This list of missing aircraft includes aircraft that have disappeared and whose locations are unknown. According to Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an aircraft is considered to be missing "when the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not been located".[1] However, there still remains a "grey area" on how much wreckage needs to be found for a plane to be declared "recovered". This list does not include every aviator, or even every air passenger that has ever gone missing as these are separate categories.
In the tables below, each missing aircraft is defined (in the Aircraft column) using one or more identifying features. If the aircraft was known by a custom or personalized name (e.g. Pathfinder), that name is presented first (in italics) followed by the aircraft type (in parentheses). The make of aircraft, although not necessarily a unique identifier, is also provided where appropriate. Aircraft registrations began to be used in the early 20th century for individual identification, so this is also included in the later tables (in parentheses).
Legend
- Civilian flight (private, commercial and cargo)
- Military flight (patrol, training, transport, etc.)
- Some wreckage was found, but aircraft never declared "recovered"
19th century
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 28, 1856 | Ville de Paris (hot air balloon) | 1 (Matías Pérez) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Straits of Florida) | The Cuban expression: Voló como Matías Pérez (meaning "He flew like Matias Perez") has since been known to be used when a person wishes to emphasize the situation of a missing person or object.[2] |
| September 28, 1879 | Pathfinder (hydrogen balloon) | 2 (John Wise & George Burr) | Unknown | United States (Lake Michigan) | The body of George Burr was later recovered from Lake Michigan. |
| December 10, 1881 | Saladin (hydrogen balloon) | 1 (Walter Powell) | Loss of control | North Atlantic Ocean (Eype Mouth, UK) | Powell was MP for Malmesbury when he disappeared. |
| July 16, 1889 | Campbell Dirigicycle (demonstration flight) | 1 (Edward D. Hogan) | Mechanical failure | North Atlantic Ocean (E. of Atlantic City, New Jersey) | This was one of Professor P. C. [Peter Carmant] Campbell's airships. The pilot was Edward D. Hogan (1852–1889). |
| July 14, 1897 | Örnen (Eagle) (attempted North Pole flight) | 3 (S. A. Andrée, Knut Frænkel, and Nils Strindberg) | Loss of control | Arctic Ocean (North of Svalbard) | Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition |
20th century
1901–1919
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1, 1907 | Patrie (semi-rigid airship) | 0 | Mechanical problem & storm loss | Atlantic Ocean (off the Hebrides) | Stranded away from her base on 29 November, torn loose from moorings on 30 November, and last seen by a steamship on 1 December. |
| October 17, 1908 | Pampero (coal gas balloon) | 2 (Eduardo Newbery & Eduardo Romero) | Unknown | Argentina (River Plate) | First Argentines ever to perish in an aircraft accident. |
| October 18, 1910 | America (non-rigid airship) | 0 | Engine failure | North Atlantic Ocean (W. of Bermuda) | Occupants rescued by merchant vessel after abandoning ship. |
| December 22, 1910 | Cecil Grace No. 3 (Short S.27) | 1 (Cecil Grace) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (English Channel) | Returning from unsuccessful attempt at Baron de Forest Prize en route from Calais to Dover. Body possibly found on March 14, 1911. |
| June 5, 1911 | Blériot XI | 1 (Édouard Bague) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean, near Cap d'Antibes) | Attempted first flight across the Mediterranean. |
| April 18, 1912 | Blériot XI | 1 (Damer Leslie Allen) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Irish Sea, near Anglesey) | Attempted first flight from Wales to Ireland. |
| October 13, 1913 | Blériot XI | 1 (Albert Jewell) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (S. of Long Island, NY) | Intended to compete in the New York Times American Aerial Derby. |
| March 14, 1914 | Manuel Rodríguez (Sánchez-Besa biplane) | 1 (Alejandro Bello Silva) | Unknown | Chile (Central) | Bello was undertaking a military training flight to become a pilot. |
| May 23, 1914 | Morane-Saulnier (model unknown) | 1 (Gustav Hamel) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (English Channel) | This plane was en route from Hardelot to Hendon Aerodrome. An unidentified corpse was found on July 6, 1914, that might have been Hamel's.[3] |
| November 7, 1916 | LZ60 (Zeppelin) | 0 | Storm loss | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | This Zeppelin was unmanned when it broke free of its mooring and drifted away. |
| October 17, 1918 | Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane N-9 | 0 | Malfunction | North Atlantic Ocean (S. of Long Island, NY) | Unmanned test flight, last seen over the Naval Air Station Bay Shore at an altitude of 4,000 feet heading east.[4] |
| June 2, 1919 | Sopwith Camel | 1 (Mansell Richard James) | Unknown | United States (New England) | James was involved in an air race from Boston to New York City. Although wreckage was found, it was never positively identified. |
| December 9, 1919 | Martinsyde (type A Mk.I) | 2 (Cedric Howell & George H. Fraser) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean, near St George's Bay, Corfu) | These two men were involved in an air race from England to Australia. The airframe & corpse of Cedric Howell (pilot) were eventually recovered. |
1920–1939
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 24, 1924 | Fokker F.III (H-NABS) | 3 | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | KLM passenger flight from Lympne to Rotterdam.[5] |
| May 5, 1927 | Farman F.61 Goliath (F-ADFN) | 4 | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean | SGTA cargo flight from St. Louis to Petrolina. A Brazilian fisherman claimed to have found a wheel from the missing plane June 18 that year.[6][7] |
| May 8, 1927 | L'Oiseau Blanc (Levasseur PL.8) | 2 (François Coli & Charles Nungesser) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean or Maine[8] | This was an attempted transatlantic flight competing for the Orteig Prize.[9] |
| May 26, 1927 | Airco DH.9 (G-IAAB)[10] | 2 (John James Crofts Cocks & LAC Rowston) | Unknown | Turkey (Konya & Eskişehir or Kütahya & Bandırma)[11] | Cocks and Rowston left on a private flight on May 11 from Lahore, British India to Lympne, England.[12][13][14][15][16][17] |
| August 16, 1927 | Golden Eagle (NX913) | 2 (Jack Frost & Gordon Scott) | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race. |
| August 16, 1927 | Miss Doran (NX2915) | 3 (John "Auggie" Pedlar, Vilas R. Knope & Mildred Doran) | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race. |
| August 19, 1927 | Dallas Spirit (NX941) | 2 (William Portwood Erwin & Alvin Eichwaldt) | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race, searching for Miss Doran & Golden Eagle. |
| August 31, 1927 | Saint Raphael (Fokker F.VIIA) | 3 (Frederick F. Minchin, Leslie Hamilton & Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Newfoundland) | Attempted transatlantic flight (east to west). |
| November 16, 1927 | Junkers F13 (with floats) K-SALD | 4 | Weather | Gulf of Finland | Aero OY passenger flight from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying two Finnish Army officers, a pilot, and a flight mechanic. Extreme fog present at time of disappearance. Finnish Air Force and Navy and Estonian Navy searches found no trace of aircraft.[18] |
| December 23, 1927 | The Dawn (Sikorsky S-36) | 4 (Oskar Omdal, Brice Goldsborough, Frank Koehler & Frances Wilson Grayson) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Nova Scotia) | Intended to attempt Newfoundland to London flight. |
| January 10, 1928 | Aotearoa (Ryan B-1 Brougham, G-AUNZ) | 2 (John Robert Moncrieff & George Hood) | Unknown | South Pacific Ocean (Tasman Sea) | Departed from Sydney, Australia for Trentham, New Zealand. Radio signals ceased when the aircraft should have been about two hours out from New Zealand; see Moncrieff and Hood disappearance |
| March 13, 1928 | Endeavour (Stinson SM-1 Detroiter) | 2 (Walter G. R. Hinchliffe & Elsie Mackay) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Attempted transatlantic flight (east to west). |
| May 25, 1928 | Italia (airship) | 6 (Aldo Pontremoli) | Crash landing | North Atlantic Ocean (Barents Sea) | One person died in the crash, subsequent searches were unsuccessful.[19] Notable people who disappeared included Aldo Pontremoli. |
| June 18, 1928 | Latham 47.02 | 6 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Barents Sea) | This group was searching for survivors of the missing airship Italia. Roald Amundsen and René Guilbaud were among the missing attempted rescuers. |
| September 6, 1928 | R.1 Blackburn (N9834) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | Pilot Officer Samuel Hatton, Lt. Charles Sheldon Booth RN and Telegraphist Edmund George Bourke Grigson missing; No. 422 (Fleet Spotter) Flight, HMS Argus.[20][21] |
| August 19, 1929 | Jung Schweizerland (Farman F.190, CH-245) | 2 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Disappeared with 2 Swiss pilots during attempted transatlantic flight from Lisbon to New York.[22] |
| December 24, 1929 | CMASA/Dornier Do J Wal Asso 500 Cabina (I-AZDB) | 5 | Ditching | North Atlantic Ocean (Aegean Sea) | Aero Espresso Italiana flight from Istanbul to Athens. Signaled passing Isola d'Strati at 12:30 but made an emergency landing at 13:00 near Agios Eustratios at 39.336489, 24.755684. Nothing found.[23] |
| December 26, 1929 | de Havilland DH.60M Moth (N-42) | 2 | Unknown | Antarctica (South Pole area) | Hvalfangstselskapet Kosmos A/S aircraft flying out of the whaling vessel Kosmos. Pilot Leif Lier and observer Dr. Ingvald Schreiner lost.[24] |
| November 21, 1930 | Dornier Do R4 Superwal (I-RONY) | 6 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | SANA passenger flight from Barcelona to Marseille. Last known radio contact was at 09:40 off of Cap de Creus.[25] |
| February 1, 1932 | Fairchild (model and registration unknown) | 5 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Straits of Florida) | Disappeared during 45-minute Bimini Airlines flight from Miami to Bimini.[26] |
| May 30, 1932 | de Havilland DH.60 Moth (CF-AGL)[27] | 2 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador) | Arthur Sullivan (pilot), Dr Kurt K. (Karl) Kuenhert vanished on pleasure flight.[28][29][30][31][32] |
| August 12, 1932 | Avro 616 Avian IVM (G-AAKA)[33] | 2 | Unknown | Indian Ocean (Gulf of Martaban)[34] | English planters, G.W. Salt and F.B. Taylor left for England on a pleasure flight.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] |
| September 14, 1932 | The American Nurse (Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, NR796W) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Cape Finisterre, Spain) | Attempted New York City to Rome flight. |
| June 20, 1933 | Cuatro Vientos (Br.19 TF Super Bidon) | 2 | Unknown | Mexico (near Villahermosa) | The duo were on their final leg of the flight that went from Seville to Mexico City. |
| July 18, 1933 | CMASA Wal (I-AZEE) | 6 | Ditching | North Atlantic Ocean (Aegean Sea) | Aero Espresso Italiana flight from Athens to Rhodes forced to ditch due to gale-force winds. SAR operations by Greece and Italy were unsuccessful.[43][44] |
| December 3, 1934 | Stella Australis (Airspeed Envoy) | 3 | Fuel Starvation | North Pacific Ocean (near Hawaii) | Charles Ulm disappeared along with copilot G.M. Littlejohn and navigator/radio operator J.S. Skilling. It is most probable that the aircraft overflew Hawaii. |
| December 21, 1934 | Trimotor Hydroplane (Bach 3-CT-6 Air Yacht, NC850E) | 7 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean (Gulf of California) | Líneas Aéreas Occidentales (LAO) passenger flight from Mazatlán to La Paz. 2 Americans (pilot and mechanic) and 5 Mexicans (2 male, 2 female, and a female infant) on board; no trace found.[45] |
| November 8, 1935 | Lady Southern Cross (Lockheed Altair) | 2 (Charles Kingsford Smith & John T. Pethybridge) | Unknown | Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea) | Attempt to break the England to Australia speed record. Only the undercarriage leg and wheel has ever been found. |
| January 21, 1936 | Dauphine (CAMS 53-1, F-AJIR) | 6 | Engine failure | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | Air France passenger flight from Marseille to Ajaccio and Tunis. Vanished off of Corsica after sending a distress call.[46][47][48] |
| February 10, 1936 | Ville de Buenos Aires (Latécoère 301, F-AOIK) | 6 | Storm | South Atlantic Ocean (near Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago) | Notable people lost include Émile Barrière. The nonstop flight from Natal, Brazil was operated by Air France. |
| February 15, 1936 | Tornado (Dornier Do J-2F Bos Wal, D-ADYS) | 4 | Unknown | South Atlantic Ocean | Lost during a Deutsche Lufthansa cargo flight from Natal to Bodensee via Bathurst.[49][50] |
| December 7, 1936 | Croix-du-Sud (Latécoère 300) | 5 | Engine failure (presumed) | South Atlantic Ocean | A final incomplete radio message reported engine failure minutes after the last position report. Notable lost passengers included Jean Mermoz. |
| February 15, 1937 | Blackburn Shark[51] (K5619)[52] | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | The crew of this military patrol included Sub-Lt George Eric Lake, Lt Roderick W. MacDonald, & Telegraphist William H. Currie. They were all from the 821st Naval Air Squadron Fleet Air Arm of HMS Courageous.[53][54][55] |
| July 2, 1937 | Lockheed Electra 10E (NR 16020) | 2 (Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan) | Fuel Starvation (most likely) | Central Pacific Ocean (Numerous theories exist on location) | This is perhaps one of the most famous aerial disappearances of all time. Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were on their antepenultimate leg of an attempted round-the-world flight when they went missing. At the time, the search for Earhart was the largest of its kind in history.[56] |
| August 13, 1937 | Bolkhovitinov DB-A (prototype) | 6 | Unknown | Arctic Ocean | Sigizmund Levanevsky was among the passengers that went missing. This was an attempted long-distance flight from Moscow to Fairbanks, Alaska, via the North Pole. Possible wreckage of the plane was sighted on the sea floor in 1999. |
| October 27, 1937 | Antares (Dewoitine D.333, F-ANQA) | 6 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near El Jadida) | Air France passenger flight from Dakar to Toulouse lost before a stopover in Casablanca. Crew reported passing Agadir at 03:05 but sent a SOS call received at 04:23. 2 mail bags washed up on the beach, but no wreckage was recovered.[57] |
| February 13, 1938 | CANT Z-506 (I-ORIA) | 14 | Weather | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | Ala Littoria flight from Cadiz to Rome with stopovers in Pollença and Alghero, lost in a storm shortly after second stop at 14:30.[58][59] |
| April 4, 1938 | Vickers Vildebeest Mark II[60] (K2944)[61] | 3 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (Singapore Strait) | The flight crew consisted of Sgt. W.D.M. Roberts (pilot), AC1 E.J. Beisly & AC1 M.R. Hunter of No. 100 Sqn RAF, RAF Seletar, Singapore.[62] |
| April 17, 1938 | Taylor Cub | 1 (Andrew Carnegie Whitfield) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Long Island, United States) | This was a private flight. |
| July 28, 1938 | Hawaii Clipper (Martin M-130, NC14714) | 15 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (East of the Philippine coast) | |
| August 6, 1938 | Hawker Hector (K9759)[63] | 1 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea off Blackhall Rocks) | Lost: P/O Douglas St Quentin Robinson, No. 13 Sqn RAF, RAF Odiham.[64][65][66] |
| August 8, 1938 | Avro Anson (K8831)[63] | 4 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea off Bridlington) | Lost: Sgt. Cecil Joseph Le Patrick Gordon (pilot), AC2 Thomas Charles Andrews, AC1 Melville George Brand, AC1 Leslie Freeman, No. 233 Sqn RAF, RAF Thornaby.[63][64][66] |
| October 1, 1938 | Pampero (Dornier DO.18, D-AROZ) | 5 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (off Bathurst) | Deutsche Lufthansa flight from Natal that was just a few minutes from landing.[67][68] |
| October 6, 1938 | Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow (K6971)[69] | 3 | Storm (possible lightning strike) | North Atlantic Ocean (English Channel off Dungeness) | Lost: F/O D.A. Hamilton, P/O R.N. Haynes, P/O T.I.S. Munro, LAC C.S. Lodge & AC1 T. Prowse, No. 215 Sqn, RAF Honington, Suffolk.[70][71] |
| May 9, 1939 | Westland Wallace (K3570)[72] | 2 | Fouling of tail by towing cable | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | Lost: P/O M.T. Lloyd & AC J. Flannery of No. 1 Air Armament School.[73] |
| May 16, 1939 | Monocoupe 90A (SE-AGM/NX19421) | 1 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Swedish-American pilot Carl Backman took the registration SE-AGM from a Areonca C-3 in his hometown of Leksand and used on this plane on an attempted flight from the US to Sweden. Planned route was from St. Louis to Rommehed with stops in Bangor and Gander; disappeared on last leg of flight.[74] |
| August 9, 1939 | Vickers Wellington I (L4258)[75] | 5 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | Lost: F/O T.A. Darling, P/O F.E. Board, A/Sgt A. Linkley, AC1 R.C.B, Collins & AC1 J.W. Sadler of No. 149 Sqn RAF.[76] |
| August 11, 1939 | Shalom (Ryan C-2 Foursome) | 2 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | NYC to Palestine flight by Betar activists Alex Loeb and Richard Decker.[77][78] |
| August 19, 1939 | Supermarine Stranraer[79] | 6 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (North Sea) | Lost: Act. Flt. Lt. F.E.R. King, F/O A.F. Barber, LAC D. Fulcher, AC1 D.G.P. Ash, AC1 L.S. Freshwater & AC1 W.J. Jeckells, No. 209 Sqn RAF, RAF Invergordon, Ross & Cromarty.[80][81][82][83] |
1940–1959
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1, 1940 | Hannibal (Handley Page H.P.42, G-AAGX) | 8 | Crash landing | Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman) | Four crew and four passengers were lost on this passenger flight. Wreckage washed up on the Iranian coast at Ras al Kuh, 25 miles east of Jask. |
| November 27, 1940 | SNCAC NC.223.4 (F-AROA) | 7 | Possible shootdown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea off Teluada, Sardinia) | Lost during Marseille-Bizerte-Beirut-Damascus mail flight. Jean Chiappe was a passenger. Possibly strayed into battle zone.[84] |
| January 15, 1941 | Savoia-Marchetti SM-75C (I-BAYR) | 10 | Ditching | Atlantic Ocean (off Fernando de Noronha) | LATI passenger flight from Natal to Sal. Pilot was forced to ditch after No. 2 (center) engine lost power and all cargo was dumped. No trace of plane found. (Other sources say flight was headed for Dakar.)[85][86] |
| July 2, 1941 | Lisunov PS-84 (CCCP-L3467) | 3 | Unknown | Russia (possibly near Lipetsk) | Aeroflot plane left Vnukovo on a mission but vanished. The pilot was found alive in a Tashkent hospital with burns and wounds on January 10, 1942, but could not recall what happened to the plane or remaining 3 crew members.[87] |
| January 10, 1942 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (Y-58) | 6 | Unknown | off Kema, Indonesia | The Dutch Navy aircraft disappeared following a raid on the Japanese fleet at Kema. Two other Catalinas flying with Y-58 landed safely.[88] |
| February 2, 1942 | Lisunov PS-84 (CCCP-L3920) | 6 | Unknown | possibly Kalinin region, Soviet Union | Aeroflot aircraft went missing while returning from a flight behind German lines.[89] |
| June 5, 1942 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (05023) | 9 | Unknown | Gulf of Mexico | US Navy aircraft disappeared during a navigation flight over the Gulf of Mexico.[90] |
| June 8, 1942 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (04404) | 10 | Unknown | off Newfoundland | US Navy aircraft went missing on a convoy patrol northeast of Newfoundland.[91] |
| July 14, 1942 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (04404) | 9 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean off Alaska | US Navy aircraft went missing on patrol out of NAS Sand Point.[92] |
| July 14, 1942 | Lockheed C-60 Lodestar (VHCAD) | 3 | Unknown | Australia | RAAF aircraft lost without trace between Townsville and Cooktown.[93] |
| August 17, 1942 | Short Sunderland (L2158) | 9 | Unknown | off Sierra Leone | RAF aircraft missing off Sierra Leone while on convoy escort.[94] |
| December 17, 1942 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (08135) | 7 | Weather (probable) | Pacific Ocean | US Navy aircraft went missing during a flight out of NAS Kaneohe. The aircraft became separated from two accompanying aircraft over the Pacific in bad weather. The final radio contact mentioned that the crew was flying at 7000 feet on instruments and descending.[95] |
| January 3, 1943 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (08097) | 8 | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean | US Navy aircraft went missing on patrol out of NAS Quonset Point.[96] |
| January 16, 1943 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (2310) | 5 | Unknown | off Brunswick, GA | US Navy aircraft went missing off Brunswick, Georgia.[97] |
| January 18, 1943 | Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express (41-11708) | 26 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (off Natal) | USAAF flight from Accra to Natal. Wide search, called off January 29th. A life raft with the body of one passenger was found 60 miles east of Recife by the US destroyer Kearney on February 4, and another life raft with the body of major Arthur Mills and 6 life jackets was found on the beach of Ponte Negra the following day.[98] |
| January 31, 1943 | Douglas Dakota (MA929) | 6 | Unknown | northeastern Burma | RAF aircraft took off from Dinjan for Fort Hertz, but failed to arrive. A Hudson pilot saw the aircraft at 1400 flying at 7000 feet near Kamku, heading for Fort Hertz.[99] |
| March 13, 1943 | Douglas C-53 | 3 | Unknown | Patkai Range, Burma | CNAC aircraft went missing over the Himalayas while flying a cargo of 110-pound tin bars to Dinjan. |
| July 8, 1943 | Tachikawa Ki-77 | 8 | Shot down (probable) | Indian Ocean | Attempted flight from Singapore to Sarabus[100] (now Hvardiiske, Crimea) The people lost consisted of five IJA passengers and three crew members which included Kenji Tsukagoshi. The flight was likely intercepted by RAF fighters over the Indian Ocean as data is known through decrypted communications. |
| August 27, 1943 | Lisunov Li-2 (CCCP-L4047) | 6 | Shot down | Unknown | Aeroflot aircraft disappeared following an attack by a Luftwaffe fighter. All 6 crew declared MIA.[101] |
| October 2, 1943 | Consolidated PBY Catalina (05013) | 9 | Fuel leak (suspected) | Gulf of Mexico | US Navy Aircraft missing on a flight out of NAS Pensacola.[102] |
| November 23, 1943 | Douglas C-47 Skytrain (41-18675) | 25 | Weather (suspected) | Nakety Bay, New Caledonia | USAAF aircraft took off from Tontouta Airport, bound for Espiritu Santo. Radio contact established at 08:10, but aircraft failed to respond an hour later. Damaged gear and personal effects found two days later, but no bodies were ever found. A cold front had passed through the area on the morning of the flight, reducing ceiling and visibility. The route was flyable under IFR and several aircraft flew it that day with no incident.[103] |
| February 3, 1944 | Vought F4U Corsair (22 aircraft lost) | 6 | Weather | Central Pacific | Main article: VMF-422 23 USMC F4U Corsair fighter aircraft of the Marine fighter squadron VMF-422 took off at 10:00 at Hawkins Field, bound for Funafuti. 24th Corsair had developed engine problems and returned back to Hawkins Field. At 1230 hrs., still short of Nanumea, the squadron encountered a massive Pacific cyclone measuring nearly 150 miles 240 km) in diameter and reaching to more than 50,000 feet, (15,300 m). Having little choice, the pilots flew into the storm and were immediately blown far to the south and east by the clockwise rotation of the cyclone, which carried them beyond Nanumea. Only one of the pilots managed to get a fix on the Funafuti radio range and landed safely. Other 22 Corsairs were lost, with six aviators being never found. The rest of the 16 aviators who had either ditched or bailed out, all were eventually rescued at sea. It was the worst non-combat loss of a Marine squadron in the war. |
| February 21, 1944 | Joachim Blankenburg (Junkers Ju 52/3m, D-AWAS) | 16 | Possible engine failure | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea within Aegean Sea off of Euboea, Greece) | Lost during a Deutsche Lufthansa passenger flight from Thessaloniki to Athens. Issued a pan-pan after having engine issues over the sea but no wreckage was recovered.[104] |
| July 26, 1944 | Douglas C-54A Skymaster (42-107470) | 26 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (SE of Greenland) | Military transport carrying wounded personnel. Lost passengers included Leon Vance.[105] |
| August 23, 1944 | Beechcraft AT-10 (2144BU) | 2 | Lost in a storm (presumed) | Unknown | Army and Air Force searched for missing plane by air and ground for days but no trace of the plane, pilot, or navigator were ever found. Those lost were Oma Gordon Capps & an unknown navigator.[106] |
| October 26, 1944 | P-51 Mustang | 1 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (Santa Monica Bay) | On October 26, 1944 Gertrude Tompkins Silver departed from Mines Field (Los Angeles International Airport) for Palm Springs flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey, but she never arrived at Palm Spring. Silver is the only known Women Airforce Service Pilots member to go missing during World War II.[107] |
| December 15, 1944 | UC-64 Norseman (44-70285) | 3[108] | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (English Channel) | No trace of the aircrew, passengers or plane found, possibly overflew bomb jettisoning area. Lost: Glenn Miller, F/O John Morgan & Lt. Col. Norman F. Baessell.[108] |
| January 22, 1945 | Douglas C-47A-80-DL (43-15384) | 1 | Unknown | China (80 kilometers (50 miles) from Lüliang) | C-47 transport headed from Chihchiang to Ganzhou. Turned back after encountering poor weather but was told to dump their load and go to Chanyi. A freighter pilot saw the crew bail out but the wreckage could not be located. 3 of the 4 occupants returned on the 29th but the fourth was never seen again.[109] |
| February 26, 1945 | C-87A Liberator Express (41-24174, c/n 969) | 3+ | Unknown | Central Pacific Ocean | Military transport flight piloted by F. E. Savage disappeared for unknown reasons. There were known safety issues with the aircraft type that might have played a factor. The exact number of passengers lost is unknown, but at least three were identified to have been on the flight. Two of the passengers were Millard Harmon and James Roy Andersen.[110][111] |
| March 27, 1945 | Commando (Liberator B Mk II (LB-30), AL504) | 7+ | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Azores) | At least seven passengers including Sir Peter Drummond were lost when this military transport flight went missing. |
| June 15, 1945 | Douglas C-47A (81) | 3 | Unknown | Within China | Disappeared on a CNAC cargo flight between Yunnanyi and Xuzhou (also romanized as Suifu, now known as Yibin).[112] |
| October 7, 1945 | Avro Lancaster (PA278) | 25 | Mid-air explosion (probable) | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea near Corsica) | Main article: Lancaster PA278 disappearance A second Lancaster flying with PA278 saw an explosion at 04:40 GMT. Both were transporting military personnel. |
| October 20, 1945 | Douglas C-47B (A65-83) | 25 | Unknown | Indian/Pacific Ocean (Timor Sea) | Main article: 1945 Dakota A65-83 disappearance Flight was transporting wounded military personnel.[113] |
| December 5, 1945 | TBM Avenger (5 planes) | 14 | Fuel starvation (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean (off east coast of Florida) | Main article: Flight 19 Five TBM Avengers carrying 14 people went missing as the result of a presumed navigational error. This was widely covered in the news at the time, and helped to contribute to the Bermuda Triangle myth. |
| December 5, 1945 | Martin PBM-5 Mariner (BuNo 59225) | 13 | Mid-air explosion (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean (off east coast of Florida) | This was a search and rescue mission that was looking for the missing TBM Avengers (see above). |
| February 10, 1946 | Röd Niklas (Saab 18, 18180) | 3 | Emergency landing in bad weather (presumed) | Sweden (Jämtland) | Military ferry-flight from Halmstad to Kalixfors outside Kiruna which included pilot Håkan Gunnar Hoffberg, aerial scout Karl Einar Carlsson, and signalist Alf Stig Einar Andersson. It is thought the plane may be in a bog in the Swedish province of Jämtland.[114] |
| March 23, 1946 | Avro Lancastrian (G-AGLX) | 10 | Weather (suspected) | Indian Ocean | Qantas passenger flight with five crew and five passengers missing en route from Negombo to the Cocos, one leg of a flight from the UK to Australia.[115] |
| May 25, 1946 | Douglas C-54G (45-489) | 5 | unknown | Pacific Ocean (off Guam) | Disappeared between Kwajalein and Guam. A Boeing B-17G (44-83783) sent to search for the C-54 also disappeared.[116] |
| June 29, 1946 | Douglas Dakota IV (KJ918) | 18 | Lost in a storm (presumed) | Malaysia (within Cameron Highlands) | RAF transport from Singapore to Calcutta via Butterworth and Yangon. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported that he was over the northeastern coast of Thailand, but then decided to return to Butterworth due to bad weather. The pilot radioed 33 minutes later that he was in a "terrible storm" somewhere over the Cameron Highlands. |
| August 6, 1947 | Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (34032) | 20 | Unknown | Within Alaska | Disappeared while carrying an Army-Navy football team from Kodiak to Dutch Harbor.[117] |
| January 30, 1948 | Star Tiger (Avro Tudor Mark IV, G-AHNP) | 31 | Lost in a storm (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: BSAA Star Tiger disappearance • Notable missing passengers included Arthur Coningham. |
| May 5, 1948 | Douglas C-47A (NC17645) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Superior Oil Corp. transport flight from Gander to Shannon.[118] |
| August 1, 1948 | Lionel de Marnier (Latécoère 631, F-BDRC) | 52 | In-flight fire (probable) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: Air France Flight 072 |
| October 12, 1948 | Ilyushin Il-12 (CCCP-Л1450) | 10 | Unknown | Azerbaijan (Caucasus Mountains near Yevlakh) | Main article: 1948 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash |
| November 4, 1948 | Douglas C-47A-DK (NC66637) | 17 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean (off of Cape Spencer) | Pacific Alaska Air Express passenger flight from Yakutat to Annette Island. Last communication was received at 05:10 reporting they were at 10,000 feet 146 miles SE of Yakutat.[119] |
| December 28, 1948 | Douglas DC-3DST-144 (NC16002) | 32 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (off east coast of Florida) | Main article: 1948 Airborne Transport DC-3 (DST) disappearance |
| January 17, 1949 | Star Ariel (Avro Tudor Mark IVB, G-AGRE) | 20 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: BSAA Star Ariel disappearance |
| August 4, 1949 | Unknown (F-....) | 0 | Unknown | Mauritania (near Port Etienne) | Disappeared on a private flight from Rio de Oro. All 3 occupants found unhurt; unknown if crash site was located.[120] |
| December 9, 1949 | Douglas C-47 | 8 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean (off Baja California) | Local press reported that the aircraft, owned by a fishing company from Ensenada, was carrying 7000 pounds of live lobsters. |
| January 26, 1950 | Douglas C-54D Skymaster (42-72469) | 44 | Unknown | Canada (Yukon, near Snag) | Main article: 1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance |
| June 23, 1950 | Douglas DC-4 | 58 | Unknown | United States (Lake Michigan, NW of Benton Harbor) | Main article: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 |
| March 23, 1951 | Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (49-0244) | 53 | Fire on board (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean (near Shannon, Ireland) | Main article: 1951 Atlantic C-124 disappearance • An onboard fire of unknown origin prompted the pilots to ditch. When the USCSC Casco reached the ditching site a day later, the aircraft and its occupants could not be found. |
| July 21, 1951 | Douglas DC-4 (CF-CPC) | 37 | Icing (probable) | United States (Alaska) | Main article: Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 |
| February 2, 1953 | Avro York (G-AHFA) | 39 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance |
| April 1, 1953 | Miles M.38 Messenger 2A (G-AKBL)[121] | 2 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Irish Sea) | Private flight piloted by Rodney R. Matthews-Naper with passenger Walter Bradley.[121][122][123] Possible debris from their plane was sighted from the air, west of Isle of Man.[121] |
| November 23, 1953 | F-89C Scorpion (51-5853A) | 2 | Unknown | Canada (Lake Superior) | Fighter jet piloted by Felix Moncla that was deployed to intercept an unusual object that had been detected via radar. Moncla and the radar operator Robert L. Wilson were lost. While theories range from vertigo to an encounter with a UFO, no trace of the aircraft has ever been found. There is a memorial to Moncla at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Moreauville LA. |
| October 30, 1954 | Lockheed R7V-1 Constellation (128441) | 42 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (off east coast of Maryland) | United States Navy Flight 57, disappeared off Maryland with 42 passengers and crew.[124] |
| January 11, 1955 | Avro Shackletons (WG531 and WL743) | 18 | Mid-air collision (probable) | Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1955 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance The two aircraft probably collided in mid-air after being launched within six minutes of each other. An engine from WL743 was found by a trawler in July 1966, some 75 miles north of the original search area. |
| September 26, 1955 | Lockheed P2V-3W Neptune (131442) | 11 | Weather (probable) | Caribbean Sea (off Jamaica) | US Navy aircraft took off from NAS Guantanamo to investigate Hurricane Janet, then a category 4 hurricane south of Jamaica. The aircraft penetrated the hurricane's eyewall at 700 feet, then all contact was lost. No wreckage has been found.[125] |
| January 31, 1956 | North American B-25J Mitchell (44-29125) | 2 | Fuel starvation | United States (Monongahela River, Pennsylvania) | The aircraft ditched in the Monongahela River due to fuel starvation while transporting military personnel. Both crew members were lost, and the airframe has never been found. |
| March 10, 1956 | Boeing B-47 Stratojet (SN:52-534) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | Main article: 1956 B-47 disappearance • Nuclear weapons material lost in incident. |
| April 22, 1956 | McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee (126330) | 1 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (off Yarmouth, Nova Scotia) | The aircraft inexplicably dropped out of formation and descended through clouds during a military ferry flight. No trace of the aircraft or pilot was ever found.[126] |
| October 10, 1956 | Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster | 59 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Land's End, United Kingdom) | Main article: 1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance A 14-day search for the aircraft and survivors found only wheels and a life raft floating 596 km (370 miles) southwest of Land's End. |
| December 1, 1956 | SNCASE Languedoc (61/F-SSUN) | 10 | Unknown | Mediterranean Sea | French Air Force aircraft, of EARS 99 (the SAR unit of the French Air Force), took off from Istres Air Base to assist a Panamanian cargo ship, the Antares, which had sent a distress signal. The aircraft circled the area of the Mediterranean Sea in poor weather. At 23:56, the pilot radioed his position to be 41°44'N, 005°06'E with an estimated return to Istres of 00:50. Nothing more was heard from the flight. |
| March 22, 1957 | Boeing C-97C Stratofreighter (50-0702) | 67 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (near Tokyo, Japan) | Military transport carrying 10 crew and 57 passengers went missing.[127] |
| November 8, 1957 | Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 | 44 | Unknown | Central Pacific Ocean | Main article: Pan Am Flight 7 Last contact with the aircraft was a routine radio transmission between the pilot and a US Coast Guard cutter performing radar surveillance duty at Ocean Station November, located at the approximate halfway point between the mainland and the island of Oahu. |
| January 19, 1958 | Boeing C-97A Stratofreighter (49-2597) | 7 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean (off Honolulu) | 7 crew missing; debris found 277 mi southwest of Honolulu was confirmed to be from the aircraft. |
| February 20, 1958 | Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation (141310) | 22 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Azores) | Military (airborne radar patrol) flight.[128] |
| September 29, 1958 | Avro 685 York I (OD-ADB) | 5 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | An MEA cargo flight disappeared en route from Beirut to London before a stopover in Rome.[129] |
| November 8, 1958 | Douglas DC-3 (TAM-05) | 3 | Unknown | Bolivia (near La Paz) | Cargo plane operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar.[130] |
| November 9, 1958 | Martin PBM-5 Mariner (CS-THB) | 36 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near Portugal) | Aero-Topográfica (ARTOP) flight from Lisbon to Funchal, piloted by Harry Frank Broadbent. The flight departing at 12:23 and the last radio transmission, received at 13:21, was "QUG", meaning "I am forced to land immediately."[131][132] |
| October 28, 1959 | Cessna 310 (FAR-53) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Mexico) | Private flight piloted by Camilo Cienfuegos. |
1960–1979
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 10, 1960 | Douglas C-47 (VT-DGS) | 16 | Unknown | Indian Ocean (Persian Gulf, near Sharjah, UAE) | This Gulf Aviation flight from Doha made up of 3 crew, and 13 passengers either crashed at sea or overflew its destination (Sharjah) causing CFIT.[133] |
| February 3, 1961 | Douglas C-47A | 26 | Unknown | Central Pacific Ocean (near Madura Island, Indonesia) | Main article: Garuda Indonesia Flight 542 5 crew and 21 passengers were reported missing.[134] |
| February 18, 1961 | North American FJ-4 Fury (Routing Mission) | 1 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (near the Philippines) | 1 crew was reported missing ‘’sortied’’ from USS Lexington (CV-16).[135] |
| March 8, 1961 | Piaggio P.166 (VH-PAU) | 1 | Weather | Papua New Guinea (Owen Stanley Range) | Papuan Air Transport (Patair) flight from Popondetta to Port Moresby piloted by Geoffrey Neil Wallace, 25. Last contact 10 minutes from arrival over Kokoda with a report of bad weather. 17-day search with up to 30 aircraft found nothing; anecdotal reports of wreckage discovery in October 1970 unconfirmed.[136] |
| November 11, 1961 | Lockheed L-749A Constellation (HH-ABA) | 3 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea E of Puerto Rico) | This was a cargo flight, operated by Air Haiti International from San Juan to Managua. |
| February 12, 1962 | De Havilland Dragonfly ZK-AFB | 5 | Unknown | New Zealand (Milford Sound) | The first of five aircraft to have disappeared in the area.[137] |
| March 16, 1962 | Lockheed L-1049H Constellation | 107 | Mid-air explosion (presumed) | North Pacific Ocean (near Guam) | Main article: Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 Military transport. |
| January 2, 1964 | Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (52-0968) | 9 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | One passenger was lost in this military transport flight. |
| March 28, 1964 | Douglas C-54A Skymaster (N4726V) | 9 | Engine fire (presumed) | North Pacific Ocean | The aircraft involved had previously been used in the movie The High and the Mighty (1954).[138][139] |
| August 12, 1964 | Cessna 210A (N9492X) | 1 (Charles Clifford Ogle) | Unknown | United States (Sierra Nevada, California) | Private flight. |
| October 18, 1965 | Boeing 307B-1 Stratoliner (F-BELV) | 13 | Anti-aircraft fire (presumed)[140] | North Pacific Ocean (near Hanoi) | On board were four crew members, and nine international delegation members of the ICSC. A study done in 1996 concluded that the aircraft was most likely shot down by a North Vietnamese military unit.[140] |
| June 5, 1965 | Fairchild C-119F Flying Boxcar (51-2680) | 9 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (near the Bahamas) | Four of those lost were mechanics being transported to Grand Turk Island to repair a C-119. Debris from the aircraft was found on 19 July on the beach of Gold Rock Cay just off the shore of Acklins Island.[141] |
| November 3, 1965 | Douglas C-54 | 68 | Engine fire | Costa Rica (Cordillera de Talamanca) | Main article: 1965 Argentine Air Force C-54 disappearance 25 lifebuoys, personal belongings and some wreckage were found in Bocas del Toro Archipelago, but the airplane or bodies were never recovered.[142][143] |
| July 11, 1966 | Curtiss C-46D Commando (HK-527) | 8 | Unknown | Near Cerro el Planchon, Chile en route from Bogota, Colombia to Buenos Aires, Argentina | This was a cargo flight. Wreckage was found on 18 November 1966 some 200 km (120 mi) south of Santiago. |
| July 25, 1966 | Douglas DC-3 (HS-OOO) | 3 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean 840 km off the US coast | Delivery flight. |
| March 5, 1967 | Grumman HU-16E Albatross (1240) | 6 | Unknown | Gulf of Mexico (off of Florida) | Rescue flight responding to a fishing boat distress signal near the Carrabelle sea buoy.[144] |
| June 5, 1968 | Lockheed A-12 (A-12 Aircraft No. 129)[145][146][147] | 1 | Unknown | Philippine Sea, on a flight from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa | This was an engine replacement check flight. Lost: CIA pilot Jack W. Weeks. Scheduled as last operational A-12 flight from Kadena.[147] |
| March 9, 1969 | Douglas DC-4 (N3821) | 3 | Unknown | N Atlantic en route from Halifax International Airport to Santa Maria Airport (Azores) | This was a cargo flight. |
| June 5, 1969 | Rivet Amber (Boeing RC-135) | 19 | Unknown | Bering Sea en route from Shemya AFB, AK to Eielson AFB, AK, ca 400km E of Shemya | Flight to maintenance facility. |
| September 21, 1970 | Free Life (Rozière balloon, N2079) | 3 | Emergency landing in bad weather (presumed) | N Atlantic approx 1000km SE of Newfoundland | Attempted transatlantic flight (first by balloon). |
| January 25, 1971 | Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander (N400CP) | 5 | Unknown | Over Lake Champlain, VT (presumed) en route from Burlington International Airport, VT to T. F. Green Airport, Providence, RI | Plane operated by Cousins Properties.[148] |
| June 13, 1971 | Boeing EC-135N (61-0331) | 24 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean, 113km S of Hawaii, near Palmyra Atoll en route from Pago Pago to Hickam Air Force Base | Military observation flight returning from French nuclear test Encelade. |
| February 11, 1972 | Douglas C-54A-DO (XW-TDE) | 23 | Shootdown | Laos (between Savannakhet and Vientiane) | Royal Air Lao passenger flight. Last radio contact at 13:20.[149] |
| May 26, 1972 | Lockheed P-3A Orion (152155) | 8 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean off California, on a routine training mission based at Moffett Federal Airfield | Military training flight.[150] |
| July 20, 1972 | Canadair CC-106 Yukon (LV-JYR) | 5 | Unknown | En route from Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile | Cargo flight |
| October 16, 1972 | Cessna 310C (N1812H) | 4 | Unknown | Alaska en route from Anchorage to Juneau | Among the passengers on this flight were US House of Representatives Nick Begich and Hale Boggs. |
| January 10, 1974 | Douglas DC-4 (TAM-52) | 24 | Unknown | Central Bolivia en route from Santa Rosa de Yacuma Airport (SRB/SLSR) (14°3′58″S 66°47′12″W / 14.06611°S 66.78667°W) to El Alto International Airport, La Paz | Operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar. |
| February 16, 1974 | Beech 95/B55 Baron (VH-FWR)[151] | 2 | Unknown | Queensland en route from Gladstone to Longreach | |
| February 21, 1974 | Light Heart (superpressure balloon) | 1 (Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr.) | Unknown | 1610km W of the Canaries en route from Harrisburg Airport, PA to W Europe | Attempted transatlantic flight (first by balloon). The last radio contact with Gatch saying that he was 1,490 km NE of San Juan, PR on February 19 is disputed. |
| October 12, 1974 | Swan 38 (Lockheed WC-130, 65–0965) | 6 | Unknown | South China Sea | Weather reconnaissance aircraft lost during Typhoon Bess (1974). |
| September 30, 1975 | Tupolev Tu-154 (HA-LCI) | 60 | Unknown | Mediterranean Sea, close to Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport[152] | Main article: Malév Flight 240 |
| September 24, 1976 | Curtiss C-46D Commando (HK-1282) | 2 | Unknown | Caribbean Sea off Aruba en route to Queen Beatrix International Airport | This was a cargo flight that might have been lost on September 16 rather than the 24th. |
| November 5, 1976 | Douglas DC-3 (HP-671) | 2 | Unknown | Caribbean Sea en route from Willemstad, Curaçao to Port-au-Prince, Haiti | Cargo flight. |
| June 30, 1977 | Lockheed L-188CF Electra (N126US) | 4 | Unknown | Caribbean Sea 65 km off Bocas del Toro, Panama en route from San José, Costa Rica to Caracas, Venezuela | One passenger, and three crew members were lost on this cargo flight.[153] |
| August 16, 1978 | Cessna 180 ZK-BMP | 4 | Unknown | Lake McKerrow, New Zealand | |
| September 21, 1978 | Douglas DC-3 (N407D) | 4 | Unknown | N Atlantic off Ft Lauderdale, FL en route from Ft Lauderdale to Havana, Cuba | Aircraft flying to pick up passengers in Havana.[154] |
| October 21, 1978 | Cessna 182L (VH-DSJ) | 1 (Frederick Valentich) | Unknown | Bass Strait, vicinity of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia (as reported by pilot) | No radar confirmation of the pilot-reported position. Theories of the disappearance range from the pilot being deceived by the illusion of a tilted horizon, to a UFO encounter as shown on Unsolved Mysteries. |
| October 22, 1978 | Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander (H4-AAC) | 11 | Fuel starvation | Pacific Ocean near Bellona, Solomon Islands | Lost during a Solomon Airlines flight from Bellona to Honiara when the pilot turned back due to weather and became disoriented. Plane ditched while still in radio contact but not recovered.[155] |
| December 8, 1978 | Douglas DC-6A/B (HK-1707X) | 3 | Unknown | Over the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia on a cargo flight from Bogota to Trinidad, Casanare | Cargo flight.[156] |
| December 29, 1978 | Piper Cherokee Six ZK-EBU | 7 | Unknown | Milford Sound, New Zealand | |
| January 30, 1979 | Boeing 707-323C | 6 | Unknown | Pacific Ocean 200 km ENE of Tokyo | Main article: Varig Flight 967 Cargo flight which carried 53 of Manabu Mabe's paintings which were lost. |
| July 7, 1979 | Socata Rallye 235GT (N302RA) | 3 | Unknown | Vicinity of Woody Island (Alaska) en route from Anchorage to Kodiak | Among the missing is Ian Mackintosh.[157] |
| July 20, 1979 | Douglas C-47B-50-DK (N63250) | 2 | Ditching | Pacific Ocean, near Honolulu | Trans National Airlines ferry flight that became lost and was forced to ditch due to LORAN failure.[158] |
1980–1999
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 7, 1980 | Beechcraft 80 Queen Air (N242Q) | 1 | Unknown | Florida (Lake Marian) | Plane crashed into lake near Kenansville in what was likely an illegal smuggling flight. The wreckage and pilot, Mark Elliott, could not be found.[159] |
| October 3, 1980 | Douglas DC-3 (C-47A) (ECT-025) | 2 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea) | This aircraft had been previously decommissioned with a provisional and limited airworthiness certificate. The intention was to eventually ferry this aircraft to an aviation museum, but this was cut short by an unauthorized take off. The runway used was unrated (possibly damaging), and the plane had no working radio equipment.[160] |
| April 21, 1981 | Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (F-BJBY) | 4 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Mediterranean Sea off Port d'Andratx) | |
| August 9, 1981 | Cessna 210M (VH-MDX)[161] | 5 | Instrument failure (presumed) | Australia (Barrington Tops National Park) | Main article:1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance |
| February 13, 1983 | Learjet 35A (N482U) | 6 (including Upali Wijewardene) | Unknown | Indian/Pacific Ocean (Strait of Malacca) | Operated by Upali Air. On February 19, a survival pack was found that was apparently from the aircraft. |
| July 30, 1983 | Cessna 172K (ZK-CSS) | 4 | Unknown | New Zealand (Lake Tekapo) | |
| September 2, 1983 | Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander (C-GIPF) | 7 | Unknown | Canada (British Columbia near Smithers) | Notable lost passengers include George Cogar. |
| March 31, 1984 | Cessna 402 (N44NC) | 6 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Straits of Florida) | Associated Air Service flight from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini. Disappeared from radar 14 minutes after departure in a 5,400 FPM descent. Two witnesses saw plane go down near Bimini between 08:30 and 09:00.[162] |
| October 31, 1984 | Douglas C-47B-1-DL (RP-C138) | 4 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (off Davao, Philippines) | Cargo flight en route from Davao to Manila. |
| September 16, 1985 | Pitts S-2 (N13AS) | 1 (Art Scholl) | Flat spin | North Pacific Ocean (off Carlsbad, United States) | Accident occurred during filming for Top Gun (1986). The aircraft involved entered into a fatal flat spin, but the cause was never determined. |
| March 25, 1986 | Antonov An-32 (K2729) | 7 | Unknown | Indian Ocean (off Jamnagar, India) | Main article: 1986 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance Delivery flight operated by Indian Air Force.[163] |
| August 3, 1986 | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 13 | Lost in a storm | North Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) | Main article: LIAT Flight 319 Operated by LIAT.[164] |
| May 27, 1987 | Cessna 402 (N2652B) | 1 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (within The Bahamas) | 56-year-old Richard Yerex, a commuter pilot for the Ford Motor Company and a retired Air Force pilot, left Palm Beach at 8:05, headed to Marsh Harbor to pick up tourists on a return flight. He sent his last transmission over Grand Bahama Island near a weather balloon. He failed to arrive at 8:50 and the Coast Guard launched a search 25 minutes later; the 2 day search failed to find any trace of the aircraft.[165] |
| December 4, 1987 | Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander (C-GOMC)[166] | 4 | Unknown | Canada (British Columbia near Mount Waddington) | |
| December 23, 1987 | Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain (N712AN) | 8 | Unknown | Hawaii (Molokai, 13 miles NW of Mauna Loa) | Panorama Air Tour flight from Honolulu to Molokai. Was to fly across 22 mile channel on an overcast night with no moon. Plane slowed from 170 to 95 knots, gained 500 feet altitude, and turned left 190 degrees before disappearing from radar at 18:53. Pilot had not flown IFR for 15 months and only flew during the day.[167] |
| January 17, 1989 | Douglas C-47A Skytrain (CP-1418)[168] | 5 | Unknown | Bolivia (near La Paz) | |
| August 25, 1989 | Fokker F27 Friendship | 54 | Unknown | Pakistan (Himalayan mountain range) | Main article: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404 Probably crashed into the Himalayan mountains, no wreckage was ever found.[169] |
| May 17, 1990 | Cessna 150H (N7156S) | 2 | Loss of control (presumed) | North Pacific Ocean (off Santa Barbara, United States) | Disappeared during night touch-and-go landing practice at nearby Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. The aircraft's wheel chocks and a few other items were recovered. Officially attributed to loss of control and the pilot's lack of night flying experience.[170] |
| September 11, 1990 | Boeing 727 (OB-1303) | 16 | Fuel starvation (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean (off Cape Race, Canada) | Main article: 1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance On September 11, 1990, a Faucett Boeing 727 went missing some 180 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. After having been leased to Air Malta, the aircraft was being returned to Peru from Europe via Iceland, when the crew reported a low fuel notice and that they were preparing to ditch. There were no survivors among 16 occupants on board.[171] |
| October 25, 1991 | Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislander Mk. III-2 (PK-KTC) | 17 | Unknown | Tumbang Miri, Indonesia | Lost during a Bali International Air Service flight from Palangka Raya to Sampit. Was holding in the Sampit area due to weather but failed to land.[172] |
| May 3, 1992 | Cessna 340 (N69469) | 5 | Unknown | Alaska (near Yakutat) | Private flight piloted by Jeffery H. Roth from Yakutat to Anchorage. Pilot reported reaching assigned altitude (12,000 feet) and all communications were lost. Roth's wife, however, listened to the FAA tapes herself and claimed she heard her husband say "6,000" and "icing conditions" several minutes after this point, but FBI analysis could not confirm this.[173] |
| December 6, 1992 | Piper PA-28-181 (N81453) | 4 | Unknown | California (between Santa Barbara and Palo Alto) | Despite a warning that VFR flight would not be suitable due to weather conditions, the pilot left anyway. Cleared for takeoff at 12:03 and last heard from 11 minutes later. Searches turned up no trace of the aircraft;[174] a tip claimed the plane had gone down in the Big Basin area but nothing was found there either.[175] |
| January 10, 1995 | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 14 | Unknown | Indian Ocean (Savu Sea) | Main article: Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6715 en route from Bima Airport to Satartacik Airport, Ruteng |
| May 10, 1996 | Cessna 404 Titan (C-FPVB) | 4 | Unknown | Peru (Andes Mountains) | Aerodat charter flight from Pucallpa to Cuzco. All three passengers were Canadians on an oil exploration trip.[176] |
| November 8, 1997 | Cessna 180 (ZK-FMQ) | 1 | Unknown | New Zealand (Waiatoto River) | |
| December 22, 1997 | Antonov An-72 (ER-ACF) | 5 | Unknown | South Atlantic Ocean | Cargo flight en route from Port Bouet Airport, Côte d'Ivoire to Rundu Airport, Namibia. Possibly shot down by Angolan Air Force.[177] |
21st century
2000–2019
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 7, 2000 | Antonov An-26 (D2-FBR) | 8 | Unknown | Angola | Cargo flight from Luanda to Cafunfo, operator unknown. Disappeared in the Malanje-Lunda Norte border area.[178] |
| May 25, 2003 | Boeing 727-223 (N844AA) | 2+ (Ben C. Padilla & John M. Mutantu) | Theft (presumed) | Unknown | Main article: 2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance Stolen at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, it is unclear how many people were aboard.[179] |
| October 16, 2008 | GippsAero GA8 Airvan (VH-WRT) | 1 | Unknown | Australia (Buckingham Bay, Northern Territory) | Arnhem Land Community Airlines cargo flight from and to Elcho Island with stops in Mata Mata, Muthamul, Nyinyikay, and Rurruwuy. Plane noticed missing at 12:30. Witness spotted plane followed by black smoke rising from eastern Napier Peninsula. Some wreckage found in southwestern Buckingham Bay on October 17; main wreckage and pilot missing.[180] |
| November 1, 2008 | Beechcraft King Air 65-A90-1 (N87V) | 3 | Unknown | Guyana (Near Georgetown) | Lost: 3 crew. Aircraft vanished over a remote part of the Guyana jungle.[181] |
| December 15, 2008 | Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislander Mk.III-2 (N650LP) | 12 | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea off Turks and Caicos) | Línea Aérea Puertorriqueña (LAP) passenger flight from Santiago de los Caballeros to Mayaguana. Pilot contacted Providenciales ATC at 17:06 reporting an emergency. The pilot's license had been suspended in October 2006.[182] |
| May 21, 2010 | Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (D2-FFT) | 3 | Unknown | Angola (near Caxito) | Grupo Chicoil aircraft on a flight from Pointe Noire to Luanda, chartered by Dubai-based businessman Rachid Mustapha. Contact was lost in the Caxito area at 00:20; no sign of the aircraft has been found.[183] |
| June 10, 2010 | Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (OB-1922-P) | 0 | Hijacking and theft | Unknown | 45-minute Aerodiana sightseeing flight of the Nazca Lines, departing 07:10, with 9 occupants (2 crew, 7 passengers). A number of passengers used false identities. Pilot and copilot were released 21 days later but the plane was never returned nor found.[184] |
| January 2, 2011 | Robinson R44 (LV-ZYO) | 1 (Alejandro Ferzola) | Unknown | Argentina | En route from Brandsen to Santa Teresita, Argentina |
| June 8, 2012 | Piper PA-31-310 Navajo (N174BH) | 1 | Unknown | Lake Superior (near Two Harbors) | Plane owned by Family Celebrations, on a maintenance test flight out of South Saint Paul. Plane was following along western shoreline of lake, 0.5 miles from shore. Last recorded position 30 miles NE of Duluth at 1,600 feet at 14:27. Search suspended on July 4, 2012.[185] |
| April 7, 2013 | Beechcraft 1900C (ZS-PHL) | 1 (Jerry Krause) | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (Near São Tomé International Airport) | Private flight. |
| March 8, 2014 | Boeing 777-200ER (9M-MRO) | 239 | Unknown | Indian Ocean | Main article: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Most evidence suggests that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean west of Australia.[186] While some debris was later recovered, the plane is still marked as missing. |
| December 28, 2014 | Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander (8R-GHE) | 2 | Unknown | Guyana | Cargo flight en route from Mahdia, Guyana to Karisparu, Guyana that failed to arrive at destination. Despite a 21-day search effort, no trace was found.[187] |
| September 5, 2015 | British Aerospace 125 air ambulance (6V-AIM) | 7 | Crew incapacitation (presumed) | Atlantic Ocean | The aircraft went missing after colliding with CEIBA Intercontinental Boeing 737 near Tambacounda, Senegal. Investigators believed that the 737's winglet struck 6V-AIM's fuselage, resulting in cabin depressurization which incapacitated all occupants on board. The ambulance plane flew farther to the West for about next one hour without making any communication with the ATC. The 737 safely landed at Malabo, Equatorial Guinea without any casualty, while 6V-AIM presumably ran out of fuel and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft and all 7 occupants were never found.[188] |
| June 8, 2017 | PA-28-161 Warrior II (C-GDTK) | 2 | Unknown | British Columbia | Disappeared in the British Columbia Interior.[189] En route from Cranbrook, British Columbia, to Kamloops, British Columbia. |
| December 2, 2018 | Embraer EMB 720C Minuano (PT-RDZ) | 8 | Unknown | Brazil (Amazon rainforest) | Disappeared during a flight from Matawaré, an isolated village in Brazil's Tumucumaque Mountains National Park, to Laranjal do Jari, a mining town in the state of Amapá. Contact was lost after the pilot reported losing a cylinder. A two-week search by the Brazilian Air Force and a weeks-long search by relatives of those on board failed to find any trace of the plane.[190] |
| February 1, 2019 | Piper PA-32R | 1 | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean (E. of Palm Beach, FL) | Disappeared en route from Lantana airport in Palm Beach to the Bahamas. A 24 hour search failed to turn up any trace of the plane or any debris. On April 8, 2019, the body of the pilot washed up on the Bahamas coast, but the aircraft and the passenger remain unaccounted for.[191] |
| April 9, 2019 | F-35A (JASDF 79-8705) | 1 | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean (Near Aomori Prefecture, Japan) | Some small pieces of the aircraft's tail were found, but the plane is still marked as missing. Contact was lost about 135 kilometers east of Misawa Air Base.[192][193] |
| September 13, 2019 | MBB Bo 105 | 3 | Unknown | Russia (Yakutia Region, Lake Ayama) | Missing en route.[194][195] |
2020–present
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | Remarks |
|---|
See also
References
External links
- Dodds, Laurence (March 9, 2015). "Mapped: One year on from MH370, all the planes which have disappeared since 1948". The Telegraph.
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