The Unluckiest Date in Aviation
July 17th - a dark day to fly.
There are certain dates in the year which seem to bring coincidences, synchronicities and bad luck, July 17th is one of those dark days for the aviation industry, both military and commercial. More air crashes and incidents have occurred on July 17th over the years than on any other date, including the infamous TWA Flight 800 and MH-17 flights. Settle in for an exhaustive (exhausting?!) run-through which makes the mind boggle, and I have missed out so many smaller incidents!
1935 - Iran
A ‘Douglas DC-2-115E’ named ‘Maraboe’ owned by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines crashed on take-off from Bushehr Airport, the 12 people on board (4 crew and 8 passengers) escaped unhurt before the plane caught fire.
1943 - Incidents involving United States Navy and Army Air Force.
U.S Navy ‘Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina’ aircraft took off from Henderson Field to undertake an anti-shipping search amd patrol operation, at 1am the port engine caught fire and the airplane landed in the sea just off Vella Lavella Island. All 13 on board survived.
U.S Navy ‘Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina’ disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico during a military exercise, it was never found and is classed as missing with 8 personnel on board.
Grenada - ‘Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)’ owned by the United States Army Air Force suffered a mid-air collision with a Douglas C-47-DL (DC-3) also owned by the USAAF. The wing of one aircraft collided with the fuselage of the other, locking the planes together resulting in the crash and loss of 10 lives.
1945 - India
‘Consolidated C-109 Liberator Express’ aircraft owned by the United States Army Air Force was reported missing after taking off from the Jorhat-Rowriah Airport. The plane was part of the 1330 Army Air Base Unit, Air Transport Command and had 4 crew members on board at the time of its disappearance, no explanation was ever given.The wreckage was eventually found decades later on October 22, 2007 at an elevation of 8227 feet.
Mindoro Island, Philippines
A ‘Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando’ aircraft owned by the USAAF crashed transporting cargo. The airplane hit a mountain on the north-western tip of Mindoro Island in bad weather conditions, 8 crew were lost.
1946 - Ecuador
A ‘Curtiss C46-D-10-CUD-Commando’ scheduled passenger flight crashed on approach 1,6 km from Cuenca Airport killing all 30 people on board. After attempting to land, the pilot carried out a ‘go-around’, the aircraft didn’t gain enough height and tragically crashed into a hill.
1950 - India
Indian National Airways airplane ‘Douglas C-47A-90-DL (DC-3)’ crashed en-route to Srinagar Airport during turbulence roughly 10km from Pathankot. All occupants 22 were killed.
1951 - Egypt
An R.A.F ‘Vickers Valetta C.1’ was destroyed after an issue with a propeller forced the crew to make an emergency belly-landing, all crew survived.
1953 - USA
A U.S Navy operated ‘Fairchild R4Q-2 Flying Boxcar (C-119F)’ just after take-off from Milton-Whiting Field, where it had stopped to refuel while transporting Reserve Officers' Training Corps students from summer training in Texas. Tragically 44 of the 46 persons on board were killed.
1955 - USA
Braniff International Airways owned ‘Convair CV-340-32’ crashed on approach to Chicago-Midway Airport killing 22 of the 43 people on board. The crew had requested a weather report which stated half mile visibility, the Convair descended too low and collided with a sign, then crashed through the airport boundary fence in flames and came to a stop.
1958 - Argentina
A ‘Douglas C-47A-75-DL Skytrain’ crashed on take-off at Río Cuarto Airport following an engine failure, no fatalities were reported.
Dominican Republic
2 people were killed when a ‘Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando’ plane crashed on take-off destined for Miami. It was reported that the aircraft stalled while climbing.
1960 - Jamaica
A Cuban Aviation owned ‘Vickers Viscount’ aircraft was hijacked after leaving Havana, when the captain (!) drew a gun and forced the co-pilot to divert to Jamaica. He claimed political asylum as a "refugee" from the Castro Government. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
1963 - Laos
An Air America ‘Curtiss C-46F-1-CU Commando’ cargo plane crashed into a hillside in fog during a supply dropping mission in Northern Laos, all 6 crew died.
1965 - Japan
Japan Maritime Self Defence Force owned ‘Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune’ aircraft crashed into the ocean 70 miles southeast of Tokyo following a fire on board, all 11 crew perished.
1967 - USA
United States Air Force ‘Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker’ crashed on take-off after the plane over rotated and stalled. 1 of the 5 people on board died.
1968 - Cuba
A‘McDonnell Douglas DC-8 plane was hijacked after leaving Los Angeles International Airport bound for Miami, Somewhere over Texas, the hijacker pulled out a hand grenade (later proved to be a fake) and a pistol and demanded to be flown to Cuba. The aircraft stopped to refuel in New Orleans before continuing to Cuba. No casualties.
1973 - Norway
A really lucky escape for the 60 people on board the ‘Convair CV-640’ which landed/crashed at Tromso airport. It is reported that the plane landed heavily, bounced and came to rest nose-down with it’s landing gear partially collapsed … just 15 meters from the end of the runway!
1980 - United Kingdom
62 passengers and crew avoided disaster when the ‘Convair CV-640’ they were travelling on from Spain to Exeter, emergency landed a few miles short of Exeter airport near the village of Ottery St. Mary in Devon. Luckily the pilot knew the area and managed to find a safe landing site in a small grassy valley. On landing the fuel tanks were empty. The cause of the incident was found to be a combination of unreliable fuel gauges and the crew’s belief that they had enough fuel on board.
1983 - Cuba
Another hijacking! This time the 107 occupants of the Delta Airlines Boeing 727 en-route from Miami to Tampa were subjected to three hijackers brandishing knives and aerosol cans, a flight attendant was held with a knife to her throat otherwise there were no casualties. The plane diverted to Cuba as requested, where the three were taken into custody.
1994 - Martinique
6 people were killed when an ‘IRMA/Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander’ belonging to Air Martinique, lsf Trans Island Air crashed into a hillside on approach to Fort de France-Lamentin Airport.
1996 - TWA Flight 800 USA
Trans World Airlines’ Boeing 747-131 headed for Paris, carrying 230 people exploded just after taking off from JFK International Airport killing everyone on board. The body of the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Long Island. An extensive investigation concluded that the probable cause was a center-wing fuel tank explosion, likely ignited by an electrical spark.
Kenya
5 crew members killed when a ‘de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo’ operated by the Tanzanian People's Defence Force crashed after take-off from Nairobi. The plane had been damaged and repaired a month before but it isn’t known if that was a factor.
1997 - Indonesia
28 of 50 persons on board the ‘Fokker F-27 Friendship 600’ died when it crashed on approach to Bandung-Husein Sastranegara Airport. After smoke was seen coming from an engine the crew attempted an emergency landing but the aircraft clipped roofs and a wall of a housing complex and crashed into a field.
1998 - Eritrea
Air Sofia, lsf Ukrainian Cargo Airways owned ‘Ilyushin Il-78’ cargo plane crashed on approach to Bourgas Airport after colliding with a hill killing all 10 on board.
2000 - United Kingdom
CityFlyer Express flight 8106 was hijacked en-route to Gatwick Airport from Zurich. The hijacker was armed with a large pair of scissors and held a flight attendant by her hair with the blades to her throat. He apparently was upset over having failed to obtain asylum in Britain. He claimed to have a bomb and threatened to detonate it if not granted asylum. During the planes descent, the pilot left the cockpit, convinced the man to release the flight attendant, and calmed him down. The plane made an emergency landing at Gatwick and went to a remote area of the airport, where the hijacker was detained. No casualties.
India
A‘Boeing 737-2A8 Advanced’ aircraft operated by Alliance Air crashed after losing control on approach to Patna Airport killing 55 of the 58 people on board plus 5 on the ground.
2002 - Nepal
4 occupants of the ‘de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300’ owned by Skyline Airways died when the aircraft crashed into a hill shortly after take-off in bad weather.
2007 - Brazil
All 187 passengers and crew plus another 12 people on the ground were killed when the ‘Airbus A320-233’ operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas crashed while landing at São Paulo-Congonhas Airport. It overshot the runway colliding with a building then burst into flames, the crash became the worst aviation disaster in the country’s history.
2014 - Ukraine - Flight MH17
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling over Ukraine on it suddenly disappeared from radar.
All 283 passengers (including 80 children) and 15 crew were killed.
The plane was brought down after being hit by a Russian Buk missile over eastern Ukraine, an investigation by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) concluded in October 2015.
2015 - Greece
A Canadair CL-215-1A10 firefighting plane was in service near Faraklo when it had technical problems and was forced to land sustaining substantial damage, there were however, no injuries.
2023 - Poland
A ‘Cessna 208B Grand Caravan’ operated by Skydive Warsaw crashed into a hangar during part of a training flight - 1 of the 3 people on board died as well as 5 people on the ground.
Scores of aviation incidents happen every year of course, but there is a strangely high amount that occur on July 17th. Lets hope this year passes without incident, and we remember those lost in tragedies of years gone by.
or you could…
For more info and incidents visit https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/databases.php