Chronology of Major Air Crashes

The recent disappearance of EgyptAir Flight MS804, which was en route from Paris to Cairo on Thursday, adds to a troubling series of aviation incidents spanning the last three years.

While the cause of the EgyptAir tragedy remains under investigation, recent aviation disasters have been attributed to various factors including severe weather, terrorist acts, and in some cases, pilot error.

March 19, 2016 – A tragic crash occurred when a United Arab Emirates passenger jet failed to land in Russia, killing all 62 people aboard. Flydubai Flight 981, a Boeing 737, was attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don airport amid 60 mph winds and poor visibility.

October 31, 2015 – A bomb exploded on Kogalymavia Flight 9268, also known as Metrojet, killing all 224 people on board. The flight, departing from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was bound for St. Petersburg, Russia when it broke apart over the Sinai Peninsula. ISIS claimed responsibility.

March 24, 2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed into the French Alps after departing from Barcelona, Spain, en route to Dusseldorf, Germany. All 150 passengers and crew perished. Investigations revealed the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane after locking the pilot out of the cockpit. A later report showed he had a history of depression.

February 4, 2015 - TransAsia Airways Flight 235 crashed into a river near Taipei, Taiwan, shortly after takeoff. Forty-three of the 58 passengers lost their lives. The pilot mistakenly shut off the aircraft's functioning engine after the other one failed, according to Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council.

December 28, 2014 - AirAsia Flight 8501 plunged into the Java Sea while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The aircraft stalled after a sudden climb and crashed, killing all 162 people on board.

July 24, 2014 - Air Algerie Flight 5017 crashed in Mali after departing from Burkina Faso en route to Algeria. Less than an hour after takeoff, the MD-83 aircraft vanished from radar after changing its flight path due to bad weather. All 116 people aboard perished.

July 23, 2014 - TransAsia Airways Flight GE 222 crashed in heavy rain while attempting a second landing at Magong Airport in Taiwan's Penghu Islands. The crash killed 48 people.

July 17, 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, flying from Amsterdam to Malaysia, was shot down over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists. U.S. authorities confirmed that a missile hit the aircraft, while Dutch investigators indicated that rebels were responsible. All 298 people on board were killed.

March 8, 2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished from radar shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. Despite extensive searches lasting over 10 months, the Malaysian government officially declared the plane's loss as an accident on January 29, 2015, and all aboard were presumed dead. Some wreckage, believed to be from the aircraft, washed up on shores. The mystery of what happened to Flight MH370 endures as one of aviation’s greatest enigmas.

October 16, 2013 - Lao Airlines Flight QV301 crashed while approaching Pakse Airport near the Thai border, having taken off from Vientiane, Laos. The crash, which claimed 49 lives, was believed to be caused by 'wind shear,' according to airline officials.

July 6, 2013 - Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while attempting to land at San Francisco International Airport after its flight from Seoul, South Korea. The accident resulted in three fatalities and left 180 others injured.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly identified the airline involved in the July 6, 2013, San Francisco crash. The correct airline was Asiana Airlines.