Aviation accidents

Aviation accidents are events in which aircraft operations cause damage, injury, or death. They range from ground incidents to catastrophic crashes.

Swiss cheese model: A model in which accidents occur when weaknesses in multiple defensive layers align. It explains how separate safeguards can fail together in an accident sequence.
Tenerife airport disaster: A 1977 runway collision between two Boeing 747s at Los Rodeos Airport that killed 583 people. It demonstrates how visibility, radio communication, and authority gradients shaped a catastrophe.
Aircraft incident: An occurrence involving aircraft operation that affects or could affect safety but does not meet the definition of an accident. The distinction separates serious near misses from events involving qualifying damage or harm.
Aviation accident investigation: A systematic inquiry into an aviation occurrence to determine its circumstances and safety causes. Investigations identify contributing factors and support measures intended to prevent recurrence.
Human factors in aviation: The study of how human abilities, limits, and interactions affect aviation safety. Crew decisions and coordination can combine with technical faults to produce an accident.
Japan Airlines Flight 123: A 1985 crash in which a Boeing 747 suffered explosive decompression and lost most flight controls. The accident exposed the long-term danger of an improperly repaired pressure bulkhead.
Aviation safety: The discipline and practice of preventing harm arising from civil aviation operations. Accident analysis serves the broader goal of reducing operational risk.
International Civil Aviation Organization: A United Nations agency that develops international standards and recommended practices for civil aviation. Its standards provide a framework for reporting and investigating accidents across borders.
Controlled flight into terrain: An accident in which an airworthy aircraft under pilot control unintentionally strikes terrain or an obstacle. It shows how navigation, awareness, and warning-system failures can converge.
Air France Flight 447: A 2009 crash in which an Airbus A330 stalled over the Atlantic, killing all 228 aboard. It links unreliable airspeed indications, automation, and pilot response to loss of control.

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