“Most deadliest Aircrash disasters in Aviation history and the safety changes After”

 Sreedevi Chitharanjan

Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed moments after takeoff at Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick. It crashed into a hostel block in B.J. Medical College on June 12, killing 241 in the aircraft and at least 39 on the ground, with a lone survivor -Vishwash Kumar Ramesh –defying all the odds amid the rubble.

It was one of the most devastating aviation disasters in recent memory.

The investigators have retrieved the black boxes and are considering the possibility of a twin engine breakdown, and that may have triggered the deployment of the  Ram Air Turbine .

In the wake of the air crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with international support has commenced comprehensive investigation to find out the reasons for the crash. The preliminary report is expected to be out in 30 days and with the final finding by the end of one year .

In the wake of the crash, the global aviation community has reflected on previous tragedies. Since 1970, at least five air disasters have claimed over 2000 lives, causing shifts in industry norms, regulations, and aircraft design.

 

 Deadliest Single-Aircraft Accidents 

 

1. Tenerife Airport Disaster (March 27, 1977)

 A runway collision between two Boeing 747s in foggy conditions killed 583—still the deadliest aviation incident ever  .

 2. Japan Airlines Flight 123 (August 12, 1985)

 A decompression accident sent the aircraft smashing into Mount Osutaka, killing 520 of 524 aboard. Only 4 survived  . The crash was the deadliest  single aircraft tradegy in the aviation history of Japan.

 3. Saudi–Kazakh Mid-Air Collision (November 12, 1996)

Saudi Flight 763, a Boeing 747 en route to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia from Delhi, India  collided with Kazakhstan Airlines flight 1907, an  Ilyushin II-76, en route from chimket, Kazhakhastan to Delhi over the city of Charkhi Dadri killing 349   .

 4. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (March 3, 1974)

 Explosive decompression due to a cargo door failure doomed the flight, resulting in 346 fatalities  . It was en route  from Istanbul Yesilkoy Airport to London Heaththrow airport  , with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. 

5. Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka bombing) (June 23, 1985)

A bomb planted by extremists exploded off the coast of Ireland, killing 329 on board and triggering global aviation security reforms  .

 

Other Deadly Category-Defining Crashes

 

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie, December 21, 1988): 270 deaths due to a bomb aboard  .

 

Iran Air Flight 655 (July 3, 1988): Shot down by missile, killing 290  .

 

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (July 17, 2014): Downed by missile, killing 298  .

Recent Major Crashes Since 2020

 

China Eastern Flight 5735 (March  21, 2022): Boeing 737 crash in Guangxi killed 132  .

 

Jeju Air ATR-72 (Dec 29,  2023): 179 killed in South Korea on landing runway  .

 

Voepass ATR-72 (Aug 9, 2024): 62 fatalities near São Paulo, Brazil  .

 

 What We Learn—and What Changes

  

1     Improved Safety Reforms

Every tragedy led to key upgrades-: better cockpit communication, introduced mandatory feedbacks, enhanced maintenance procedures, and stronger anti-terror measures

 2. Engineering & Redundancy

 Failures like explosive decompression in Turkish 981 and decompression in JAL 123 resulted in  structural and system redundancies to prevent recurrence.

 3. Human Factors & Training

Tenerife and Charkhi Dadri disasters underscore communication and ATC clarity—leading to universal aviation phraseology standards.

  4. Ground Safety & Security Screening

Post-Air India bombing (1985) and Lockerbie, global airports ramped up baggage checks and cockpit barriers.

Air India Crash in Global Context

 While not the deadliest ever, AI 171's toll of 280 casualties (including those on the ground) places it among the top 10 fatal airline disasters of the past half-century, and most devastating in India since AI 182  . As investigators probe possible dual engine failure, parallels are already drawn with past incidents and investigations to prevent future tragedies.

Ends...