List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Commercial Aircraft - 1985

1985

• January 1 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 980, a Boeing 727, impacts Mount Illimani in Bolivia. All 29 people on board are killed.
• January 21 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes in Reno, Nevada while attempting to return to the airport to troubleshoot a noise, killing 70 of the 71 people on board. It is later discovered that the air start door was not properly secured.
• February 19 – China Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747SP, suffers an engine flameout off the coast of California and dives 30,000 feet (9,100 m) before regaining control and landing safely in San Francisco.
• February 19 – Iberia Airlines Flight 610, a Boeing 727, crashed into a television antenna installed on the summit of Monte Oiz while landing in Bilbao, Spain. All 141 passengers and 7 crew died in the crash.
• May 3 – Aeroflot Flight 8381, a Tupolev Tu-134, collides with a Soviet Air Force Antonov An-26; both aircraft crash near Zolochev, Ukraine, killing all 94 on board both aircraft.
• June 14 – TWA Flight 847, a Boeing 727, is hijacked by Lebanese militants. One passenger is murdered during the three-day ordeal.
• June 21 – Braathens SAFE Flight 139, a Boeing 737, is hijacked by Stein Arvid Huseby, who demands to make a political statement; all crew and passengers survive.
• June 23 – Air India Flight 182, a Boeing 747, is bombed by Sikh extremists. It crashes into the ocean near Ireland, killing all 329 people on board.
• July 10 – Aeroflot Flight 7425, a Tupolev Tu-154B, stalls while cruising at 38,000 feet (11,600 m) and enters an unrecoverable spin, killing all 200 aboard.
• August 2 – Delta Air Lines Flight 191, a Lockheed Tristar, crashes on approach to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport because of wind shear from a sudden microburst thunderstorm. Of the 163 passengers and crew aboard, 27 survive.
• August 12 – Japan Airlines Flight 123, a Boeing 747, crashes into Mount Osutaka after catastrophic failure of the tailplane severs all hydraulic lines and renders the aircraft uncontrollable. 520 of 524 people on board are killed. To date, it is the worst single-aircraft disaster in history.
• August 22 – British Airtours Flight 28M, a Boeing 737, aborts its takeoff from Manchester, England because of an engine fire. While 82 passengers and crew escape alive, 55 are killed, most from smoke inhalation.
• August 25 – Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808, a Beech BE-99, crashes near Auburn, Maine, killing all 8 people on board, including Samantha Smith and her father.
• September 6 – Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a DC-9, crashes after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin because of engine failure and pilot error. All 31 people on board are killed.
• November 23 – EgyptAir Flight 648, a Boeing 737, is hijacked by Palestinian militants. Egyptian special forces storm the plane on the island of Malta. The incident kills 58 out of 90 passengers and all but one of the hijackers.
• December 12 – Arrow Air Flight 1285, a Douglas DC-8, crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland, killing all 256 passengers and crew on board, making it currently the worst air disaster to occur in Canada; the cause is determined to be a stall most likely caused by wing icing.