20 Plane and Helicopter Crashes in History That Look Unreal

On May 6, 1937, the 804-foot German airship Hindenburg erupted into hydrogen flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey. As reporter Herbert Morrison wept on live radio, passengers cried out for help and leaped from cabin windows; remarkably, 62 of the 97 people aboard survived the 37-second inferno.

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 clipped the 14th Street Bridge in a blizzard and plunged into the ice-choked Potomac River. Six survivors clung to the tail crying for help as a helicopter lowered lifelines; Arland Williams Jr. repeatedly passed the line to others before drowning.

At 24,000 feet over Hawaii on April 28, 1988, an 18-foot section of cabin roof tore completely off Aloha Airlines Flight 243. While flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing was swept out, 89 terrified passengers screamed and prayed in 300 mph winds until pilots landed the crippled 737 on Maui.

After a tail-engine explosion severed all three hydraulic lines on July 19, 1989, Capt. Al Haynes and Dennis Fitch steered DC-10 United Flight 232 using only wing-engine thrust. Despite cartwheeling in flames at Sioux City, Iowa, 184 of 296 people walked out of the cornfield wreckage.

During an airshow practice flight at Fairchild Air Force Base on June 24, 1994, a massive B-52H Stratofortress banked past 90 degrees—completely sideways—only 250 feet above the ground. Captured in a surreal photo, the bomber stalled as co-pilot Lt. Col. Mark McGeehan triggered his ejection seat.

At the Mountain Home Air Force Base airshow in Idaho on September 14, 2003, Thunderbird #6 pilot Capt. Christopher Stricklin misjudged his altitude during a split-S maneuver. Steering the F-16C away from spectators, he ejected 0.8 seconds before impact as the jet erupted beneath him.

Landing in a severe thunderstorm at Toronto Pearson Airport on August 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 hydroplaned off Runway 24L into a creek ravine. As flames engulfed the Airbus A340 and passengers cried out in smoke, flight attendants evacuated all 309 people in under 90 seconds.

On July 17, 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 landed on a rain-slicked runway at São Paulo's Congonhas Airport with one throttle left in climb power. Unable to stop, the Airbus A320 vaulted over a crowded highway at 110 mph and slammed into a concrete building, claiming 199 lives.

Two miles from London Heathrow on January 17, 2008, ice crystals clogged the fuel-oil heat exchangers on both engines of British Airways Flight 38. With no thrust at 720 feet, First Officer John Coward glided the 200-ton Boeing 777 over perimeter roads onto the grass so all 152 aboard survived.

Hit by a 45-knot crosswind gust during takeoff at Denver on December 20, 2008, Continental Flight 1404 veered off the runway at 137 mph into a 40-foot ravine. As flames roared outside and passengers cried for help, all 115 people escaped alive before the Boeing 737 cabin melted down.

Approaching Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on February 25, 2009, a faulty radio altimeter tricked Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 into cutting engine power at 2,000 feet. The Boeing 737-800 slammed tail-first into a plowed clay field and broke into three pieces without catching fire; 126 of 135 survived.

Landing in heavy night rain at Kingston, Jamaica, on December 22, 2009, American Airlines Flight 331 overshot the runway, crossed a highway, and broke into three pieces on the rocky beach 40 feet from the Caribbean Sea. Despite terrified cries in the dark cabin, all 154 aboard survived.

In thick freezing fog on January 16, 2013, an AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter clipped a construction crane atop St George Wharf Tower in Vauxhall, London. The mangled crane boom dangled 700 feet up as fiery helicopter wreckage fell onto rush-hour streets, leaving commuters crying for help.

Blinded by a sudden tropical downpour approaching Bali on April 13, 2013, Lion Air Flight 904 splashed into the ocean 1,000 feet short of the seawall. The new Boeing 737-800 cracked behind the wings on a shallow coral reef; passengers cried for help in life vests until boats rescued all 108 aboard.

Coming in too low and slow at San Francisco on July 6, 2013, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 slammed its tail into the seawall before Runway 28L. The Boeing 777 whipped 360 degrees as emergency calls captured injured passengers crying for help on the tarmac; 304 of 307 aboard survived.

After takeoff from Taipei on February 4, 2015, pilots of TransAsia Flight 235 accidentally shut down their only working engine. Caught on highway dashcam, the ATR 72 rolled 90 degrees vertical, clipped a moving taxi on an elevated bridge, and plunged into the Keelung River with 15 survivors.

On January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter carrying NBA icon Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others entered dense fog over Calabasas, California. Suffering spatial disorientation, the pilot banked into a 184 mph hillside impact that prompted sweeping helicopter safety reforms.

Landing in heavy rain and tailwinds at Istanbul on February 5, 2020, Pegasus Airlines Flight 2193 skidded off the runway and dropped 100 feet down an embankment. The Boeing 737-800 snapped into three sections; passengers cried for help and climbed directly out of the cracked hull as 180 of 183 survived.

On February 17, 2025, Delta Connection Flight 4819 slammed onto a snow-swept runway at Toronto Pearson Airport, shearing off its right wing and flipping completely onto its roof. Passengers hung upside-down in seatbelts crying for help before unbuckling onto the ceiling, and all 80 aboard survived.

After Canada geese knocked out both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 over Manhattan on January 15, 2009, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger glided the Airbus A320 onto the freezing Hudson River. All 155 passengers stood along the half-submerged wings as ferries rescued every person aboard.