10 Worst aircraft accidents and incidents

Japan Airlines Flight 123
1985
Location: Ueno, Japan
Fatalities: 520
Survivors: 4

Japan Airlines Flight 123 was, by a margin of almost 200 people, the deadliest single-aircraft crash in history. The flight was during a very busy time of year, in a very busy year, for Japan Airlines, and although it was only a domestic flight, the plane was packed.12 minutes after the flight took off, the rear bulkhead (the area between the cabin and the tail) failed, tearing off the rudder and simultaneously destroying all four hydraulic systems, essentially eliminating all of the pilot’s control over the plane. In this situation, the only method of controlling the plane is through differential engine thrust: using engines on one side more than the other will cause the plane to turn. However, this only allows very limited control. The crew tried return to Tokyo, then to land at an American military base, but the plane continued to wander. Finally, it began to descend into the mountains and crashed around 7 pm.

A search-and-rescue crew from the American base located the plane only twenty minutes after the crash, but the Japanese authorities asked them to keep away from the site. A Japanese helicopter found the wreckage during the night but, in the darkness and on a mountainside, was unable to land. It reported that there were no signs of survivors, so the rescue workers decided to wait for daylight. Only four people survived the night, all from the same area of the plane. It is unknown how many people survived the initial impact.