Passenger Aircraft Involved in Accidents and Still In Use

Because airplanes are very expensive and very repairable, aircraft that are involved in incidents (crashes, hard landings, etc) but do not receive significant airframe damage are often repaired and put back into use. Aircraft have long service lives, so the accident might have been some time ago! This is a list, by current airline and registration number, of airplanes you might get a flight on today that were once the center of an aviation incident. Always take a glance at the registration number when you board a plane, you might be getting a flight on an interesting piece of history.

This list is mostly based on a review of Wikipedia's list of commercial aircraft incidents, so if something is missing you might let me know and check if that list needs updating as well.

  • Aeromexico EI-DRA: Attempted hijacking in 2009. 5 hijackers arrested, no injuries.
  • Aer Lingus EI-ORD: Very nearly struck US Airways N394US on the Logan airport runway in 2005, only expert flying avoided an enormous tragedy.
  • Air Transat C-GPAT: Lost rudder control shortly after takeoff in 2005, returned to the airport without injuries.
  • British Airways G-VIIO: Engine fire on takeoff from Las Vegas McCarran in 2015. Takeoff was aborted and there were only minor injuries.
  • CanJet C-FTCZ: Of all the failed hijackings, this might be the most failed. Hijacked in 2009 while on the ground in Jamaica, hijacker subdued… while still on the ground. No injuries.
  • Cathay Dragon B-HLL: Loss of engine thrust control in flight due to contaminated fuel in 2010. Despite the engines stuck at a high thrust level, the pilots managed a landing at twice normal speed with quite a few injuries but no deaths. Both pilots received a medal for their flying and the aircraft was repaired.
  • Ceiba Intercontinental 3C-LLY: Struck a smaller aircraft in mid-air in 2015. The other aircraft crashed with no survivors, but 3C-LLY sustained only minor damage and no injuries and is still in service.
  • Delta Airlines N820NW: Involved in an attempted hijacking in 2009. The hijacking was attributed to al-qaeda and was quite a failure, resulting in a small fire and nothing else.
  • EgyptAir SU-GCB: Hijacked in 2016. Hijacker forced a landing and was ultimately negotiated out of the aircraft without any injuries or deaths.
  • Emirates A6-ERG: Tailstrike during takeoff in 2009. The aircraft received fairly significant damage but was still repaired. Both pilots were made to resign.
  • Ethiopian Airlines ET-AMF: Hijacked by copilot in 2014 and used to defect to Switzerland. Despite the dramatic international incident and the involvement of several country's Air Forces, the unauthorized landing was uneventful with no injuries. The copilot was granted asylum.
  • JetBlue N536JB: Carried out an emergency landing due to jammed landing gear in 2005. This flight received quite a bit of live TV coverage while it circled to burn off fuel. There were no fatalities and the aircraft was returned to service.
  • Korean Air HL7534: Engine failure and resulting fire during takeoff at Haneda Airport in 2016. The takeoff was aborted and there were no deaths and only 12 injuries.
  • Max Air 5N-HMB: Was Qantas VH-OJK, depressurized in midair after an oxygen tank exploded. Descended fast enough to avoid any injuries, despite a rather dramatically hole nearly 2 meters across.
  • Southwest Airlines N387SW: Developed a hole in fuselage and depressurized in the air in 2009. There were only minor injuries, but this turned out not to be an isolated incident…
  • Southwest Airlines N632SW: Developed a hole in fuselage and depressurized in the air in 2011, starting a major investigation into possible manufacturing problems in some Boeing 737s. There were only minor injuries and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
  • Southwest Airlines N286WN: Slid off a runway in snow at Baltimore-Washington in 2005. No one on board was injured, but one unlucky person on the ground was killed. There was minimal damage to the aircraft.
  • Tianjin Airlines B-3171: Involved in a major hijacking attempt in 2012. Passengers and crew subdued the hijackers, but two of the four aggressors died of their injuries. Aircraft undamaged.
  • US Airways N394US: Very nearly struck Aer Lingus EI-ORD on the Logan airport runway in 2005, only expert flying avoided an enormous tragedy.
  • notes/accidentaircraft.txt
  • Last modified: 2020/11/16 23:46
  • (external edit)