Airplane Accidents 1949-1959

1950 March 12th. U.K., Wales, village of Sigginston: British Avro Tudor V aircraft crashed during landing approach at Llandow airport, all 83 people aboard died on impact

1950 June 5th - USA, Florida, Atlantic Ocean: A Weststar Transport Curtis C-46 crashed into the sea about 200 miles off the coast off Miami; 28 of the 65 people aboard died.

1950 June 24th. Lake Michigan: Northwest Airlines DC-4 exploded and crashed into Lake Michigan 20 miles north of Benton Harbor, MI; all 58 people aboard died.

1950 June 26th. Australia, York: Australian National Airlines Douglas DC-4; 28 of the 29 people aboard died

1950 August 31st. Egypt, Cairo: TWA Constellation

1950 October 31st. UK, London Airport: Vickers Viking crashed in fog, 28 people died

1950 November 13th. France, Grenoble: Canadian Curtis Reid Air-Tours

1951 January 16th. USA, Washington, near Reardon: a Northwest Martin 202, flight 115 from Spokane to Wenatchee, crashed into the ground; all 10 people aboard (3crew and 7 passengers) died.

1951 June 30th. USA, Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park, near Fort Collins: United DC-6 crashed northwest of Denver, all 50 people aboard died

1951 August 24, USA, California, near Union City: United DC-6 crashed, all 50 people aboard died

1951 December 16th. USA, New Jersey, Elizabeth: Miami Airlines C-46 plane plunged into Elizabeth River after takeoff from Newark, 56 people died

1952 January 22nd. USA, New Jersey, Elizabeth: Airliner crashed in city, 30 people died including 7 residents

1952 February 11th. USA, New Jersey, Elizabeth: Airliner crashed, 33 people died including 4 residents

1952 March 22nd. Germany, Frankfurt/Main: a KLM DC-6 crashed during landing approach in heavy fog and rain; 42 of the 47 people aboard died.

1952 April 11th. Puerto Rico, San Juan: Pan Am DC-4

1952 December 6th - UK territory, Bermuda: a Cubana Douglas DC-4 CU-T397, built in 1944, plunged into the sea shortly after take-off from Kindley Field; all 37 people aboard (5 crew and 32 passengers) died.

1952 December 20th. USA, Washington, Moses Lake: Air Force C-125 plane fell and burned after takeoff from Larson Air Force Base, 87 people died, 28 survived

1953 January 5th. Ireland, Belfast, Nutt's Corner: after a scheduled flight (#BE 556) from Northolt a BEA Viking crashed on final approach near the runway; 30 people (3 crew & 27 passengers) died, 8 survived (1 crew & 8 passengers)

1953 March 3rd. Pakistan, Karachi: Canadian Pacific Comet Jet

1953 May 2nd. India, Calcutta: BOAC Comet G-ALYV, broke up in flight during an encounter with a monsoon thunderstorm, 14 minutes after takeoff from Calcutta airport, all 43 people died

1953 June 18th. Japan, near Tokyo: U.S. Air Force Globemaster (C-124?) crashed, 129 people died

1953 October 14th. Germany, Frankfurt/Main: a Sabena Convair CV-240 lost engine power on takeoff and crashed; all 44 people aboard died.

1954 January 10th.Italy, Mediterranean Sea, offshore the island of Elba: BOAC Comet 1 -the same airplane that completed in 1952 the world's first scheduled passenger jet flight- exploded and plunged into the sea, all 35 people aboard died

1954, February, 1st. Japan, Hokkaido: U.S. Air Force C-46

1954 April 8th. Italy, Stromboli: BOA (British Overseas Airways) de Havilland Comet broke up in flight. It was the third fatal crash of the new aircraft in less than a year. All accidents were caused by faulty design. All 21 people aboard died.

1954 October 31st.Atlantic Ocean: U.S. Navy plane disappeared on flight en route to Azores from New Jersey, 42 people died/ disappeared

1954 December 19th. USA, New York , Idlewild Airport (today JFK Airport): Alitalia DC-6 B, crashed into the icy water of Jamaica Bay and exploded after overshooting the runway in fog. Two persons were rescued, 26 people died.

1955 March 22nd. USA, Hawaii, near Honolulu: U.S. Navy plane hit cliff, all 66 people died

1955 June 19th. UK, near Folkstone: Swissair CV-240 crashed due to missing fuel, 3 people died

1955 July 27, Bulgaria, near Petrick: ELAL Lockheed Constellation en route from Vienna, Australia to Tel Aviv, Israel was shot down by Bulgarian jet fighters after the plane had entered Bulgarian airspace due to a navigational error. All 58 people aboard died.

1955 August 11th. Germany, Edelweiler: Mid-air collision between 2 U.S. Air Force Flying Boxcars, 66 people died

1955 October 6th. USA, Wyoming, Laramie: United DC-4 crashed into mountains; all 66 people aboard died

1955 November 1st. USA, Colorado, Denver: United Air Lines Douglas DC-6B was bombed in flight by a relative of a passenger, all 44 people died

1956 April 2nd. US, Washington, Puget Sound, near Seattle: Northwest Airlines Boeing Stratocruiser experienced engine failure shortly after take-off from Seattle-Tacoma Airport; the plane made a text-book ditching into the Puget Sound; everone was able to evacuate from the sinking aircraft but it took rescue boats more than 30 minutes to reach the site. In the meantime 5 people drowned, 33 survived

1956 June 20th. USA, Atlantic Ocean, New York: Venezuelan airliner crashed 40 miles south of the city, 74 people died

1956 June 30th. USA, Arizona, Grand Canyon: TWA Super Constallation collided with United DC-7 in uncontrolled airspace, all 128 people died

1956 July 15th. Ireland, near Shannon: Swissair CV-440 crashed , 4 people died

1956 July 16th. Argentina, Rio Cuarto: an Aerolineas Argentinas Douglas DC-3 crashed landing approach. All 18 occupants died.

1956 October 10th. Atlantic Ocean, U.S. Air Force transport disappeared north of Azores, 59 people died/ disappearred

1956 October 16th. Pacific Ocean, East of Hawaii: PanAm Boeing Stratocruiser enroute from Honolulu to San Francisco experienced engine failure; the aircraft had to ditched into the water close to an US Coast Guard vessel; the plane sank within 8 minutes, but all 38 people aboard (7 crew, 31 passengers) evacuated and were rescued

1956 December 9th. Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver: Canadian Airliner crashed into mountains, 62 people died

1957 February 1st. USA, New York, Rikers Island: Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashed shortly after taking off from La Guardia Airport in a snowstorm. The accident was attributed to pilot error. Twenty-one of the 101 aboard were killed.

1957 March 21st. Pacific Ocean: U.S. Air Force plane lost in Ocean 250 miles from Tokyo, 67 people died/ disappeared

1957 April 7th. Brazil, near Bage: a VARIG Curtiss C-46A crashed due to an in-flight fire. All 40 passengers and crew aboard died.

1957 June 18th. Switzerland: Swissair DC-3 crashed into a lake, 9 people died

1957 July 15th. Indonesia, off the coast of Biak: a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Lockheed L-1049C crashed into the sea; 58 of the 68 passengers and crew aboard died.

1957 August 11th. Canada, Quebec City: Canadian Maritime Central Airways DC-4 airliner crashed, 79 people died

1957 August 15th Danmark, Copenhagen: Aeroflot Illushym 12 enroute from Moscow to Copenhagen hit a chimney at a power station and crashed into the dock, all 23 people on board died.

1957 October 31 USA, California, Los Angeles International Airport: A United DC-7 with 16 people aboard with defective landing gear made an announced belly landing on a 75 foot-wide and 1600 foot long foam blanket on runway 25 L. No casualties. At the very same time another commercial airliner lost an engine on take-off and had to make an emergency landing on adjacent runway 25R L.

1957 November 3rd. Germany, Duesseldorf: a Herfurtner airline DC-4 with 10 people aboard (7 crew and 3 passengers) enroute to New York with a stopover in Reykjavik crashed minutes after takeoff from Duesseldorf/Lohausen airport into a residential neighborhood; an IRS office and other structures are set on fire; 9 people (including 1 on the ground) died, 7 were injured.

1957 November 8th. USA, Pacific Ocean: a PanAm Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, flight 7 from San Francisco to Honolulu, Hawaii, crashed into the Pacific Ocean approximately 1.000 miles from its destination; all 44 people (8 crew and 36 passengers) perished; wreckage and human remains were found after 4 days; it was determined that most of the 19 recovered bodies were wearing lifejackets, didn't show signs of serious injuries, and definitely had died from drowning.

1957 November 9th. Pacific Ocean, East of Hawaii: PanAm Boeing Stratocruiser crashed en-route from San Francisco to Honolulu; wreckage was found around 1,000 miles east of Hawaii; all 52 people aboard (8 crew, 44 passengers) died

1958 February 6th. Germany, Munich: a British European Airways (BEA) Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador "Elizabethan" plane crashed on takeoff during a snowstorm; 23 of the 44 people aboard died.

1958 March 25th - USA, Florida, Miami: A Braniff Airlines DC-7 crashed while attempting to return to the airport due to an engine fire; 9 of the 24 people aboard died

1958 April 21st. USA, Nevada, near Las Vegas: United DC-7 collided in mid-air with U.S. Air Force F-100F, all 49 people aboard the planes died

1958 May, 18th. Morocco, Casablanca: Sabena Airlines DC-6B

1958 June 2nd. Mexico, Guadalajara: Aeronavas Lockheed Constellation crashed into mountain after take-off; all 45 people aboard died

1958 August 14th. North Atlantic, West of Ireland: Dutch KLM Super Constellation falls into ocean, 99 people died

1958 October 17th. USSR, Kanash: Aeroflot Tupolev-104

1958 Germany, Munich:

1959 February 3rd. USA, New York: Turboprop airliner American Lockheed Electra crashed into East River short of the runway during landing approach at La Guardia airport, 65 people died, many survived initial impact but drowned in the chilly water, 8 people survived

1959 June 26th. Italy, Varese: TWA Lockheed Super Constellation enroute to Paris was hit by lightning 15 minutes after taking off from Malpensa Airport; vapors in the fuel tank exploded in mid-air, all 68 people on board died

1959 September 29th. USA, Texas, Buffalo: mid-air break-up of a Braniff Airlines Lockheed L-188A; all 37 people aboard died.

1959 November 1st. Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Lufthansa Lockheed Constellation enroute from Hamburg, Germany crashed into the beach while descending in heavy rain; 36 people died, 3 survived

1959 November DC-7 B crashed into Gulf of Mexico

1959 November USA, Chicago: TWA Constellation crashed into building

1959 December 1st. - USA, Pennsylvania, Williamsport: Allegheny Airlines Martin 2-0-2 crashed during an instrument landing approach; all 25 people aboard died

If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to share
your experiences with us, we would be more than happy to hear from you.
CONTACT US