List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Commercial Aircraft - 1959

1959

• January 8 – Southeast Airlines Flight 308, a Douglas DC-3, crashes into the Holston Mountain in the United States on approach to the Tri-Cities Regional Airport killing all ten people on board.
• January 11 – Lufthansa Flight 502, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, Brazil, 36 of the 39 on board are killed.
• February 3 – American Airlines Flight 320, a Lockheed L-188 Super Electra, crashes into the East River, New York City, as a result of pilot error; sixty-five passengers and crew are killed.
• February 17 – In the 1959 Turkish Airlines Gatwick crash, a chartered Vickers Viscount 793 carrying the Turkish prime minister and other government officials crashes in heavy fog during its final approach into London Gatwick Airport; five of the eight crew and nine of the sixteen passengers die in the accident; Prime Minister Adnan Menderes is among the ten survivors.
• April 23 – In the 1959 Air Charter Turkey crash, an Avro Super Trader IV crashes on Mount Süphan, Turkey; all 12 crew on board die.
• May 12 – Capital Airlines Flight 75, a Vickers Viscount 745D flying from New York City to Atlanta, breaks up in flight over Chase, Maryland, due to loss of control in severe turbulence; all 31 on board are killed.
• June 26 – TWA Flight 891, a Lockheed Starliner, crashes due to a lightning strike shortly after taking off from Milan Malpensa Airport. All 68 passengers and crew on board are killed.
• August 19 – A Transair Douglas Dakota crashes into a mountain in Spain, killing all 32 on board.
• September 24 – A TAI Douglas DC-7 crashes into a pine forest on departure from Bordeax Airport, France, 54 of the 65 people on board are killed.
• September 29 – Braniff Flight 542, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, breaks up in mid-air and crashes 4 miles (6.4 km) from Buffalo, Texas; all 34 on board perish.
• October 30 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 349, a Douglas DC-3, crashes on Bucks Elbow Mountain near Charlottesville, Virginia, killing the crew of three and 23 of 24 passengers; the sole survivor is seriously injured; the cause is a navigational error during an Instrument Landing System approach.
• November 16 – National Airlines Flight 967, a Douglas DC-7B, crashes into the Gulf of Mexico while on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a possible case of sabotage; all 40 on board perish.
• November 21 – Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202, a Douglas DC-4, crashes after an apparent in-flight fire, killing 24 of 27 on board.