List of aircraft structural failures

|+ List of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by structural failure

| Death of S F Cody

| United Kingdom

| Cody Floatplane

| "inherent structural weakness"

| 2

| Broke up

| Airliner crash at Verona

| Italy

| Caproni Ca.48

| Wing flutter followed by wing collapse

| 14, 15, or 17 (sources vary)

| The crash killed all aboard

| 1921 Humber crash

|UK: Hull

| R38 (ZR-2)

| Weather combined with weakened hull

| 44

| Deformation followed by fire & explosion

| Crash of the USS Shenandoah

| Caldwell, Ohio, United States

| USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)

| Severe weather

| 14

| Torn apart by turbulence

| Meopham air disaster

| Meopham, Kent

| Junkers F.13

| Overload/metal fatigue

| 6

| Tailplane weakened by turbulence and flutter

| United Airlines Chesterton Crash

|Indiana, United States

| Boeing 247

| Bombing

| 7

| Explosion severed tail section

| Loss of USS Macon (ZRS-5)

| off California, United States

| Akron class airship

| Weather combined with unrepaired damage

| 2

| Wind shear caused structural failure of the tail which damaged gas cells

| 1943 Lambert Field CG-4A crash

| St. Louis, United States

| Waco CG-4{{#tag:ref|Accident aircraft 42-78839 had been built under license by contractor Robertson Aircraft Corporation.|group=N}}

| Manufacturing flaw

| 10

| Loss of right-hand wing due to failure of defective wing strut fitting{{sfn|Gero|2010|pp=24–25}}

| United Airlines Flight 608

| USA: about 1.5 Miles southeast of Bryce Canyon Airport

| Douglas DC-6

| Pilot error and design flaw

| 52

| Fire caused by failure of pilots to stop fuel transfer and design flaw. Fire eventually lead to an in-flight breakup.

| 1952 F-89 airshow crash

| Detroit, Michigan, United States

| F-89 Scorpion

| Design flaw

| 2

| Wing broke off during flypast{{cite web|url=http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/F-89/F-89.htm | title=WORK IN PROGRESS – More to add |publisher=Ejection-history.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2010-07-31}}

| {{nowrap|1952 Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash}}

|Farnborough, Hampshire, United Kingdom

| de Havilland DH.110

| Design flaw

| 31

| Leading edge aeroelastic flutter caused the aircraft to breakup and crash into the crowd

| National Airlines Flight 470

| Gulf of Mexico

| Douglas DC-6

| Severe weather

| 46

| Loss of control and structural failure in severe turbulence

| BOAC Flight 781

| Mediterranean Sea

| de Havilland Comet

| Design flaw

| 35

| Near Elba: roof fatigue fracture lead to decompression

| South African Airways Flight 201

| Mediterranean Sea

| de Havilland Comet

| Design flaw

| 21

| Near Naples: decompression due to fatigue

|United Air Lines Flight 629

|Longmont, Colorado, United States

|Douglas DC-6B

|Bombing

|44

|Bomb placed in suitcase caused in-flight breakup

| 1957 Aqaba Valetta accident

| Near Aqaba, Jordan

| Vickers Valetta

| Severe weather

| 27

| Design strength of left-hand wing exceeded during probable loss of control in severe clear-air turbulence{{sfn|Gero|2010|p=75}}

| 1957 McNabs Island RCN Banshee crash

| Near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

| F2H-3 Banshee

| Manufacturing flaw

| 1

| Loss of outer starboard wing due to improperly manufactured fittings in folding wing mechanism{{cite book |last=Mills |first=Carl |title=Banshees of the Royal Canadian Navy |location=Willowdale, ON |publisher=Banshee Publication |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-9695200-0-9 |pages=280–281}}

| 1958 Vulcan crash at RAF Syerston

|RAF Syerston, United Kingdom

| Avro Vulcan prototype

| Pilot error

| 7

| Flew too fast during low pass exceeded g-limit of leading edge structure, aircraft disintegrated[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7626243.stm "Anniversary of Vulcan crash."] BBC News, 19 September 2008.

| 1959 Lightning crash

|Irish Sea, United Kingdom

| Lightning T.4 (first aircraft)

| Fin collapse due to inertia coupling during high speed tests

| 0

| first supersonic ejection by a UK pilot (M 1.7){{cite web|url=http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/project/year_pages/1959.htm |title=2005 |publisher=Ejection-history.org.uk |date= |accessdate=2010-07-31}} Fin enlarged

| 1963 Elephant Mountain B-52 crash

|Maine, United States

| B-52 Stratofortress

| Unknowingly exceeded design capability

| 7

| Loss of vertical stabilizer

| 1963 B-52 crash in New Mexico

|New Mexico, United States

| B-52 Stratofortress

| Unknowingly exceeded design capability

| 2

| Near Mora:{{cite web |url=http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm |title=B-52_Stratofortress |publisher=Ejection-history.org.uk |accessdate=2010-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214105456/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/aircraft_by_type/b52_stratofortress.htm |archive-date=2010-02-14 |url-status=dead }} loss of vertical stabilizer{{cite web|title=Look mom, I lost my tail! We gotta bring this Buff in anyway |url=http://www.talkingproud.us/HistoryB52NoTail.html |publisher=TalkingProud.us |accessdate=2009-11-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604193800/http://www.talkingproud.us/HistoryB52NoTail.html |archivedate=June 4, 2007 }}

| 1964 B-57 crash

|Dayton, United States

| NRB-57 Canberra

| Mis-management of fuel system, causing CofG to be beyond its safe rearward limit

| 2

| Both wings failed

| B-52 flight test of vertical stabilizer

|New Mexico, United States

| B-52 Stratofortress

| Unknowingly exceeded design capability

| 0

| Loss of vertical stabilizer, landed safely

| 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash

|Maryland, United States

| B-52 Stratofortress

| Unknowingly exceeded design capability

| 3

| Loss of vertical stabilizer

| 1964 USAF Thunderbird crash

|Hamilton Field, California, United States

| F-105 Thunderchief

| Design flaw

| 1

| Spine failure during 6G pitch-up at air show

| 1965 Little Baldon Hastings accident

| RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

| Handley Page Hastings

| Design flaw

| 41

| Right-hand elevator became uncontrollable due to metal fatigue-related failure of two bolts in elevator system{{sfn|Gero|2010|p=95}}

| BOAC Flight 911

|Mount Fuji, Japan

| Boeing 707-436

| Severe weather

| 124

| Severe clear-air turbulence, gust load over design limit lead to in-flight breakup

| Braniff Airways Flight 250

|Nebraska, United States

| BAC One-Eleven 203AE

| Severe weather

| 42

| Horizontal and vertical stabilizers detached in severe turbulence

| Lake Central Flight 527

|Ohio, United States

| Convair CV-580

| Propeller manufacturing defect

| 38

| Propeller broke apart; one of the blades punctured the fuselage, causing the forward section to break away

| Mohawk Airlines Flight 40

|Pennsylvania, United States

| BAC One-Eleven 204AF

| Mechanical failure

| 34

| Valve in the auxiliary power unit suffered a complete failure, spreading fire to the tailplane and causing a loss of pitch control

| X-15 Flight 3-65-97

|Edwards AFB, United States

| {{nowrap|North American X-15}}

| Pilot error

| 1

| Loss of control followed by airframe failure

|Braniff Airways Flight 352

|Near Dawson, Texas, United States

|Lockheed L188A-Electra

|Severe weather

|85

|Controlled flight into thunderstorm with severe turbulence causing in-flight breakup

| Air Canada Flight 621

| Brampton, Ontario, Canada

| McDonnell Douglas DC-8

| Pilot error

| 109

| Hard landing caused by crew error, causing engine No.4 and pylon to separate; further damage to the right wing caused leaking fuel to ignite and explode, causing the wing to break up and lead to the crash

| BEA Flight 706

| Belgium

| Vickers Vanguard

| Inadequate maintenance: undetected corrosion

| 63

| Near Aarsele: rear pressure bulkhead failure caused loss of tailplane

| American Airlines Flight 96

|Detroit, Michigan, United States

| MD DC-10

| Design flaw

| 0

| Cargo door locking mechanism failed causing door to separate from the aircraft and causing further damage; landed safely

| Aeroflot Flight 109

|Chita, Soviet Union

| Tupolev Tu-104

| Terrorist bombing

| 81

| Bomb put on board by hijacker

| Turkish Airlines Flight 981

|Picardy, France

| MD DC-10

| Design flaw

| 346

| Cargo door locking mechanism failed allowing door to separate from the aircraft; cabin floor collapsed, control cables severed, crashed into a forest

| Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales

| Argentina: near Cutral-Co

| Hawker Siddeley 748

| Improper maintenance: undetected metal fatigue

| 34

| Starboard wing failed outboard of engine

| 1977 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crash

| Near Lusaka Airport, Lusaka, Zambia

| Boeing 707

| Metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw

| 6

| Structural failure of the right horizontal stabiliser due to metal fatigue and aircraft design flaw

| Helikopter Service Flight 165

| North Sea, Norway

| Sikorsky S-61

| Fatigue

| 18

| Rotor blade loosened after fatigue to the knuckle joint: crashed into the sea{{cite web |url=http://www.aibn.no/ln-oqs-pdf?pid=Native-ContentFile-File&attach=1 |title=Rapport om luftfartsulykke i Nordsjøen den 26. juni 1978 ca. kl. 1115 med helikopter S-61 LN-OQS, tilhørende K/S Helikopter Service A/S |publisher=Accident Investigation Board Norway |language=Norwegian |format=PDF |date=17 January 1980 |accessdate=19 September 2012 |archivedate=26 August 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826103126/http://www.aibn.no/ln-oqs-pdf?pid=Native-ContentFile-File&attach=1 |url-status=live }}

| American Airlines Flight 191

|Chicago, United States

| MD DC-10

| Improper maintenance

| 271 + 2 on ground

| No.1 engine broke off due to faulty maintenance procedure; slats retracted, leading the plane to stall and crash

| NLM CityHopper Flight 431

| Moerdijk, Netherlands

| Fokker F28 Fellowship

| Severe weather

| 17

| Starboard wing detached from airframe due to loads exceeding design limits after the aircraft entered a tornado.

| Widerøe Flight 933

| Gamvik, Norway

| de Havilland Canada Twin Otter

| Severe weather

| 15

| Vertical stabilizer and rudder failed during clear-air turbulence{{cite web|url=http://www.stortinget.no/Global/pdf/Dokumentserien/2004-2005/dok24-200405.pdf |title=Rapport til Stortingets presidentskap fra Stortingets granskningskommisjon for Mehamn-ulykken |format=PDF |author=Parliament of Norway |author-link=Parliament of Norway |date=20 September 2005 |language=Norwegian |accessdate=20 October 2012 |archivedate=19 January 2016 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119132351/https://www.stortinget.no/Global/pdf/Dokumentserien/2004-2005/dok24-200405.pdf |url-status=live }}

| Air India Flight 182

|Atlantic Ocean off County Cork

| Boeing 747

| Terrorist bombing

| 329

| Terrorist bomb placed in cargo hold

| Japan Airlines Flight 123

|Mount Osutaka, Japan

| Boeing 747SR

| Improper maintenance

| 520

| Faulty repair after same plane suffered a tailstrike: the rear bulkhead failed which caused the tail fin to fall off and rupture all four hydraulic systems. The crash remains the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

| South African Airways Flight 295

| Indian Ocean, 134 nautical miles (248 km) north-east of Mauritius,

| Boeing 747

| Fire

| 159

| Catastrophic and contained cargo fire in rear cargo deck lead to the separation of tail section, an in-flight break up and a high-speed dive into ocean

| Aloha Airlines Flight 243

|Hawaii, United States

| Boeing 737

| Improper adhesive bonding of fuselage lap joints

| 1

| Corrosion and fatigue: 18 ft of roof separated from fuselage

| Pan Am Flight 103

|Lockerbie, United Kingdom

| Boeing 747

| Terrorist bombing

| 259 + 11 on ground

| Terrorist bomb in the forward luggage hold

| United Airlines Flight 811

|Hawaii, United States

| Boeing 747

| Dirt on microswitch/short circuit

| 9

| Cargo door opened (electrical fault), causing surrounding structure to fail leaving large hole; landed safely

| Partnair Flight 394

| 18 km north of Hirtshals, Denmark

| Convair 580

| Improper maintenance: use of counterfeit aircraft parts

| 55

| Highest death toll involving a Convair 580; loosening of vertical stabilizer due to excessive wear on mounting bolts

| UTA Flight 772

| Sahara Desert, Ténéré, Niger

| McDonnell Douglas DC-10

| Terrorist bombing

| 170

| Bomb hidden in forward cargo hold detonated at 35,000 feet leading to in-flight break-up scattering debris over a wide area across the Sahara

| Widerøe Flight 839

| Værøy, Norway

| de Havilland Canada Twin Otter

| Severe weather

| 5

| Rudder and tailplane cracked during extreme winds{{cite web |url=http://www.aibn.no/aviation/reports/1991-01 |title=Rapport of luftfartsulykke ved Værøy lufthavn den 12. april 1990 med Twin Otter LN-BNS |author=Accident Investigation Board Norway |author-link=Accident Investigation Board Norway |year=1991 |format=pdf |language=Norwegian |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120717225719/http://www.aibn.no/aviation/reports/1991-01 |archivedate=2012-07-17 }}

| British Airways Flight 5390

| Didcot, United Kingdom

| BAC One-Eleven

| Faulty maintenance

| 0

| Window separated from plane causing the pilot to be sucked out. First Officer successfully landed the plane in Southampton

|1991 Gulf War Boeing KC-135 accident

|Near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

|Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

|Severe weather and wake turbulence

|0

|Due to excess maneuvering, the airframe was pushed to its limits. Two out of the four engines detached from the aircraft. The plane executed an emergency landing

| Lauda Air Flight 004

| Phu Toei National Park, Amphoe Dan Chang, Thailand

| Boeing 767-300ER

| Manufacturing error: faulty thrust reverser

| 223

| Thrust reverser in No.1 engine unexpectedly deployed while cruising at 35,000 ft causing it to bank sharply to the left and enter a high-speed dive and breaking up at roughly 4000 ft scattering wreckage over a wide area

| Continental Express Flight 2574

|Texas, United States

| Embraer 120 Brasilia

| Improper maintenance

| 14

| Failure of the horizontal stabilizer during flight due to misunderstanding during maintenance

| El Al Flight 1862

|Bijlmermeer, Netherlands

| Boeing 747

| Corrosion in pylon fuse pin leading to metal fatigue

| 4 on board, 39 on ground

| Engine No.3 separated from its pylon which caused the adjacent engine No.4 to also fall off, taking the slats with them; stall and crash on attempted landing

| TWA Flight 800

| Moriches Inlet, near East Moriches, New York, United States

| Boeing 747

| Fuel tank explosion

| 230

| Exploded, broke up, and crashed off the coast of Long Island 30 minutes after taking off from New York bound for Paris due to a catastrophic central fuel tank explosion resulting in the forward fuselage section, which included the main flight deck first class and a portion of business class, separating and causing the remaining section to climb, abruptly stall, and enter a high speed dive, causing the left wing to also separate and plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in flames

| Helikopter Service Flight 451

| Norwegian Sea, Norway

| Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Puma

| Fatigue

| 12

| The accident was caused by a fatigue crack in the spline, which ultimately caused the power transmission shaft to fail. The helicopter crashed into the sea.{{cite web |url=http://www.aibn.no/ln_opg_eng_total-pdf?pid=Native-ContentFile-File&attach=1 |title=Report on the air accident 8 September 1997 in the Norwegian sea approx. 100 NM west north west of Brønnøysund, involving Eurocopter AS 332L1 Super Puma, LN-OPG, operated by Helikopter Service AS |publisher=Accident Investigation Board Norway |format=PDF |date=November 2001 |accessdate=19 September 2012 |archivedate=27 March 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327075439/http://www.aibn.no/ln_opg_eng_total-pdf?pid=Native-ContentFile-File&attach=1 |url-status=live }}

| SilkAir Flight 185

| Musi River, Palembang, Indonesia

| Boeing 737-300

| Pilot suicide (disputed by NTSC)

| 104

| Entered a high-speed vertical dive and broke up on its way down into the Musi River

| EgyptAir Flight 990

| Atlantic Ocean, 100 km (62 mi) S of Nantucket

| Boeing 767-300ER

| Pilot suicide (disputed)

| 217

| Abruptly descended rapidly before rapidly climbing before finally entering a high-speed dive, causing the No.1 engine and portions of the wings to break off on its way down towards the ocean

| Alaska Airlines Flight 261

| Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island

| McDonnell Douglas MD-83

| Maintenance intervals extended beyond safe limit

| 88

| Lack of lubrication causing structural failure of the jackscrew on the horizontal stabiliser resulting in aircraft descending inverted into sea

| American Airlines Flight 587

|Queens, New York City, United States

| Airbus A300

| Pilot error

| 265

| Overuse of rudder leading to loss of vertical stabilizer

| 2002 Eglin Air Force Base F-15 crash

|Gulf of Mexico

| F-15 Eagle

| Undetected corrosion

| 1

| Near Eglin AFB: port fin leading edge failed during test dive

| China Airlines Flight 611

|Taiwan Strait near Penghu Islands, Taiwan

| Boeing 747

| Faulty maintenance, metal fatigue

| 225

| Tailstrike leading to faulty repair: tail section broke off, causing aircraft to disintegrate

| Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

|Texas, United States

| Space Shuttle

| Design flaw

| 7

| Damaged TPS during launch, breakup during reentry

| Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101

|Miami Beach, Florida, United States

| Grumman Turbo-Mallard

| Improper maintenance

| 20

| In-flight wing failure due to metal fatigue

| Adam Air Flight 574

| Makassar Strait off Majene, Sulawesi, Indonesia

| Boeing 737-400

| Pilot error

| 102

| Spatial disorientation, inertial reference system (IRS) malfunction gradually banked to the left and entered a high-speed dive and broke up on its way down

| Pilatus EC-JXH crash

|Spain

| Pilatus PC-6

| {{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=Accident Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo Porter EC-JXH, 30 May 2008|url=https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=20232|access-date=2021-01-18|website=aviation-safety.net}}

| 2

| Wing failure

| VSS Enterprise crash

| Near the Mojave Desert, California, United States

| Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo

| Pilot error and design flaw

| 1

| Premature activation of the air brake device used for atmospheric re-entry lead to an in-flight breakup

| Metrojet Flight 9268

| North Sinai Governorate, Egypt

| Airbus A321-200

| Terrorist bombing

| 224

| Bomb that was smuggled into rear cargo hold disguised as a soft drink can contained four packs of dynamite, causing the tail section to separate and lead to an in-flight break up, scattering the wreckage in the Sinai Desert

| EgyptAir Flight 804

| Mediterranean Sea

| Airbus A320-200

| Explosion/fire caused by oxygen leak

| 66

| Accident was caused by oxygen leak in the cockpit; the following combustion and explosion ignited by the pilot's cigarette caused a fire and the break-up of the airplane into the Mediterranean Sea

|2017 United States Marine Corps KC-130 crash

|Leflore County, Mississippi, United States

|Lockheed KC-130T Hercules

|Improper maintenance

|16

|Accident was caused by improper repairs conducted in 2011 on a corroded propeller blade