List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Commercial Aircraft - 1989

1989

• January 8 – British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737, crashes near Kegworth, Leicestershire, United Kingdom after one of its engines loses a fan blade and fails. Of the 118 passengers and 8 crew, 79 survive. The incident became known as the Kegworth air disaster and is the first loss of a Boeing 737-400.
• February 8 – Independent Air Flight 1851, a Boeing 707, crashes into a hill on approach to Santa Maria, the Azores. All 144 people on board are killed.
• February 24 – United Airlines Flight 811, a Boeing 747, suffers an explosive decompression shortly after takeoff from Honolulu, Hawaii, United States caused by a cargo door which burst open during flight. Of 355 people on board, nine passengers are sucked out of the plane, but the crew manage to land safely at Honolulu.
• March 10 – Air Ontario Flight 1363, a Fokker F28, crashes immediately after takeoff from Dryden, Ontario, Canada because of ice on the wings, killing 24 of 69 people on board.
• June 7 – Surinam Airways Flight 764, a Douglas DC-8, crashes while attempting to land in heavy fog at Paramaribo, Suriname. The plane hits trees and flips upside down, killing 176 of 187 people on board.
• July 19 – United Airlines Flight 232, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, suffers a complete hydraulic system failure over Iowa, United States after the tail-mounted engine disintegrates. The crew maintains partial control of the aircraft using differential throttle, bringing it to a crash landing on the runway of the Sioux City, Iowa airport. Of the 296 people on board, 111 die.
• July 27 – Korean Air Flight 803, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashes while attempting to land in heavy fog at Tripoli, Libya. 75 of the 199 passengers and crew on board plus 4 people on the ground are killed in the accident.
• August 3 – Olympic Aviation Flight 545, a Shorts 330-220, crashes into Mount Kerkis in Greece. All 34 passengers and crew on board are killed.
• September 3 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 9646, an Ilyushin Il-62M, crashes while trying to take off from José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba. All 126 people on board the aircraft plus 45 people on the ground are killed in the crash.
• September 3 – Varig Flight 254, a Boeing 737, runs out of fuel because of incorrect navigation and crashes in the Brazilian jungle, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.
• September 8 – Partnair Flight 394, a Convair 580, crashes into the North Sea after its tail section falls off in mid-air. All 55 people on board perish. The cause is blamed on counterfeit aircraft parts.
• September 19 – UTA Flight 772, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, explodes in mid-air over the Sahara desert when a bomb hidden in its forward cargo hold detonates. All 170 people on board are killed. Responsibility for the bombing is later traced back to Abdullah Sanussi, the brother-in-law of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, whose government in 2003 agrees to pay compensation to the victims.
• September 20 – USAir Flight 5050, a Boeing 737, overruns the runway after a tire on a nosewheel bursts; two passengers die.
• October 21 – Tan-Sahsa Flight 414, a Boeing 727, crashes into a mountain known as Cerro de Hula near Tegucigalpa, Honduras due to pilot error; 127 of 146 on board die.
• October 26 – China Airlines Flight 204, a Boeing 737, crashes into the Chiashan mountain range after takeoff from Hualien Airport due to pilot error; all 54 on board perish.
• November 27 – Avianca Flight 203, a Boeing 727, explodes in mid-air over Colombia, killing all 107 people on board and three people on the ground. The Medellín Cartel claimed responsibility for the attack.
• December 15 – KLM Flight 867, a Boeing 747 flying from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, flies through a cloud of volcanic debris, subsequently losing power from all four engines. The crew is able to restart the engines and land the plane safely.