EVERY CRASH IS A LESSON THE SKY WROTE DOWN
A student-built archive of aviation's worst days — the crashes, the hijackings and the near misses — sorted strictly by root cause, with the aircraft, the pilots, the departure airports and the sources.
89
Incidents archived
10
Cause categories
1954–2026
Years covered
9,800
Lives lost
CATEGORIZED BY ROOT CAUSE
No mixing. No "miscellaneous". Every incident sits in exactly one compartment based on why it happened.
Human Error (Crew)
When decisions in the cockpit seal the outcome.
11 incidents · 1,290 deaths
Mechanical & Structural Failure
Metal fatigue, broken parts, failed repairs.
9 incidents · 1,645 deaths
System & Design Malfunction
When software, sensors and design turn on the crew.
9 incidents · 1,239 deaths
Weather
Microbursts, ice, hail and storms.
8 incidents · 518 deaths
Fuel Starvation & Management
Empty tanks at altitude.
7 incidents · 193 deaths
Mid-Air & Ground Collisions
Two aircraft, one piece of sky.
8 incidents · 1,709 deaths
Hijacking, Sabotage & Deliberate Acts
Bombs, hijackers, shootdowns, murder in the cockpit.
14 incidents · 1,826 deaths
Runway Overruns & Excursions
When the runway runs out.
7 incidents · 382 deaths
Near Misses & Miraculous Escapes
Everyone walked away. Barely.
9 incidents · 0 deaths
Unsolved & Under Investigation
The cases with no final answer.
7 incidents · 998 deaths
GO FURTHER
How the Sky Got Safer
FAA, EASA & ICAO measures born from each disaster — plus cockpit warning sounds.
Open
The Black Box Quiz
Ten randomized questions on the crashes, aircraft and causes in the archive.
Open
Blueprints & Pictures
The Boeing, Airbus and Concorde machines of the archive — photos, drawings and specs.
Open
Basic Flight Controls
Pitch, roll, yaw and every cockpit control explained — plus simulators to fly yourself.
Open
VOICES OF THE CRASH
The pilots, filmmakers and podcasters who keep these lessons alive.
YouTube — Airline Captain & Examiner
Mentour Pilot
Petter Hörnfeldt, a Boeing 737 captain and type-rating examiner, reconstructs accidents in a full-motion simulator and explains exactly what the crew saw, did and missed. The gold standard of aviation analysis on YouTube.
YouTube — Aviation Documentaries
Wyngx
Cinematic, meticulously researched documentaries on aviation's biggest disasters and mysteries — including one of the most-watched breakdowns of the Air India 171 crash.
TV Series — National Geographic
Mayday / Air Crash Investigation
The documentary series that defined the genre. 25+ seasons of dramatized reconstructions built on official investigation reports, airing as 'Mayday', 'Air Disasters' and 'Air Crash Investigation' around the world.
Podcast — Alice Stern & Zach
Final Boarding Call
A weekly podcast diving into the true stories of aviation disasters, survival tales and near misses — hosted by a disaster-obsessed frequent flyer and her reluctant, homebody husband.