List of aviation accidents and incidents with a sole survivor

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Presented below is a list of aviation accidents and incidents with a sole survivor, when the event involved 10 or more people on board. Within this list, "sole survivor" refers to a person who survived an air accident in which all other aircraft occupants died as a direct consequence of the accident. Specific criteria are outlined below.

wreckage in the forest
The 1959 crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 near Crozet, Virginia, had 26 fatalities and a sole survivor.
Home minister Amit Shah visits the sole survivor of Air India Flight 171

History

The earliest known instance of an incident with 10 or more people on board that had a sole survivor was a New Jersey sightseeing flight on 17 March 1929, which crashed into a sand-filled freight car in an unsuccessful forced landing due to engine failure. The pilot was thrown out on impact and suffered serious injuries; the crash killed all 13 in the cabin and another person in the cockpit.[1]

The most recent aviation accident with a sole survivor is Air India Flight 171, which crashed on 12 June 2025. This accident also has the most fatalities of any sole survivor crash.

List

The below table lists known aviation accidents and incidents with a sole survivor, when such events are consistent with the following criteria:

  • The incident involved 10 or more people on board (minimum of 9 occupants in addition to the sole survivor), per official accident reports or other reliably sourced accounts of the incident.
  • Excluded are incidents with an initial sole survivor who later died, possibly in another location, due to injuries sustained during the event.[a]
  • When the incident was a collision of two aircraft, on the ground or during flight;
    • Excluded are instances in which the total of occupants on both aircraft did not meet the criteria of 10 or more people on board.[b]
    • Excluded are instances in which there were, in total, multiple survivors.[c]
    • Excluded are instances in which all occupants of one aircraft died and the sole occupant of the opposing aircraft survived.[d]
  • Excluded are incidents involving heavy bombers during World War II, which frequently had 10 or more crew members.[e]

"Nationality" refers to the country of the sole survivor, and "Age" refers to the age of the sole survivor at the time that the event occurred. In some instances, details about the sole survivor are unknown or were not disclosed.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.
More information Date, Operator ...
Date Operator Flight / information Fatalities Sole survivor (if known) Notes Source
Name Nationality Age M/F P/C
1929-03-17 Colonial Western Airlines Ford Trimotor crash in Newark 14 Lou Foote United States 34 M C Captain of the flight. [2][3]
1930-08-22 Czechoslovak Airlines Ford Trimotor crash in Jihlava 12 Vojtěch Kraus Czechoslovakia 30 M P [4][5]
1935-12-31 Imperial Airways Short Calcutta crash on the Nile near Alexandria 12 Vernon Gorry Wilson United Kingdom 33 M C Captain of the flight; died in another plane crash seven years later. [6][7][8]
1936-09-05 Pittsburgh Skyways Stinson 6000 crash in Pittsburgh 10 Linda McDonald United States 17 F P [9][10]
1936-09-24 Ala Littoria CANT Z.506 crash off Benghazi 9 M C Radio operator of the flight. [11][12]
1939-11-17 Spanish Air Force Ju 52 ditching off Cape Juby 10 Manuel Copano Taboada Spain M C Air observer on the flight. [13][14]
1941-10-30 Northwest Airlines Flight 5 14 Clarence Bates United States 41 M C Captain of the flight; died in another plane crash one year later. [15][16]
1942-08-25 Royal Air Force Dunbeath air crash[f] 15 Andrew Jack United Kingdom 20 M C Tail gunner of the flight. Fatalities included Prince George, Duke of Kent. [17][18]
1943-01-22 Pan American-Grace Airways Flight 9 14 John Alfred Howard United Kingdom 26 M P [19][20]
1943-06-14 US Army Air Forces Bakers Creek air crash[g] 40 Foye Kenneth Roberts United States 22 M P [21]
1943-07-04 Royal Air Force Gibraltar Liberator AL523 crash[h] 16 Eduard Prchal Czechoslovakia 33 M C Captain of the flight. Fatalities included Polish general Władysław Sikorski. [22]
1945-03-05 Luftwaffe Resko Przymorskie Dornier Do 24 crash[i] 80 Nazi Germany F P [23]
1946-09-05 Trans-Luxury Airlines Douglas C-47 crash in Elko 20 Peter Link United States 3 M P [24][25]
1947-01-12 Eastern Air Lines Flight 665 18 William Keyes Jr. United States 25 M P [26][27]
1947-01-28 China National Aviation Corporation Curtiss C-46 Commando crash in Hankou 25 Paul Ashton Vick United States 1 (16 months) M P [28][29]
1947-02-01 Air France Sintra Douglas C-47 crash 15 Eugène Léonard France 38 M P [30][31]
1948-03-10 Delta Air Lines Flight 705 12 Tripolina Meo United States 33 F P [32][33]
1948-04-15 Pan Am Flight 1–10 30 Mark Worst United States 38 M P [34][35]
1948-04-24 Aeroflot Bodaybo Lisunov Li-2 crash 28 P [36]
1948-05-12 Sabena Sabena Douglas DC-4 crash 31 Georges Moutafis Egypt M P [37][38]
1948-07-17 Cathay Pacific Miss Macao 25 Huang Yu[j] Republic of China (1912–1949) 24 M P One of four hijackers of the aircraft. [39][40]
1949-07-21 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash in Nizhneudinsk 13 C [41]
1949-11-20 Aero Holland Hurum air disaster 34 Isaac Allal French protectorate of Tunisia French Tunisia (1881–1956) 12 M P [42][43]
1950-05-24 LANSA Galeras Douglas C-47 crash 25 Olga Rada Colombia 10 F P [44][45]
1950-07-27 US Air Force Douglas C-47 crash near Ōshima Island 25 Haruo “Harry” Sazaki United States 31 M P [46][47]
1950-09-21 JAT Airways Medvednica Douglas C-47 crash 10 Nikola Jovanović Yugoslavia 23 M C Radio operator of the flight. [48][49]
1950-10-17 British European Airways Mill Hill Douglas C-47 crash 28 James McKissick United Kingdom 33 M C Flight attendant on the flight. [50][51]
1950-12-30 Aerolíneas Argentinas Douglas C-47 crash in Camet 17 Susana Castilla Argentina 7 F P [52][53][54]
1951-03-25 Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crash in Iskra 12 P [55]
1951-11-21 Deccan Airways Douglas C-47 crash near Dum Dum Airport 16 C. N. Mehta India M P [56][57][58]
1953-04-10 Caribbean International Airways Lockheed Lodestar crash off Lime Cay near Kingston 13 Edward Remington Hobbs United Kingdom 37 M P [59][60][61]
1953-05-17 Delta Air Lines Flight 318 19 Hazel Cox United States 21 F P [62][63]
1953-10-31 Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crash near Kharkiv Airport 15 P [64]
1953-12-12 Indian Airlines Douglas C-47 crash near Sonegaon Airport 13 Desmond Arthur Cartner United Kingdom 28 M C Captain of the flight. [65][66][67]
1954-01-06 Royal Air Force Aldbury Valetta accident 16 Patrick Cliff United Kingdom 19 M P [68][69]
1954-08-26 Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crash near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk 26 Soviet Union 40 M P [70]
1956-05-24 Aviateca Sierra de las Minas Douglas C-47 crash 30 Roberto Ovando Guatemala 22 M P [71][72]
1956-11-24 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 34 Concetta Finamore Italy F P [73][74]
1957-03-17 Philippine Air Force Cebu Douglas C-47 crash 25 Nestor Mata Philippines 31 M P Reporter for the Philippine Herald. Fatalities included Ramon Magsaysay, president of the Philippines. [75]
1957-05-01 Eagle Aviation Limited Blackbushe Viking accident 34 Ernest Taylor United Kingdom 25 M P [76][77]
1957-10-01 Aeroflot Flight 11 27 P [78]
1958-05-20 US Air Force / Maryland Air National Guard T-33 mid-air collision with Capital Airlines Flight 300 12 Julius McCoy United States 34 M C Captain of the flight. [79][80]
1958-08-11 Lóide Aéreo Nacional Douglas DC-4 crash near Belém-Val de Cans Airport 10 Cassiano Cirilo Anunciação Brazil 27 M P [81][82]
1959-01-16 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205 51 Roberto Servente Argentina 39 M P [83][84]
1959-10-23 Aeroflot Flight 200 28 P [85]
1959-10-30 Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 26 Phillip "Phil" Bradley United States 33 M P [86][87]
1959-12-01 Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 25 Louis Matarazzo United States 35 M P [88][89]
1960-02-26 Aeroflot Flight 315 32 Soviet Union 33 M P [90]
1961-09-23 Turkish Airlines Flight 835 28 Salih Kalafatoğlu Turkey 40 M P [91][92]
1962-01-27 Aeroflot / Ulyanovsk Flight School Antonov An-10 crash in Baratayevka Airport 13 C [93]
1963-08-12 Air Inter Flight 2611 16[k] Elsa Simon France 5 F P [94][95]
1965-04-14 British United Airways Flight 1030X 26 Dominique Sillière France 22 F C Flight attendant on the flight. [96][97]
1966-02-02 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17 23 Muhammad Abdul Mannan East Pakistan 19 M P [98][99]
1967-04-25 US Air Force Lockheed EC-121H crash off Nantucket Island 15 Joseph Guenet Canada 29 M C Navigator of the flight. [100][101]
1967-04-26 Avianca Douglas C-47 crash near Sogamoso 17 C [102]
1967-06-24 Saudi Arabian Airlines Douglas C-47 crash en route to Jeddah 16  Switzerland P [103][104][105]
1968-02-29 Aeroflot Flight 15 83 Vasily Andrienko Soviet Union 21 M P [106][107]
1968-03-09 Groupe de Liaisons Aériennes Ministérielles (GLAM) Sainte-Marie Douglas DC-6 crash 19 Michèle Renard France 27 F P [108][109]
1970-01-25 Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) Convair CV-240 crash in Veracruz 19 Jesús Kramsky Mexico 22 M P [110][111]
1970-02-04 TAROM Flight 35 20 Ludovic Alexandru Sarkadi Romania 43 M P [112][113]
1970-05-04 US Air Force Convair T-29 crash near Hamilton Air Force Base 13 George A. Burk United States 28 M P [114]
1970-08-09 LANSA Flight 502 101[l] Juan Loo Peru 26 M C First officer of the flight. [115]
1971-06-06 United States Marine Corps F-4 mid-air collision with Hughes Airwest Flight 706 50 Christopher E. Schiess United States 24 M C Radar operator of the flight. [116][117]
1971-12-24 LANSA Flight 508 91 Juliane Koepcke West Germany 17 F P Survived falling from 10,000 feet (3,000 m). [118][119]
1972-01-26 JAT Airways Flight 367 27 Vesna Vulović Yugoslavia 22 F C Flight attendant on the flight; survived falling from 33,000 feet (10,000 m). [120][119]
1973-04-12 US Navy Sunnyvale mid-air collision 16 Bruce N. Mallibert United States 22 M C Radar operator of the flight. [121] [122][123]
1973-07-22 Pan Am Flight 816 78 Neil James Campbell Canada 28 M P [124][125]
1973-08-22 Avianca Douglas DC-3 crash near Yopal 16 P [126]
1977-07-20 Aeroflot Flight B-2 39 Soviet Union 21 M P [127]
1979-01-15 Aeroflot Antonov An-24 crash near Minsk-1 Airport 13 Viktoria "Vika" Bendeberya Soviet Union 3 F P [128][129]
1979-05-30 Downeast Airlines Flight 46 17 John McCafferty United States 16 M P [130][115]
1981-08-24 Aeroflot Flight 811 mid-air collision with Soviet Air Forces Tu-16 37 Larisa Savitskaya Soviet Union 20 F P Survived falling from 17,000 feet (5,200 m). [131][132]
1981-09-02 Taxi Aéreo El Venado Embraer Bandeirante crash in Paipa 21 Remberto Aparicio Colombia 26 M P [133][134]
1982-06-17 Ministry of Radio Equipment Production Tupolev Tu-134 crash near Severomorsk-1 Naval Air Station 15 Viktor Khatkovsky Soviet Union 38 M C Captain of the flight. [135][136]
1983-04-30 US Navy Convair C-131 crash in Jacksonville 14 Melissa Kelly United States 30 F P [137][138]
1984-12-23 Aeroflot Flight 3519 110 Soviet Union 27 M P [139][115]
1985-01-21 Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 70 George Lamson Jr. United States 17 M P [120][115]
1985-02-22 Air Mali Air Mali Antonov An-24 crash 51 Ouologuem Mali M P [140][141]
1987-01-03 Varig Flight 797 50 Neuba Yessoh Damase Ivory Coast 44 M P [142][143]
1987-08-16 Northwest Airlines Flight 255 156[l] Cecelia Cichan[m] United States 4 F P [118]
1987-11-16 Libyan Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash in Sebha 46 P [145]
1987-12-08 Peruvian Navy Alianza Lima plane crash 43 Edilberto Villar Peru M C Captain of the flight. Fatalities included multiple members of Peruvian football club Alianza Lima. [146]
1988-12-11 Soviet Air Force Soviet Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 crash 77 Fahraddin Balaev Soviet Union M P [147]
1991-10-05 Indonesian Air Force Jakarta Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash 135[l] Bambang Subandi Indonesia 25 M P [148]
1992-10-19 Aeroflot / Komiavia Antonov An-28 crash in Ust-Kulomsky 15 Tatiana Yaroslavovna Russia 30 F P [149][150]
1992-11-14 Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 30 Annette Herfkens Netherlands 31 F P [151][115]
1993-12-26 Kuban Airlines Flight GW-5719 35 Smbat Martirosian Georgia 21 M P [152][153]
1994-04-25 Dirgantara Air Service BN-2 Islander crash in Sintang 10 Nur Intan Fitriani Indonesia 31 F P [154][155]
1995-01-11 Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 51 Erika Delgado Colombia 9 F P [120]
1995-09-21 MIAT Mongolian Airlines Flight 557 42 Ulziibayar Sanjaa Mongolia 33 M P [156][157]
1996-11-14 Komiaviatrans Antonov An-2 crash in Udorsky 14 Yuri Maslov Russia M C First officer of the flight [158][159]
1996-11-30 ACES Colombia DHC-6 Twin Otter crash near Olaya Herrera Airport 14 Pedro Rafael Rojas Colombia 39 M P [160][161][162]
1996-12-07 Dirgantara Air Service Flight 5940 18[l] Irianto Indonesia 40 M P [163]
1997-09-03 Vietnam Airlines Flight 815 65[n] Chanayuth Nim-anong Thailand 1 (14 months) M P Youngest known sole survivor, based on age at time of incident. [165][164]
1997-12-15 Tajik Air Flight 3183 85 Sergei Petrov Tajikistan 37 M C Navigator of the flight. [166][167]
2001-03-17 Sociedade de Aviação Ligeira Beechcraft 1900 crash in Quilemba 16 Manuel González Pérez Spain 25 M P [168][169]
2003-03-06 Air Algérie Flight 6289 102 Youcef Djillali Algeria 28 M P [167][115]
2003-07-08 Sudan Airways Flight 139 116 Mohammed el-Fateh Osman Sudan 2 M P [120][170][115]
2006-01-19 Slovak Air Force Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash 42 Martin Farkaš Slovakia 27 M P [171][172]
2006-08-27 Comair Flight 5191 49 James M. Polehinke United States 44 M C First officer of the flight. [173][115]
2007-01-09 AerianTur-M AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crash 34 Abdülkadir Akyüz Turkey 31 M P [174][175]
2007-08-26 Great Lakes Business Company Kongolo Antonov An-32B crash 14 3 M P [176]
2007-10-04 Malift Air Africa One Antonov An-26 crash 51[o] Dédé Ngamba Democratic Republic of the Congo M C Aircraft's mechanic. Some sources state that there were two survivors. [177][178]
2008-10-08 Yeti Airlines Flight 101 18 Surendra Kunwar   Nepal 41 M C Captain of the flight. [179][115][180]
2009-03-12 Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 17 Robert Decker Canada 28 M P [181]
2009-06-30 Yemenia Flight 626 152 Bahia Bakari France 12 F P [118]
2010-05-12 Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 103 Ruben van Assouw Netherlands 9 M P [118][182][183]
2010-08-25 Filair Filair Let L-410 crash 20 P [184][185]
2011-04-04 Georgian Airways / United Nations Flight 834 32 Francis Mwamba Congo M P [186][187]
2011-09-07 Yak-Service Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash 44 Alexander Sizov Russia 52 M C Aircraft's mechanic; oldest known sole survivor, based on age at time of incident. Fatalities included multiple members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team. [188][189]
2014-02-11 Algerian Air Force Algerian Air Force C-130 crash 77 Nimer Djelloul Algeria 21 M P [190][191]
2014-05-17 Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force Lao People's Liberation Army Air Force An-74 crash 16 Laos [192]
2014-07-07 Vietnam Air Force Mil Mi-171 crash in Thạch Thất 20[p] Đinh Văn Dương Vietnam 31 M P [194][195]
2018-05-18 Cubana de Aviación Flight 0972 112 Mailén Díaz Almaguer Cuba 19 F P [196][197][198]
2019-01-14 Saha Airlines Saha Airlines Boeing 707 crash 15 Farshad Mahdavinejad Iran M C Flight Engineer of the flight. [199][200]
2019-11-24 Busy Bee Congo Busy Bee Congo Dornier 228 crash 27[q] Muma Emmanuel Cameroon M P [201]
2020-09-25 Ukrainian Air Force Chuhuiv An-26 crash 26 Viacheslav Zolochevsky Ukraine 20 M P [202]
2024-07-24 Saurya Airlines Saurya Airlines Bombardier CRJ200 crash 18 Manish Shakya   Nepal 35 M C Captain of the flight. [203][204][205]
2025-01-29 Light Air Services Light Air Services Beechcraft 1900 crash 20 Emmanuel Maker Makoi South Sudan M P [206][207]
2025-06-12 Air India Flight 171 260[r] Vishwash Kumar Ramesh United Kingdom 40 M P [208][209]
Close

See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    Such incidents, from which an initial sole survivor later succumbed to their injuries, include: 1961 Ndola Transair Sweden DC-6 crash, Delta Air Lines Flight 723 (1973), and Avioimpex Flight 110 (1993).
  2. [b]
    Collisions where one aircraft has less than 10 occupants, but meets the criteria from the total of occupants on both aircraft, such as the 1973 Sunnyvale mid-air collision, are included.
  3. [c]
    Such incidents, in which there was a collision between aircraft and there were multiple survivors in total, include the Air Vietnam incident of 20 September 1969 involving a commercial Douglas C-54 (1 survivor) and a USAF military F-4 Phantom (2 survivors).
  4. [d]
    Such incidents, in which the sole occupant of the opposing aircraft survived, include: Eastern Air Lines Flight 537 (1949), British European Airways Flight 142 (1958), and All Nippon Airways Flight 58 (1971).
  5. [e]
    Non-combat events during World War II, such as the Dunbeath air crash, a VIP transport mission, are included.
  6. [f]
    The aircraft involved, a Short Sunderland, was being used as a VIP transport.
  7. [g]
    The aircraft involved, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, was being used as a personnel transport.
  8. [h]
    The aircraft involved, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, was being used as a personnel transport.
  9. [i]
    The aircraft involved, a Dornier Do 24, was being used to transport civilians.
  10. [j]
    Chinese: 黃裕, Hanyu Pinyin: Huáng Yù, Cantonese: Wong Yu
  11. [k]
    Including 1 ground fatality
  12. [l]
    Including 2 ground fatalities
  13. [m]
    Later known by her married name, Crocker.[144]
  14. [n]
    Accident final report states two survivors,[164] as another passenger initially survived but later died from his injuries.
  15. [o]
    Including 30 ground fatalities.
  16. [p]
    Initially 3 survivors, one survivor died 2 weeks later and the other died 2 months later.[193]
  17. [q]
    Including 6 ground fatalities
  18. [r]
    Including 19 ground fatalities

Bibliography

  • Darby, Paul; Johnes, Martin; Mellor, Gavin (2005). Soccer and disaster (2005 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-8289-1. Total pages: 193
  • Williamson, Ronald M. (2000). Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, 1940–2000: An Illustrated History (2000 ed.). Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-56311-730-5. Total pages: 200
  • Congressional Record (2003 ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Publishing Office. 2003. Total pages: 15,591

References

Further reading

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