aircraft models themselves can often be the cause of accidents. Two Boeing 737 Max planes crashed in 2018–19, stemming from issues with the model’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System system, a flight control software designed to prevent stalls.
Finally, hostile airspace has also caused aircraft accidents. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 were shot down by Russian separatist forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2014 and 2020 respectively.
How Safe is Air Travel?
It is useful to remember however that airlines have suffered a very small number of accidents throughout history. Considering there are tens of millions of flights per year, major crashes are actually extremely rare.
“If you take one flight a day, you would, on average, need to fly every day for 55,000 years before being involved in a fatal crash.”
= ARNOLD BARNETT, PROFESSOR OF STATISTICS AT MIT, VIA ABC NEWS.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. has gone nearly 15 years without a major commercial airline crash, despite the more than 100 million flights and 10 billion passengers since then.
