ISTANBUL
At least 241 people were killed when a UK-bound Air India flight crashed in western India on Thursday.
The air disaster has revived memories of recent air crashes around the globe, which have resulted in hundreds of deaths as well as losses in billions of US dollars.
Here is a list of the worst air crashes since 2020:
2025
Jan 29—US: A Canadair CRJ-700 operated by PSA Airlines for American Airlines collided with a military Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, DC, as it attempted to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Both the aircraft and the helicopter crashed into the Potomac River. All 60 passengers and four crew members on the plane died, as did three people in the helicopter. The plane had departed from Wichita, Kansas, in the US.
June 12—India: At least 241 people were killed when a UK-bound Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad, the most populous city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The Boeing Flight AI171 was on the way to London carrying 169 Indians, 53 UK citizens, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada, in addition to two pilots and 10 crew members. It slammed into a medical college hostel shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing at least five more people at the crash site.
2024
August 9—Brazil: A Voepass Linhas Aereas flight traveling from Cascavel to Guarulhos in Brazil lost control and crashed into a residential area in Vinhedo, a municipality in Sao Paulo state. The ATR-72-212A flight was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members. It lost control while descending at about 17,000 feet. The plane hit the ground at high speed and caught fire, killing all 62 people on board.
Dec. 25—Kazakhstan: An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane flying from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Aktau on the Caspian Sea coast. The incident killed 38 of the 62 passengers, including five crew members. The plane was severely damaged by "weapons fire from the ground," said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev after the incident.
Dec. 29—South Korea: A Jeju Air passenger flight from Bangkok, Thailand, collided with an antenna array at the end of the runway after landing at Muan Airport in South Jeolla province, South Korea. The Boeing 737-800 caught fire after its tail section broke off. The crash killed 179 of the 181 people on board, including 175 passengers and six crew members.
2023
Feb. 13—Nepal: A Yeti Airlines ATR 72 took off from Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, for the central city of Pokhara, carrying 68 passengers and four crew members. While approaching Pokhara International Airport, the plane stalled and crashed about 1.1 nautical miles (2 kilometers) from the runway. All 72 passengers on board were killed.
2022
March 21—China: The Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines took off from Kunming, China, on a flight to Guangzhou in southern China with 123 passengers and nine crew members. While cruising at 29,000 feet (8,900 meters), the plane suddenly lost altitude and crashed into a forested mountain area in Teng County, about 120 nautical miles (220 kilometers) west of Guangzhou. All 132 people on board died. The plane hit the ground at high speed and a steep angle, breaking apart, with debris landing on both sides of a hill. The aircraft was destroyed completely.
May 29—Nepal: A passenger flight operated by Tara Air took off from Pokhara, Nepal, heading to Jomsom, located in Gandaki province in western Nepal, with 19 passengers and three crew members on board. While approaching Jomsom Airport at an altitude of 13,000 feet, the plane crashed in a mountainous area. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and all 22 people on board died.
Nov. 6—Tanzania: A passenger flight operated by Precision Air took off from Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania, on a flight to Bukoba in northwest Tanzania with 39 passengers and four crew members. Upon arrival, the ATR 42-500 overran the runway and crashed into Lake Victoria. Nineteen people, including both pilots, died. The remaining 24 survivors were taken to the hospital.
2021
Jan. 9—Indonesia: The Boeing 737-500 operated by Sriwijaya Air took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, on a flight to Pontianak, the capital of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, with 56 passengers and six crew members. While climbing to about 10,800 feet after takeoff, the plane lost radar and radio contact. Wreckage was later found in the sea, and sadly, all 62 people on board were confirmed dead.
July 6—Russia: An Antonov AN-26 operated by Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka Aviation took off from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, on a flight to Palana with 22 passengers and six crew members. While approaching Palana in foggy and cloudy weather, the plane crashed, killing all 28 people on board.
2020
Jan. 8—Iran: A Boeing 737-800 operated by Ukraine International Airlines took off from Iran's Tehran Airport for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members. The plane disappeared from radar minutes after takeoff while climbing through 8,000 feet about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) northwest of Tehran Airport. The aircraft was completely destroyed, and all 176 people aboard died.
On January 11th, Iran confirmed that it had accidentally shot down the plane with a missile. The incident happened after Iran launched missile strikes on US bases in Iraq hours earlier, in response to a US drone attack. Iran’s military mistook the passenger jet for a hostile aircraft.
May 22—Pakistan: An Airbus A320 operated by Pakistan International Airlines took off from Lahore, Pakistan, on a flight to Karachi with 91 passengers and eight crew members. After aborting its first attempt to land, the plane tried a second approach but crashed short of the runway in a residential area.
The crash killed 97 people on board, but two passengers survived. Four people on the ground were injured and transported to the hospital. Ten days later, one of the injured on the ground died of burns.
