List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1975–1979)

This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. For more exhaustive lists, see the Aircraft Crash Record Office or the Air Safety Network or the Dutch Scramble Website Brush and Dustpan Database.

See also: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, pre-1950

See also: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 1950-1974

See also: List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 2000 -

1975

• 24 March - A Royal Air Force Handley Page Victor K1A, XH618, of 57 Squadron collided with a RAF Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer XV156 during a simulated refuelling. Buccaneer hit the Victor's tailplane causing the aircraft to crash into the sea 95 miles E of Sunderland, County Durham.
• 4 April – A USAF C-5A Galaxy, 68-0218, c/n 500-0021, taking part in Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon, experiences an explosive decompression about 40 mi (64 km) outside Saigon when the rear ramp and pressure door blow out, damaging the plane's flight controls. The plane, carrying over 300 crew, troops, children, and adult escorts, crashes into a rice paddy after the pilot loses control while trying to return to Tan Son Nhut Air Base; 138 die, including 127 orphans.
• 14 October – An RAF Avro Vulcan B2, XM645, of 9 Sqn RAF Waddington breaks up over Zabbar, Malta, after a hard landing shears off the port-side undercarriage, piercing a wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The pilot and co-pilot initiate a second landing attempt but eject when they realize that the plane cannot make it back to the runway. The subsequent explosion kills 5 crew members who remained aboard, and an electrical cable severed by falling debris kills a bystander on the ground.
• December - Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D Corsair II, 67-14586, c/n D.005, while assigned to Eglin AFB, Florida's 3246th Test Wing, Air Development & Test Center for mission support, suffered engine failure on take-off from Tallahassee Municipal Airport, Florida and made forced landing, coming down largely intact. Airframe was hauled back to Eglin AFB on a truck, where it was either scrapped or became a target hulk.

1976

• 30 January - A Convair PQM-102 Delta Dagger, belonging to the Fairchild Corporation according to a press report, crashed on landing at Bob Sikes Airport, Crestview, Florida when the landing gear collapsed. Airframe destroyed by fire. Sperry Flight Systems pilot, Earl C. Pearce, was unhurt.
• 25 October - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7965, Item 2016, lost near Lovelock, Nevada during night training sortie following INS platform failure. Pilot St. Martin and RSO Carnochan eject safely.
• 21 December - Imperial Iranian Air Force C-130H c.n. 4463, delivered as 5-148, September 1972, renumbered 5-142, November 1973, renumbered 5-8536, 1976, crashed during approach in bad weather to Shiraz, Iran.

1977

• 3 March - Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Italian Air Force C-130H MM61996, '46-10', c.n. 4492, of the 46 Aerobrigata, crashed into Monte Serra, 15 kilometers E of Pisa, Italy.
• 21 June - USN EC-130Q TACAMO III BuNo 156176, c.n. 4280, of VQ-3, crashed in the Pacific Ocean after night take-off from Wake Island.

1978

• 27 March - A USN F-14 Tomcat crashes and catapults across scrub grass to come to rest against a concrete highway divider on I-163 on approach to NAS Miramar, San Diego, California, exploding in flames. Both crew members eject seconds before impact; one fatality, no civilian deaths.
• 4 May - First prototype Have Blue stealth test bed, c/n 1001, on its 37th flight, hit the runway a little too hard at Groom Lake, Nevada and had to lift off for a another pass rather than go into a skid, but had bent the right main gear strut. The landing gear had been retracted after the "touch and go", and now the right main gear leg wouldn't extend. Despite many attempts, there was no way to get the gear down. Critically low on fuel, Lockheed test pilot Bill Park decided to eject and let the aircraft crash into the desert. Park suffered a serious back injury, ending his career as a test pilot. The airframe was bulldozed under the desert. News of the crash leaked to the press, and some vague comments were made about the possible existence of "stealth" aircraft.
• 19 October - A USAF B-52D-75-BO, 56-0594, of the 22nd Bomb Wing, crashes at 0730 hrs. in light fog in a plowed field ~2.5 miles SE of March AFB, near the rural community of Sunnymead, California, shortly after take-off. Five crew killed, but one is able to escape the burning wreckage and was reported in stable condition at the base hospital. Traffic was disrupted on nearby Interstate 15E.
• 26 October - A USAF A-7D on flight from Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, crashes on approach to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, coming down in street between University of Arizona buildings and Mansfield Junior High School in Tucson, killing driver of auto struck by the fighter, and injuring at least six other civilians. Pilot Capt. Frederick Ashler, 28, ejected safely while passing over the university campus.
• 7 November - USN A-4F Blue Angel, BuNo 155056, during pre-show exhibition at NAS Miramar, San Diego, California, pilot, Lt. Mike Curtain (sp?-Curtin?), dead on impact, no ejection.

1979

• 23 January - Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Italian Air Force C-130H MM62000, '46-14', c/n 4497, of the 46 Aerobrigata, jumped chocks during engine run-up, hit tree, written-off. Parts used to support c/n 4491, MM61995 damaged in hard landing, Pisa, January 1999. Hull at Milan-Malpensa, Italy, December 1979, 1989.
• 1 February - Pakistani Air Force C-130B 23488, c/n 3698, former USAF 62-3488, coded 'P', registered AQ-ACP, then AS-HFP, jumped chocks during night engine test run, collided with C-130E 10687, c/n 4117, former USAF 65-10687, coded 'D'. Both written off, hulls at Lahore, June 1981.
• 11 July - Second Lockheed Have Blue stealth testbed, c/n 1002, was lost at Groom Lake, Nevada on its 52nd flight when a hydraulic leak set the aircraft on fire. The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Ken Dyson, ejected safely, but the prototype was destroyed. Like its predecessor, it was buried under the desert.

1980

• 24 April - Operation Eagle Claw - A contingent of American military aircraft embarks on a commando raid to rescue a group of American hostages held by Iran. An unexpected sandstorm forces 2 USMC RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters to divert before reaching the first rendezvous point and causes serious mechanical damage to a third, prompting commanders to abort the mission. While attempting to evacuate personnel and equipment that had already arrived at the rendezvous point, the pilot of another Sea Stallion loses situational awareness in dustcloud during takeoff and collides with a USAF C-130 Hercules, killing 8 US servicemen aboard both aircraft.
• 29 October - A USAF C-130 Hercules outfitted with experimental JATO rockets for Operation Credible Sport, a planned second attempt to rescue American hostages held by Iran, is destroyed when the rockets misfire during a test landing at Duke Field, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, USA. All crew members survive, but the rescue operation is deemed excessively risky and is cancelled.

1981

• 12 January - Leftist terrorists, the Puerto Rican Popular Army, also known as the "Machete Wielders", seeking Puerto Rican independence, use homemade bombs to destroy eight Air National Guard Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D Corsair IIs and a retired Lockheed F-104 Starfighter at Puerto Rico Air National Guard Muñiz Air Base, located on the northeastern corner of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Three bombs in two planes were removed before they exploded. Security at the base was so slack that the bombers were able to ingress and egress without detection.
• 6 May - A mechanical failure caused an abrupt nose pitch-down of USAF EC-135N ARIA, 61-0328, c/n 18235, to crash in a farmer's field, in Walkersville, Maryland. All 21 aboard were killed. Some of those aboard were family members. A memorial has been built at Walkersville Heritage Farm Park. Aircraft was originally delivered as a C-135A-BN Stratolifter.
• 26 May - EA-6B Prowler crash landed on flight deck of USS Nimitz, off the Florida coast, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others (some reports say 48). The crash was the result of the aircraft missing the last arresting cable, while ignoring a wave-off command. Forensic testing conducted found that several members of the deceased flightdeck crew tested positive for marijuana (the officers onboard the aircraft were never tested). The responsibility for the accident was placed on the deck crew. The official naval inquiry stated that the accident was the result of drug abuse by the enlisted crewmen of the Nimitz, despite the fact that every death occurred during the impact of the crash and not one member of the deck crew was killed fighting the fire. As a result of this incident, President Ronald Reagan instituted a "Zero Tolerance" policy across all of the armed services - which started the mandatory drug testing of all US service personnel.
• 29 October - A U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler from NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, crashes at 0850 hrs. in a rural field near Virginia Beach, Virginia, killing three crew. Wreckage sprayed onto nearby houses, a barn and a stable with 35 horses, but no fires were sparked and there were no ground injuries. The Prowler had departed NAS Norfolk with three other aircraft at 0832 hrs., bound for the USS John F. Kennedy, off the Virginia coast before crashing three miles from NAS Oceana. Navy officials said they did not know if the pilot was trying for Oceana.
• 30 October - A USAF B-52D-55-BO, 55-078, of the 22nd Bomb Wing, March AFB, California, crashes on the eastern Colorado prairie near La Junta at 0630 hrs. while on a low-level (400 foot altitude) training mission, killing all eight crew. No weapons were onboard.
• 17 November - US Navy Lockheed S-3 Viking from the USS Nimitz, is lost near Sardinia with all four aviators killed.
• 22 November - US Navy Ling-Temco-Vought A-7E Corsair II from the USS Nimitz air wing and based at Cecil Field, Florida, crashed at 1200 hrs. ~120 miles NW of Sardinia. Fighter was returning to the ship after routine mission.

1982

• 18 January - Worst accident in U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team history, when four T-38As crashed during pre-season training at Indian Springs, Nevada. While practicing the 4 plane line abreast loop, the formation impacted the ground at high speed, instantly killing all four pilots: Major Norm Lowry, leader, Captain Willie Mays, Captain Pete Peterson and Captain Mark Melancon. The cause of the crash was officially listed by the USAF as the result of a mechanical problem with the #1 aircraft's control stick actuator. During formation flight, the wing and slot pilots visually cue off of the #1 lead aircraft, completely disregarding their positions in relation to the ground.
• 25 May - An RAF F-4 Phantom II piloted by Roy Lawrence and Alistair Inverarity was engaging an RAF SEPECAT Jaguar piloted by Steve Griggs in training exercises. During the encounter the Phantom shot a live AIM-9 Sidewinder forcing the Jaguar pilot to eject.
• 29 November - Shortly after completing a training mission, a USAF B-52G-130-BW, 59-4766, suffered hydraulics fire in nose gear, exploded at the end of the runway at Castle AFB, California, but crew of nine escaped before it was fully engulfed. Aircraft commander ordered evacuation as soon as he learned of the wheel fire.

1983

• 27 January - Five are killed and eight injured when a USAF B-52G Stratofortress catches fire and explodes at 0930 hrs. on the ramp at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota. The Stratofortress was undergoing routine fuel cell maintenance after flying a training mission the previous night.
• 28 April - A USAF A-7D of the Virginia Air National Guard, based at Richmond International Airport, crashed near Richmond, Virginia, shearing unoccupied house in half and setting second structure on fire. Pilot Capt. Robert Welch, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, ejected just before impact, suffering a slight back injury.

1984

• 16 October - An unarmed USAF B-52G-80-BW, 57‑6479, of the 92nd Bomb Wing out of Fairchild AFB, Washington, crashed about 2100 hrs. into a mesa on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona 13 miles NE of Kayenta, during a low-level training flight. Eight crew eject and recovered in a day; one ejects, missing; gunner KWF.

1985

• 9 February - An armed USAF A-10A, 78-0723, 'MB', crashed into a cliff in Oak Creek Canyon just north of Sedona, Arizona during a morning rainstorm. A military demolitions crew was sent in to recover unexploded munitions and the canyon was closed to traffic for several days. The lone pilot, attached to the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, South Carolina, was killed.
• 29 March - Two Canadian Forces CC-130H, 130330, c/n 4555, and 130331, c/n 4559, both of 435 Squadron, crashed after having a mid-air collision over CFB Namao, near Edmonton, Alberta. This is the only dual Hercules mid-air.
• 3 April - First Kamov V-80-01, prototype of Kamov Ka-50 Hokum, '010', crashes, killing pilot Yevgeni Laryushin.
• 20 April - USAF CT-39 Sabreliner suffering from defective brakes, runs off runway at Wilkes-Barre-Scranton International Airport, Pennsylvania, goes down 125-foot embankment, burns, killing all five on board. Victims included Gen. Jerome F. O'Malley, 53, commander of U.S. Tactical Air Command, his wife Diane, 52, and three other officers. The party had taken off from Langley Field, Virginia, and were to return there after the general fulfilled a commitment in Pennsylvania.
• 27 June – An RAF C-130 Hercules and a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter collide in cloud north of the Falkland Islands, at around 300 ft. The Hercules lost the wing beyond its #1 (port outer) engine but still managed to land. The Sea King, based at RNAS Culdrose, was lost and all four on board killed.
• 13 July – Blue Angels Aircraft 5, BuNo 155029, and 6, BuNo 154992, (Douglas A-4F) collide at the top of a loop at 1532 hrs., Niagara Falls International Airport, New York, during the Western New York Air Show '85, killing Lt. Cmdr. Michael Gershon. Second pilot, Lt. Andy Caputi, ejects safely with only minor injuries. One Skyhawk crashed on airport grounds while the second fighter impacted in a nearby auto junkyard.
• 8 August -A USAF Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D Corsair II lost power, caught fire and crashed into Midwest City, a suburb of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pilot Maj. Dennis D. Nielson staying with aircraft as he attempted to steer it towards less-populous area before ejecting, but fighter impacted house, killing one, injuring one, one missing, said a United Press International report. Second victim found on 9 August.
• 8 August - A USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed during a training mission in northwest Utah, killing the pilot.
• 15 November - A US Navy turboprop Convair C-131 crashed shortly after takeoff from Napier Field, Dothan, Alabama, killing two pilots of the Navy's Fleet Logistic Support Squadron, Andrews AFB, Maryland, and a flight engineer, also of Andrews AFB. Jack MacMullen, 34, a Navy lieutenant commander, from Seabrook, Maryland, John Bryan Gore,30, a Navy lieutenant, of Centreville, Virginia, and Robert Scott Grey, of Andrews AFB, KWF.
• 12 December – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a chartered DC-8-63CF, N950JW, c/n 46058, line number '433', crashes just after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, killing 256 people, of whom 248 were soldiers in the US Army 101st Airborne Division returning from overseas duty in the Sinai desert, Egypt. This remains the greatest peacetime loss of military personnel in US history.

1986

• 22 May - US Navy A-6E Intruder, bound for the USS John F. Kennedy at Puerto Rico, crashes on takeoff from NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia, at 1105 hrs., killing two crew and one motorist on Oceana Boulevard. Aircraft had no munitions but carried a full fuel load and burst into flame as it came down just outside the station perimeter, killing pilot Lt. James P. Hoban, 26, of River Vale, New Jersey, and bombardier-navigator Lt. Michael F. Wilson, 27, of Medford, New Jersey, as well as Navy wife Tammy Fowler, 25, of Virginia Beach, in the vehicle on Oceana Boulevard. Navy officials said that this was the first Navy plane crash in the area in more than two years. Witnesses reported that the Intruder's tail appeared to be on fire as it came down.

1987

• 24 June - RAF SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A, XZ386, '05', of 226 OCU, suffers loss of control/controlled flight into terrain three miles (5 km.) SE of Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. Pilot KWF.
• 20 October - USAF Ling-Temco-Vought A-7D Corsair II, 69-6207, of the 4450th Tactical Group, Nellis AFB, Nevada, loses all power 15 miles S of Indianapolis, Indiana at 31,000 feet while en route from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. Pilot tries to dead-stick into Indianapolis International Airport but receives poor direction from air traffic controllers and crashes at ~0915 hrs. during late turn after aiming plane at a baseball field but fighter veers, striking bank branch roof and hitting center of Ramada Inn across the street, killing nine employees, injuring five others. Pilot Maj. Bruce L. Teagarden, 35, ejected, suffering bruises and muscle strain. He lands in parking lot of Ace Supply Company, four blocks from the hotel. Air Force pays out $50,427 in property claims damages, according to the New York Times on 26 October.

1988

• 24 April - Marine Corps Colonel Jerry Cadick, then commanding officer of MAG-11, was performing stunts at the MCAS El Toro Air Show before a crowd of 300,000 when he crashed his F/A-18 Hornet at the bottom of a loop that was too close to the ground.[20] The aircraft was in a nose-high attitude, but still carrying too much energy toward the ground when it impacted at more than 300 mph (480 km/h). Col. Cadick was subjected to extremely high G forces that resulted in his face making contact with the control stick and sustaining serious injury. He broke his arm, elbow and ribs, exploded a vertebra and collapsed a lung. Col. Cadick survived and retired from the Marine Corps. The F/A-18 remained largely intact but was beyond repair.
• 6 May - CH-53D with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-46 crashed into South China Sea killing all 17 on board.
• 12 July - U.S. Navy CT-39E Sabreliner, BuNo 158381, c/n 282-93, ex-N4701N, en route from Singapore to Subic Bay Naval Station, Philippines, comes down in the afternoon in the South China Sea near the Spratly Island archipelago, after radioing a distress signal of equipment failure. Vietnamese Navy ship (described by Joe Baugher as a fishing vessel) picks up three American crew, two men and one woman, said a spokesman at the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok on 15 July, and took them to Vietnam where they were being "treated very kindly". Arrangements would be made to repatriate the crew. At this time the United States and Vietnam had not yet reestablished diplomatic relations.
• 17 August – A PAF C-130B Hercules, 23494, 'R' (ex-USAF 62-3494), c/n 3708, crashes near the Pakistani town of Bahawalpur, killing everyone aboard, including the President of Pakistan General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, American Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel, Head of Pakistan's military intelligence General Akther Abdul Rehman and nearly all of the top military brass of the Pakistan Army.
• 28 August – Ramstein airshow disaster: Three of the ten Aermacchi MB-339PAN jets from the Italian Air Force display team Frecce Tricolori collide in mid-air in front of the audience while performing their 'pierced heart' formation. One aircraft crashes directly into the crowd. Sixty-seven spectators and all three pilots are killed and 346 seriously injured in the resulting explosion and fire.
• 5 December - A U.S. Navy EA-6B Prowler goes missing over the Pacific Ocean during training exercise 900 miles off San Diego. Search fails to find any sign of the four crew.
• 6 December - A USAF B-52H-150-BW, 60-0040, crashed on the runway at 0115 hrs. EST at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan, while doing touch-and-goes after a seven-hour training flight. No weapons were aboard the bomber, which broke into three parts. All crew survived, crawling or being helped from the nose section, without sustaining burns.
• 8 December – Remscheid plane crash: An USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into the West German town of Remscheid. The pilot and five residents are killed, and a further 50 people injured.

1989

• 29 January - A RCAF CC-130E, 130318, formerly 10318, c/n 4124, of 43 Squadron, participating in annual Brim Frost exercises hits runway lights and a river bank short of the runway and crashes onto the runway at Wainwright AAF, Alaska at -46 degrees Fahrenheit. Eleven of the eighteen occupants are killed.
• 2 February - The first prototype JAS 39 Gripen crashed on its sixth flight when landing in Linköping as a result of pilot-induced oscillation. The accident was filmed in a now famous recording by a crew from Sveriges Television's Aktuellt. The pilot remained in the tumbling aircraft, and escaped miraculously with just a fractured arm.
• 21 April - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7974, Item 2025, outbound on operational sortie from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, suffers engine explosion, total hydraulic failure. Pilot Maj. Dan E. House and RSO Capt. Blair L. Bozek both eject safely. This was the final Blackbird loss before the type was withdrawn from service.
• 15 May - US Navy CT-39E Sabreliner, BuNo 158383, 'JK', of VRC-40, NAS Norfolk, Virginia, runs off runway at Andrews AFB, Maryland, at 1100 hrs. Crew of four and one passenger uninjured.
• 4 July - A "runaway" Soviet MiG-23 crashes into a farmhouse in Belgium, killing an 18-year-old man.
• 30 November - An A-4F Skyhawk assigned to the US Navy Top Gun school crashed short of the runaway at NAS Miramar, north of San Diego, California. The cause of the crash was loss of power to the engine. The pilot, an instructor in the Top Gun school, ejected safely.

1990

• 12 January - USMC A-4 Skyhawk crashes on approach to NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, coming down in Upper Moreland Township, impacting in an intersection, debris tearing off roof of an auto-leasing business, destroying four autos, and damaging six houses, but no injuries on the ground. Pilot Capt. Duane Pandorf, 35, parachutes into tree, suffering only minor injuries.
• 23 January - Mid-air collision between two Blue Angels F/A-18 aircraft during a practice session at El Centro. One airplane, Angel Number 2, BuNo 161524, piloted by Capt. Chase Moseley (ejected) was destroyed and the other, Angel Number 1, badly damaged but managed to land safely. Both pilots survived unharmed.
• 12 February - A USMC pilot died and a reconnaissance observer was hurt when they ejected almost simultaneously from separate aircraft during training missions at the Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. Capt. Thomas Kolb, 28, of San Diego, California, was killed after ejecting from his AV-8B Harrier II, based at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, which crashed in a remote area. Aerial observer Capt. Jeffrey P. Schade, of Southhold, New York, ejected from OV-10 Bronco, suffering minor injuries. The Bronco landed safely.
• 30 May - Two USAF Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair IIs of the Air National Guard, collided in mid-air and crashed in a "ball of flame" over northwestern Iowa near Spencer, Iowa, both pilots and a civilian passenger ejected safely. The information available strongly suggests that the flight consisted on an A-7D and an A-7K two-seater.
• 6 November - Crew of an US Navy A-6E Intruder, '506', of VA-176, suffering engine fire, aim bomber away from Virginia Beach, Virginia oceanfront before ejecting just after takeoff from NAS Oceana, Virginia's Runway 5. Bomber comes down at 1015 hrs. in the Atlantic Ocean ~.75 miles offshore, after just clearing the Station One Hotel, on-shore breeze carries crew inland about three blocks from the beach, one landing in a tree, the other in a courtyard of a condominium, suffering only cuts and bruises. Aircraft, on routine training mission, was unarmed. Officials did not identify the crew, but said the pilot was a 29-year old lieutenant, and the bombardier-navigator was a 34-year old lieutenant commander, both assigned to VA-176.
• December 6 - An MB-326 jet from the Italian Air Force crashes into a high school in Casalecchio di Reno, Italy. Twelve students are killed, 84 more are severely injured. The pilot ejected after losing control of the plane.

1991

• 24 January - A-7E Corsair II, BuNo 158830, 'AC 403', of VA-72 has the dubious distinction of being the last of the type in US Navy service to need a barricade landing aboard a carrier when the nose gear was damaged on catapult launch from the USS John F. Kennedy, CV-67, at start of mission 12.41 against a target in western Iraq, losing one tire. Pilot, Lt. Tom Dostie, succeeds in hooking 1-wire and aircraft snags safely in barricade. Since the A-7 type was about to be retired, airframe is stripped for parts and buried at sea 25 January with full military honors, but refuses to sink until strafed by air wing jets.
• 3 March - US Navy T-39 Sabreliner crashed at 1145 hrs. in a neighborhood ~.5 miles S of NAS Glenview, Illinois, killing three crew, but missing houses. No one on ground was injured and witnesses said the pilot appeared to intentionally avoid structures, the jet coming down 20 feet from homes.
• 21 March – Two US Navy P-3 Orion anti-submarine planes are lost during a training mission off the San Diego coast. The crash occurs in a storm 60 miles SW of San Diego at 0230 hrs., as one plane flies to relieve the other, which had been airborne for seven hours. Search-and-rescue workers discover wreckage from the downed planes but all 27 crewmen are lost. The two aircraft were assigned to Patrol Squadron 50, based at Moffett Naval Air Station in Mountain View.
• 5 June - A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A, A21-041, of 75 Squadron, crashes 100 kilometres NE of Weipa, Queensland. The pilot was killed. The wreckage was found in July 1994.
• 29 October - A Royal Australian Air Force Boeing 707-368C, A20-103, c.n 21103/905, stalled and crashed into the sea near RAAF Base East Sale, VIC, Australia killing all five crew. The crash was attributed to a simulation of asymmetric flight resulting in a sudden and violent departure from controlled flight.
• 30 November - During routine training mission, pilot Lt. Michael Young, 28, bailed out of his disabled USAF A-7D of the 180th TFG, Ohio Air National Guard, based at Toledo Express Airport, Swanton, Ohio, over the coast of Michigan's Thumb area. He landed in Lake Huron, and was dragged 12 miles in his parachute by winds before being lost and presumed drowned. The jet impacted in a wooded area near Port Hope, Michigan. Rescuers were unable to reach pilot at the speed he was being dragged, and survival was unlikely in the 38-degree water.

1992

• 6 February - A Kentucky Air National Guard C-130B, 58-0732, c/n 3527, of the 165th Tactical Airlift Squadron, stalls and crashes into the JoJo's restaurant and Drury Inn while practicing touch and go maneuvers at the Evansville, Indiana Airport. All five crew members and nine people on the ground were killed. Several others were injured.
• April - A Marine Corps CH-46 suffers a catastrophic explosion and crashes into the Red Sea, killing four Marines including the pilot and injuring eight Marines.
• 20 July - An MV-22 Osprey prototype, BuNo 163914, catches fire and falls into the Potomac River at MCAS Quantico, Virginia, USA, killing 5 crew members in front of an audience of high-ranking US government officials; this is the first of a series of fatal accidents involving the controversial tiltrotor aircraft.
• 31 July - A US Navy E-2C Hawkeye on a training flight crashes in the Atlantic Ocean ~75 miles N of Puerto Rico while returning to the USS John F. Kennedy CV-67, killing all five crew. The Navy reported on 1 August that the aircraft radioed that it was in trouble before coming down ~4 miles from the carrier, the second plane loss of that air wing in less than a fortnight.
• 13 October - Antonov An-124 Ruslan, SSSR-82002, believed destined for Aeroflot, on test flight by Antonov/Aviastar, suffers nose cargo door failure during high-speed descent (part of test program) resulting in total loss of control. Airframe comes down in forest near Kiev, killing eight of nine crew.

1993

• 27 April – A Zambian Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashed shortly after takeoff from Libreville, Gabon. One engine caught fire and failed; the tired pilot then shut down the wrong engine, causing a complete loss of power during the climb and leading to a crash 500 metres offshore. The plane was carrying the Zambia national football team to a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Senegal. All 30 on board, including 18 players, the coach, and team support staff, were killed.
• 24 July - At 1517 hrs. two MiG-29s of the Russian Flight Research Institute took off for a demonstration at RIAT RAF Fairford 1993, but during display suffer mid-air collision, both pilots ejecting safely. Video of this accident is widely available on the internet.
• 8 August - A JAS 39 Gripen crashed on the central Stockholm island of Långholmen, near the Västerbron bridge, during a slow speed manoeuver during a display over the Stockholm Water Festival. The same pilot as in the 1989 incident ejected safely. Despite large crowds standing by watching, no one on the ground was seriously injured. This crash was caused by a PIO.

1994

B-52H 61-0026 Czar 52 about to crash. Note that the co-pilot's hatch has been blown in a failed attempt to eject.

• 23 March - Green Ramp Disaster - A mid-air collision between a C-130 Hercules, 68-10942, and a F-16D Fighting Falcon, 88-0171, causes a ground crash between the F-16 and a C-141 Starlifter, 66-0173. This propelled the wreckage of the F-16 into paratroopers preparing for a practice drop killing 24 and injuring many more. The C-130 landed safely.
• 5 April - A U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder, based at NAS Alameda, crashes into the San Francisco Bay, California at 1200 hrs., close to the mid-span of the San Francisco-Oakland bridge, killing two crew, the Coast Guard said.
• 14 April - Two U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopters are mistakenly shot down by USAF F-15 Eagle jets while patrolling the no-fly zone over Iraq, killing 26 personnel in what is known as the Black Hawk Incident.
• 2 June - A Royal Air Force Boeing Chinook HC.2 helicopter, ZD576, 'G', of Odiham Wing, crashes near Campbeltown, Scotland, killing 29 crew and passengers, including several top officials of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
• 24 June - 'Czar 52', a USAF B-52H-170-BW Stratofortress, 61-0026, crashes during an airshow practice at Fairchild AFB. After having rehearsed the maneuvers profile that in itself was dangerous to fly in a B-52, the aircraft came into land. Due to a KC-135 Stratotanker still being on the runway, the aircraft was required to make a 'go around'. After beginning a 360-degree turn left, the aircraft exceeded 90 degrees angle of bank, stalled and crashed into the ground. All four aircrew members were killed in the crash.
• 24 October - US Navy F-14A Tomcat, BuNo 160390, of VF-213 crashed on approach to the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln CVN-72, operating 40 miles (65 km.) off the Southern California coast, killing Lt. Kara Hultgreen, the first female Tomcat-qualified pilot in the Navy. RIO Lt. Matthew P. Klemish ejected and was rescued. Due to low-speed rolling turn, the ejections were on the edge of the seat capabilities, and Hultgreen's did not have time to fully sequence. Her body was recovered by a Navy salvage team, still strapped into her seat less than 100 yards (90 m.) from her F-14 on the seabed.

1995

• 21 May-22 May - Historic B-29-95-BW Superfortress, 45-21768, "Kee Bird", of the 46th/72nd Reconnaissance Squadrons, abandoned in 1947 and recently restored to flying condition after a number of highly calamitous setbacks, is severely damaged by fire while attempting to take off from a frozen lakebed in Greenland. Its remains are abandoned to sink into the melting ice.
• 2 September - RAF Kinloss Wing Nimrod MR.2, XV239, crashes into Lake Ontario, at Toronto, Canada during the 46th Canadian National Exhibition International airshow, killing all seven crew of 120 Squadron. Video of this crash is widely available on the internet.
• 22 September – A USAF E-3B Sentry, 77-0354, c/n 21554, of the 961st AACS, 552nd ACW, crashes shortly after take off from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, when a flock of Canadian snow geese were ingested by its engines. All 26 crew members die, including 2 Canadian air crew members. This was the first loss of an E-3 since the type entered service in 1977.

1996

• 3 April - A USAF Boeing CT-43, 73-1149 (c/n 20696), on an official trade mission, crashed on approach to Dubrovnik Airport, Croatia, killing United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people.
• 12 June – Two Australian Army S-70A Black Hawk helicopters collide during a night training exercise near Townsville, Queensland, killing 18 soldiers.
• 15 July – At approximately 1803 hrs., a Belgian Lockheed C-130H Hercules, registration number CH-06, c/n 4473, crashed at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands after bird strikes stopped three engines. A total of 34 people lost their lives as a result of the accident, and seven people were seriously injured.

1997

• 4 February - Two Israeli CH-53 Sea Stallion Yas'ur 2000s, 357 and 903, collide in darkness near the remote She'ar Yeshuv kibbutz, over northern Israel at ~1900 hrs. in a storm, killing 73 Israel Defense Forces soldiers. See 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster.
• 13 September - Luftwaffe Tupolev 154M, 11+02, of 1 Staffel/FBS, used for Open Skies treaty verification, collided with a US Air Force C-141B Starlifter, 65-9405, of the 305th AMW, about 120 km (75 miles) W of the coast of Namibia over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 24 aboard. Accident investigations by both countries, released 31 March 1998, found that the Tu-154 was flying at the wrong altitude, 35,000 feet (11,600 m.) instead of 39,000 feet (12,900 m.), and was thus primarily at fault. Contributory factor was chronically poor ATC in the area.
• 14 September - A Lockheed F-117, 81-793, of the 7th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Wing, at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, lost its port wing at 1500 hrs. during a pass over Martin State Airport, Middle River, Maryland during the Chesapeake Air Show and crashed into a residential area of Bowley's Quarters, Maryland damaging several homes. Four people on the ground received minor injuries and the pilot, Maj. Bryan "B.K." Knight, 36, escaped with minor injuries after ejecting from the aircraft. A month-long Air Force investigation found that four of 39 fasteners for the wing's structural support assembly were apparently left off when the wings were removed and reinstalled in January 1996, according to a report released 12 December 1997.
• 5 December - Russian Air Force Antonov An-124 Ruslan, RA-82005, delivering two Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers to Vietnam, loses both port engines at 200 feet (60 m) on take-off from Irkutsk, crashing into residential area, killing eight crew, 15 passengers, and 45 on the ground (some accounts list higher ground casualties). Cause was thought to be either contaminated fuel or wrong grade of fuel, taken on at Irkutsk.

1998

• 3 February - A U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler, BuNo 163045, 'CY-02', callsign Easy 01, of VMAQ-2, struck a cable supporting a gondola in Cavalese. The cable was severed and 20 people in the cabin plunged over 80 metres to their deaths. The plane had wing and tail damage but was able to return to the base.
• 21 February – A Sudan Air Force Antonov An-32 overshoots the runway and crashes into a river near Nasir, Sudan killing 27 of the 57 people on board.
• 29 March – A Peruvian Air Force Antonov An-32, FAP-388/OB-1388, carrying villagers affected by floods, crashes in Piura, Peru after engine failure. Of the 55 people on board, 22 are killed.
• 5 May – A Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737-282, FAP-351, c/n 23041, line number 962, chartered from Occidental Petroleum, crashes at ~2130 hrs. during poor weather near Andoas, Peru killing 75 of the 88 people on board.
• 12 May – A Mauritanian Air Force Antonov An-24B, RA-12973, c/n 9346505, crashes near Néma, Mauritania during a sandstorm killing 39 of the 42 people on board.
• 25 May – A Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force Yakovlev Yak-40, RDPL-34001, '001', c/n 9431835, crashes into a mountain during heavy rain killing all of the 26 on board, including Lt. Gen. Dao Trong Lich, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnamese Peoples' Army.
• 17 June - Kamov Ka-50 Hokum crash at Army Aviation Combat Training Centre, Torzhok, kills Gen. Boris Vorobyov.

1999

• 21 January – A Nicaraguan Air Force Antonov An-26, 126, c/n 14206, crashes into a mountain near Bluefields, Nicaragua killing all 28 on board.
• 21 January - Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR.1 ZA330, 'B-08', crashed into a Cessna 152 II, G-BPZX near Mattersley Nottinghamshire. In the Air Accident Report 3/2000 the conclusion was none of the pilots saw each other in time to take avoiding action. Both crew of the Tornado, Flight Lieutenant Greg Hurst and Sottotenete Matteo Di Carlo, as well as the pilot and passenger in the Cessna, were killed.
• 7 March – An Indian Air Force Antonov An-32 crashes upon landing in New Delhi, India during poor weather. All 19 people on board are killed.
• 18 April - Royal Australian Air Force F-111G, A8-291, of 6 Sqn., crashes about 2230 hrs. while on exercises in Malaysia. Believed to have hit one of two peaks on small island Pulua Aur, off the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, and then crashed into the South China Sea. The two crew, Sqn. Ldr. Steve Hobbs and Flt. Lt. Anthony Short, are killed.
• 27 May - An Indian Air Force HAL MiG-27L of 9 Wolfpack Sqn. suffers flame-out, fails to get relight, over Hunzi Ghund, Pakistan, during Kargil conflict. The MiG-27 pilot, Flt Lt K. Nachiketa successfully ejected at 1045 hrs., and he was captured by Pakistani ground forces as a POW. Pakistan claimed it as a shoot-down.
• 27 May - An Indian Air Force MiG-21MF, C-1539, of 17 Golden Arrows Sqn., is shot down by a Pakistani FIM-92 Stinger while searching for downed MiG-27 pilot during the Kargil conflict. Aircraft comes down at 1105 hrs., some 7.5 miles (12 km.) inside occupied Kashmir. Although pilot Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja ejected safely, Pakistan claimed he had been killed. After his body was returned 28 May, "initial examination found bullet wounds which suggested he had been shot after ejecting. This was the first time since 1971 that India had lost an aircraft to hostile fire."
• 28 May - An Indian Air Force Mi-17 Hip helicopter is shot down by Pakistan air defence units using an FIM-92 Stinger missile during the Kargil conflict. Four IAF personnel were killed.
• 12 June - Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MK-1 demonstrator '01' with vectored thrust crashes on opening day of the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport. At the completion of a downward spiralling maneuver, the tail contacted the grass surface. With almost no forward speed the fighter was able to pull away from the ground, wings level, with an up pitch of 10-15 degrees and climb to ~150 feet (46 m), with the right jet nozzle deflected fully up and flames engulfing the left engine. Sukhoi test pilot Vyacheslav Averynov initiated ejection with navigator Vladimir Shendrikh departing the aircraft first. The Zvezda K-36D-3.5 ejection seats work perfectly and both crew descend on a taxiway unhurt. The Su-30 impacted some distance from the crew. Video of this accident is widely available on the internet.
• 10 August - A Pakistan Navy Breguet Atlantic, believed to be serialled '91', c/n 33, of 29 Squadron, is shot down by Indian Air Force jets, citing airspace violation. Dubbed the Atlantique Incident, it raises tensions between India and Pakistan.
• 20 September - A Swedish Air Force JAS-39 Gripen, 39156, '56', of F7 Wing, 2nd Sqn., crashes into Lake Vänern at about 1430 hrs. during an air-to-air combat exercise. Aircraft sank in about 260 feet of water (80 m). Pilot ejected safely and was recovered by Hkp 10 SAR helicopter. The accident was caused by a design flaw in the plane's control system, rendering it in a stalled mode after passing another plane's vortex. This was the first loss of a Gripen since the type became operational.
• 10 December – A United States Air Force C-130E Hercules, 63-7854, of 61st Airlift Squadron, 463rd Airlift Group, crashes during landing at Ahmed Al Jaber air base, Kuwait City, Kuwait killing three of the 94 people on board. Investigation report, released 31 March 2000, blamed crew complacency and failure to follow governing directives during approach to the runway, failing to monitor instruments, a critical function for night flying in reduced visibility.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, pre-1950
• List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 1950-1974
• List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 2000 -
• List of C-130 Hercules crashes

External links

• [2] AVIATION WEEK
• PlaneCrashInfo.com
• Dutch Scramble Website Brush and Dustpan Database