This list of missing aircraft includes aircraft that have disappeared and whose locations are unknown. According to Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an aircraft is considered to be missing "when the official search has been terminated and the wreckage has not been located".[1] However, there still remains a "grey area" on how much wreckage needs to be found for a plane to be declared "recovered". This list does not include every aviator, or even every air passenger that has ever gone missing as these are separate categories.
In the tables below, each missing aircraft is defined (in the Aircraft column) using one or more identifying features. If the aircraft was known by a custom or personalized name (e.g. Pathfinder), that name is presented first (in italics) followed by the aircraft type (in parentheses). The make of aircraft, although not necessarily a unique identifier, is also provided where appropriate. Aircraft registrations began to be used in the early 20th century for individual identification, so this is also included in the later tables (in parentheses).
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ville de Paris (hot air balloon) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Matías Pérez) | North Atlantic Ocean | The Cuban expression: Spanish; Castilian: Voló como Matías Pérez (meaning "He flew like Matias Perez") has since been known to be used when a person wishes to emphasize the situation of a missing person or object.[2] | ||||
| Pathfinder (hydrogen balloon) | style=text-align:center | 2 (John Wise & George Burr) | United States | The body of George Burr was later recovered from Lake Michigan. | ||||
| Saladin (hydrogen balloon) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Walter Powell) | style=text-align:center | Loss of control | North Atlantic Ocean | Powell was MP for Malmesbury when he disappeared. | ||
| Peter Campbell Airship, America (demonstration flight) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Edward D. Hogan) | style=text-align:center | Mechanical failure | North Atlantic Ocean | This was one of Professor P. C. [Peter Carmant] Campbell's airships. The pilot was Edward D. Hogan (1852–1889). | ||
| Örnen (Eagle) (attempted North Pole flight) | style=text-align:center | 3 (S. A. Andrée, Knut Frænkel, and Nils Strindberg) | style=text-align:center | Loss of control | Arctic Ocean | This was part of a failed Swedish effort to reach the North Pole, resulting in the deaths of all three expedition members. While the bodies were later recovered, the balloon (other than some cloth) was never found.[3] |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrie (semi-rigid airship) | style=text-align:center | 0 | style=text-align:center | Mechanical problem & storm loss | Atlantic Ocean | Stranded away from her base on 29 November, torn loose from moorings on 30 November, and last seen by a steamship on 1 December. | ||
| Pampero (coal gas balloon) | style=text-align:center | 2 (Eduardo Newbery & Eduardo Romero) | Argentina | First Argentines ever to perish in an aircraft accident. | ||||
| America (non-rigid airship) | style=text-align:center | 0 | style=text-align:center | Engine failure | North Atlantic Ocean | Occupants rescued by merchant vessel after abandoning ship. | ||
| Cecil Grace No. 3 (Short S.27) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Cecil Grace) | North Atlantic Ocean | Returning from unsuccessful attempt at Baron de Forest Prize en route from Calais to Dover. Body possibly found on March 14, 1911. | ||||
| Blériot XI | style=text-align:center | 1 (Édouard Bague) | North Atlantic Ocean | Attempted first flight across the Mediterranean. | ||||
| Blériot XI | style=text-align:center | 1 (Damer Leslie Allen) | North Atlantic Ocean | Attempted first flight from Wales to Ireland. | ||||
| Blériot XI | style=text-align:center | 1 (Albert Jewell) | North Atlantic Ocean | Intended to compete in the New York Times American Aerial Derby. | ||||
| Manuel Rodríguez (Sánchez-Besa biplane) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Alejandro Bello Silva) | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Chile | Bello was undertaking a military training flight to become a pilot. | ||
| Morane-Saulnier (model unknown) | style=text-align:center | 1 (Gustav Hamel) | North Atlantic Ocean | This plane was en route from Hardelot to Hendon Aerodrome. An unidentified corpse was found on July 6, 1914, that might have been Hamel's.[4] | ||||
| LZ60 (Zeppelin) | style=text-align:center | 0 | style=text-align:center | Weather (storm loss) | North Atlantic Ocean | This Zeppelin was unmanned when it broke free of its mooring and drifted away. | ||
| Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane N-9 | style=text-align:center | 0 | style=text-align:center | Malfunction | North Atlantic Ocean | Unmanned test flight, last seen over the Naval Air Station Bay Shore at an altitude of 4,000 feet (1220 m) heading east.[5] | ||
| Sopwith Camel | style=text-align:center | 1 (Mansell Richard James) | style=text-align:center | Unknown | United States | James was involved in an air race from Boston to New York City. Although wreckage was found, it was never positively identified. | ||
| Martinsyde (type A Mk.I) | style=text-align:center | 2 (Cedric Howell & George H. Fraser) | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | These two men were involved in an air race from England to Australia. The airframe & corpse of Cedric Howell (pilot) were eventually recovered. |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker F.III (H-NABS) | style=text-align:center | 3 | Atlantic Ocean | KLM passenger flight from Lympne to Rotterdam.[6] | ||||
| Farman F.61 Goliath (F-ADFN) | style=text-align:center | 4 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean | SGTA cargo flight from St. Louis to Petrolina. A Brazilian fisherman claimed to have found a wheel from the missing plane June 18 that year.[7] [8] | ||
| L'Oiseau Blanc (Levasseur PL.8) | style=text-align:center | 2 (François Coli & Charles Nungesser) | North Atlantic Ocean or Maine[9] | This was an attempted transatlantic flight competing for the Orteig Prize.[10] | ||||
| Airco DH.9 (G-IAAB)[11] | style=text-align:center | 2 (John James Crofts Cocks & LAC Rowston) | [12] | Cocks and Rowston left on a private flight on May 11 from Lahore, British India to Lympne, England.[13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] | ||||
| Golden Eagle (NX913) | style=text-align:center | 2 (Jack Frost & Gordon Scott) | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race. | ||||
| Miss Doran (NX2915) | style=text-align:center | 3 (John "Auggie" Pedlar, Vilas R. Knope & Mildred Doran) | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race. | ||||
| Dallas Spirit (NX941) | style=text-align:center | 2 (William Portwood Erwin & Alvin Eichwaldt) | North Pacific Ocean | Competitor in Dole Air Race, searching for Miss Doran & Golden Eagle. | ||||
| Saint Raphael (Fokker F.VIIA) | style=text-align:center | 3 (Frederick F. Minchin, Leslie Hamilton & Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg) | North Atlantic Ocean | Attempted transatlantic flight (east to west). | ||||
| November 16, 1927 | Junkers F13 (with floats) K-SALD | style=text-align:center | 4 | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Gulf of Finland | Aero OY passenger flight from Tallinn to Helsinki carrying two Finnish Army officers, a pilot, and a flight mechanic. Extreme fog present at time of disappearance. Finnish Air Force and Navy and Estonian Navy searches found no trace of the aircraft.[19] | |
| The Dawn (Sikorsky S-36) | style=text-align:center | 4 (Oskar Omdal, Brice Goldsborough, Frank Koehler & Frances Wilson Grayson) | North Atlantic Ocean | Intended to attempt Newfoundland to London flight. | ||||
| Aotearoa (Ryan B-1 Brougham, G-AUNZ) | style=text-align:center | 2 (John Robert Moncrieff & George Hood) | South Pacific Ocean | Departed from Sydney, Australia for Trentham, New Zealand. Radio signals ceased when the aircraft should have been about two hours out from New Zealand; see Moncrieff and Hood disappearance | ||||
| Endeavour (Stinson SM-1 Detroiter) | style=text-align:center | 2 (Walter G. R. Hinchliffe & Elsie Mackay) | North Atlantic Ocean | Attempted transatlantic flight (east to west). | ||||
| Italia (airship) | style=text-align:center | 6 (Aldo Pontremoli) | style=text-align:center | Crash landing | North Atlantic Ocean | One person died in the crash, subsequent searches were unsuccessful.[20] Notable people who disappeared included Aldo Pontremoli. | ||
| Latham 47.02 | style=text-align:center | 6 | North Atlantic Ocean | This group was searching for survivors of the missing airship Italia. Roald Amundsen and René Guilbaud were among the missing attempted rescuers. | ||||
| R.1 Blackburn (N9834) | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Pilot Officer Samuel Hatton, Lt. Charles Sheldon Booth RN and Telegraphist Edmund George Bourke Grigson missing; No. 422 (Fleet Spotter) Flight, .[21] [22] | ||
| Jung Schweizerland (Farman F.190, CH-245) | style=text-align:center | 2 | North Atlantic Ocean | Disappeared with 2 Swiss pilots during attempted transatlantic flight from Lisbon to New York.[23] | ||||
| CMASA/Dornier Do J Wal Asso 500 Cabina (I-AZDB) | style=text-align:center | 5 | style=text-align:center | Ditching | North Atlantic Ocean | Aero Espresso Italiana flight from Istanbul to Athens. Signaled passing Isola d'Strati at 12:30 but made an emergency landing at 13:00 near Agios Eustratios at 39.336489, 24.755684. Nothing found.[24] | ||
| de Havilland DH.60M Moth (N-42) | style=text-align:center | 2 | Antarctica | Hvalfangstselskapet Kosmos A/S aircraft flying out of the whaling vessel Kosmos. Pilot Leif Lier and observer Dr. Ingvald Schreiner lost.[25] | ||||
| Dornier Do R4 Superwal (I-RONY) | style=text-align:center | 6 | North Atlantic Ocean | SANA passenger flight from Barcelona to Marseille. Last known radio contact was at 09:40 off of Cap de Creus.[26] | ||||
| Fairchild (model and registration unknown) | style=text-align:center | 5 | North Atlantic Ocean | Disappeared during 45-minute Bimini Airlines flight from Miami to Bimini.[27] | ||||
| de Havilland DH.60 Moth (CF-AGL)[28] | style=text-align:center | 2 | North Atlantic Ocean | Arthur Sullivan (pilot), Dr Kurt K. (Karl) Kuenhert vanished on pleasure flight.[29] [30] [31] [32] [33] | ||||
| Avro 616 Avian IVM (G-AAKA)[34] | style=text-align:center | 2 | Indian Ocean | English planters, G.W. Salt and F.B. Taylor left for England on a pleasure flight.[35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] | ||||
| The American Nurse (Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, NR796W) | style=text-align:center | 3 | North Atlantic Ocean | |||||
| Cuatro Vientos (Br.19 TF Super Bidon) | style=text-align:center | 2 | Mexico | The duo were on their final leg of the flight that went from Seville to Mexico City. | ||||
| CMASA Wal (I-AZEE) | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Ditching | North Atlantic Ocean | Aero Espresso Italiana flight from Athens to Rhodes forced to ditch due to gale-force winds. SAR operations by Greece and Italy were unsuccessful.[43] [44] | ||
| Stella Australis (Airspeed Envoy) | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Fuel Starvation | North Pacific Ocean | Charles Ulm disappeared along with copilot G.M. Littlejohn and navigator/radio operator J.S. Skilling. It is most probable that the aircraft overflew Hawaii. | ||
| Trimotor Hydroplane (Bach 3-CT-6 Air Yacht, NC850E) | style=text-align:center | 7 | Pacific Ocean | Líneas Aéreas Occidentales (LAO) passenger flight from Mazatlán to La Paz. 2 Americans (pilot and mechanic) and 5 Mexicans (2 male, 2 female, and a female infant) on board; no trace found.[45] | ||||
| Lady Southern Cross (Lockheed Altair) | style=text-align:center | 2 (Charles Kingsford Smith & John T. Pethybridge) | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Indian Ocean | Only the undercarriage leg and wheel has ever been found. | ||
| Dauphine (CAMS 53-1, F-AJIR) | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Engine failure | North Atlantic Ocean | Air France passenger flight from Marseille to Ajaccio and Tunis. Vanished off of Corsica after sending a distress call.[46] [47] [48] | ||
| Ville de Buenos Aires (Latécoère 301, F-AOIK) | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Weather (storm loss) | South Atlantic Ocean | Notable people lost include Émile Barrière. The nonstop flight from Natal, Brazil was operated by Air France. | ||
| Tornado (Dornier Do J-2F Bos Wal, D-ADYS) | style=text-align:center | 4 | South Atlantic Ocean | Lost during a Deutsche Lufthansa cargo flight from Natal to Bodensee via Bathurst.[49] [50] | ||||
| Croix-du-Sud (Latécoère 300) | style=text-align:center | 5 | style=text-align:center | Engine failure (presumed) | South Atlantic Ocean | A final incomplete radio message reported engine failure minutes after the last position report. Notable lost passengers included Jean Mermoz. | ||
| Blackburn Shark[51] (K5619)[52] | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | The crew of this military patrol included Sub-Lt George Eric Lake, Lt Roderick W. MacDonald, & Telegraphist William H. Currie. They were all from the 821st Naval Air Squadron Fleet Air Arm of .[53] [54] [55] | ||
| Lockheed Electra 10E | style=text-align:center | 2 (Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan) | style=text-align:center | Fuel Starvation (most likely) | Central Pacific Ocean | This is perhaps one of the most famous aerial disappearances of all time. Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were on their antepenultimate leg of an attempted round-the-world flight when they went missing. At the time, the search for Earhart was the largest of its kind in history.[56] | ||
| Bolkhovitinov DB-A (prototype) | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Arctic Ocean | Sigizmund Levanevsky was among the passengers that went missing. This was an attempted long-distance flight from Moscow to Fairbanks, Alaska, via the North Pole. Possible wreckage of the plane was sighted on the sea floor in 1999. | ||
| Antares (Dewoitine D.333, F-ANQA) | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Air France passenger flight from Dakar to Toulouse lost before a stopover in Casablanca. Crew reported passing Agadir at 03:05 but sent an SOS call received at 04:23. 2 mail bags washed up on the beach, but no wreckage was recovered.[57] | ||
| CANT Z-506 (I-ORIA) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean | Ala Littoria flight from Cádiz to Rome with stopovers in Pollença and Alghero, lost in a storm shortly after second stop at 14:30.[58] [59] | |||
| Vickers Vildebeest Mark II[60] (K2944)[61] | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | The flight crew consisted of Sgt. W.D.M. Roberts (pilot), AC1 E.J. Beisly & AC1 M.R. Hunter of No. 100 Sqn RAF, RAF Seletar, Singapore.[62] | ||
| Taylor Cub | style=text-align:center | 1 (Andrew Carnegie Whitfield) | North Atlantic Ocean | This was a private flight. | ||||
| Hawaii Clipper (Martin M-130, NC14714) | style=text-align:center | North Pacific Ocean | ||||||
| Hawker Hector (K9759)[63] | style=text-align:center | 1 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: P/O Douglas St Quentin Robinson, No. 13 Sqn RAF, RAF Odiham.[64] [65] [66] | ||
| Avro Anson (K8831) | style=text-align:center | 4 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: Sgt. Cecil Joseph Le Patrick Gordon (pilot), AC2 Thomas Charles Andrews, AC1 Melville George Brand, AC1 Leslie Freeman, No. 233 Sqn RAF, RAF Thornaby. | ||
| Pampero (Dornier DO.18, D-AROZ) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Deutsche Lufthansa flight from Natal that was just a few minutes from landing.[67] [68] | |||||
| Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow (K6971)[69] | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Weather (storm loss) | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: F/O D.A. Hamilton, P/O R.N. Haynes, P/O T.I.S. Munro, LAC C.S. Lodge & AC1 T. Prowse, No. 215 Sqn, RAF Honington, Suffolk.[70] [71] | ||
| Westland Wallace (K3570)[72] | style=text-align:center | 2 | style=text-align:center | Fouling of tail by towing cable | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: P/O M.T. Lloyd & AC J. Flannery of No. 1 Air Armament School.[73] | ||
| Monocoupe 90A (SE-AGM/NX19421) | style=text-align:center | 1 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Swedish-American pilot Carl Backman took the registration SE-AGM from a Areonca C-3 in his hometown of Leksand and used on this plane on an attempted flight from the US to Sweden. Planned route was from St. Louis to Rommehed with stops in Bangor and Gander; disappeared on last leg of flight.[74] | ||
| Vickers Wellington I (L4258)[75] | style=text-align:center | 5 | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: F/O T.A. Darling, P/O F.E. Board, A/Sgt A. Linkley, AC1 R.C.B, Collins & AC1 J.W. Sadler of No. 149 Sqn RAF.[76] | ||||
| Shalom (Ryan C-2 Foursome) | style=text-align:center | 2 | North Atlantic Ocean | NYC to Palestine flight by Betar activists Alex Loeb and Richard Decker.[77] [78] | ||||
| Supermarine Stranraer[79] | style=text-align:center | 6 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost: Act. Flt. Lt. F.E.R. King, F/O A.F. Barber, LAC D. Fulcher, AC1 D.G.P. Ash, AC1 L.S. Freshwater & AC1 W.J. Jeckells, No. 209 Sqn RAF, RAF Invergordon, Ross & Cromarty.[80] [81] [82] [83] |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannibal (Handley Page H.P.42, G-AAGX) | style=text-align:center | Crash landing | Indian Ocean | Four crew and four passengers were lost on this passenger flight. Wreckage washed up on the Iranian coast at Ras al Kuh, 40 km (25 miles) east of Jask. | ||||
| SNCAC NC.223.4 (F-AROA) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down (possibly) | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost during Marseille-Bizerte-Beirut-Damascus mail flight. Jean Chiappe was a passenger. Possibly strayed into battle zone.[84] | |||
| Savoia-Marchetti SM-75C (I-BAYR) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Ditching | Atlantic Ocean | LATI passenger flight from Natal to Sal. Pilot was forced to ditch after No. 2 (center) engine lost power and all cargo was dumped. No trace of plane found. (Other sources say flight was headed for Dakar.)[85] [86] | |||
| Lisunov PS-84 (CCCP-L3467) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Russia | Aeroflot plane left Vnukovo on a mission but vanished. The pilot was found alive in a Tashkent hospital with burns and wounds on January 10, 1942, but could not recall what happened to the plane or remaining 3 crew members.[87] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (Y-58) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | off Kema, Indonesia | The Dutch Navy aircraft disappeared following a raid on the Japanese fleet at Kema. Two other Catalinas flying with Y-58 landed safely.[88] | |||
| Lisunov PS-84 (CCCP-L3920) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | possibly Kalinin region, Soviet Union | Aeroflot aircraft went missing while returning from a flight behind German lines.[89] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (05023) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Gulf of Mexico | US Navy aircraft disappeared during a navigation flight over the Gulf of Mexico.[90] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (04404) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | off Newfoundland | US Navy aircraft went missing on a convoy patrol northeast of Newfoundland.[91] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (04404) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Pacific Ocean off Alaska | US Navy aircraft went missing on patrol out of NAS Sand Point.[92] | |||
| Lockheed C-60 Lodestar (VHCAD) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Australia | RAAF aircraft lost without trace between Townsville and Cooktown.[93] | |||
| Short Sunderland (L2158) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | off Sierra Leone | RAF aircraft missing off Sierra Leone while on convoy escort.[94] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (08135) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (probable) | Pacific Ocean | US Navy aircraft went missing during a flight out of NAS Kaneohe. The aircraft became separated from two accompanying aircraft over the Pacific in bad weather. The final radio contact mentioned that the crew was flying at 7000 feet (2135 m) on instruments and descending.[95] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (08097) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Atlantic Ocean | US Navy aircraft went missing on patrol out of NAS Quonset Point.[96] | |||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (2310) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | off Brunswick, GA | US Navy aircraft went missing off Brunswick, Georgia.[97] | |||
| Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express (41-11708) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | USAAF flight from Accra to Natal. Wide search, called off January 29th. A life raft with the body of one passenger was found 96 km east of Recife by the US destroyer Kearney on February 4, and another life raft with the body of major Arthur Mills and 6 life jackets was found on the beach of Ponte Negra the following day.[98] | |||
| Douglas Dakota (MA929) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | northeastern Burma | RAF aircraft took off from Dinjan for Fort Hertz, but failed to arrive. A Hudson pilot saw the aircraft at 1400 flying at 7000 feet (2135 m) near Kamku, heading for Fort Hertz.[99] | |||
| Douglas C-53 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Patkai Range, Burma | CNAC aircraft went missing over the Himalayas while flying a cargo of 50 kg (110-pound) tin bars to Dinjan. | |||
| Tachikawa Ki-77 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down (probable) | Indian Ocean | Attempted flight from Singapore to Sarabus[100] (now Hvardiiske, Crimea) The people lost consisted of five IJA passengers and three crew members which included Kenji Tsukagoshi. The flight was likely intercepted by RAF fighters over the Indian Ocean as data is known through decrypted communications. | |||
| Lisunov Li-2 (CCCP-L4047) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Aeroflot aircraft disappeared following an attack by a Luftwaffe fighter. All 6 crew declared MIA.[101] | ||
| Consolidated PBY Catalina (05013) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Fuel leak (suspected) | style=text-align:center | Gulf of Mexico | US Navy Aircraft missing on a flight out of NAS Pensacola.[102] | ||
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain (41-18675) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (suspected) | style=text-align:center | Nakety Bay, New Caledonia | USAAF aircraft took off from Tontouta Airport, bound for Espiritu Santo. Radio contact established at 08:10, but aircraft failed to respond an hour later. Damaged gear and personal effects found two days later, but no bodies were ever found. A cold front had passed through the area on the morning of the flight, reducing ceiling and visibility. The route was flyable under IFR and several aircraft flew it that day with no incident.[103] | ||
| Vought F4U Corsair (22 aircraft lost) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather | style=text-align:center | Central Pacific | Main article: VMF-422 23 USMC F4U Corsair fighter aircraft of the Marine fighter squadron VMF-422 took off at 10:00 at Hawkins Field, bound for Funafuti. 24th Corsair had developed engine problems and returned back to Hawkins Field. At 1230 hrs., still short of Nanumea, the squadron encountered a massive Pacific cyclone measuring nearly 150 miles (240 km) in diameter and reaching to more than 50,000 feet, (15,300 m). Having little choice, the pilots flew into the storm and were immediately blown far to the south and east by the clockwise rotation of the cyclone, which carried them beyond Nanumea. Only one of the pilots managed to get a fix on the Funafuti radio range and landed safely. Other 22 Corsairs were lost, with six aviators being never found. The rest of the 16 aviators who had either ditched or bailed out, all were eventually rescued at sea. It was the worst non-combat loss of a Marine squadron in the war. | ||
| Joachim Blankenburg (Junkers Ju 52/3m, D-AWAS) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Engine failure (possible) | North Atlantic Ocean | Lost during a Deutsche Lufthansa passenger flight from Thessaloniki to Athens. Issued a pan-pan after having engine issues over the sea but no wreckage was recovered.[104] | |||
| Douglas C-54A Skymaster (42-107470) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Military transport carrying wounded personnel. Lost passengers included Leon Vance.[105] | |||
| Beechcraft AT-10 (2144BU) | style=text-align:center | 2 | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Army and Air Force searched for missing plane by air and ground for days but no trace of the plane, pilot, or navigator were ever found. Those lost were Oma Gordon Capps & an unknown navigator.[106] | |
| P-51 Mustang | style=text-align:center | 1 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | On October 26, 1944 Gertrude Tompkins Silver departed from Mines Field (Los Angeles International Airport) for Palm Springs flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey, but she never arrived at Palm Spring. Silver is the only known Women Airforce Service Pilots member to go missing during World War II.[107] | ||
| UC-64 Norseman (44-70285) | style=text-align:center | 3[108] | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | No trace of the aircrew, passengers or plane found, possibly overflew bomb jettisoning area. Lost: Glenn Miller, F/O John Morgan & Lt. Col. Norman F. Baessell. | ||
| Douglas C-47A-80-DL (43-15384) | style=text-align:center | 1 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | China | C-47 transport headed from Chihchiang to Ganzhou. Turned back after encountering poor weather but was told to dump their load and go to Chanyi. A freighter pilot saw the crew bail out but the wreckage could not be located. 3 of the 4 occupants returned on the 29th but the fourth was never seen again.[109] | ||
| C-87A Liberator Express (41-24174, c/n 969) | style=text-align:center | 3+ | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Central Pacific Ocean | Military transport flight piloted by F. E. Savage disappeared for unknown reasons. There were known safety issues with the aircraft type that might have played a factor. The exact number of passengers lost is unknown, but at least three were identified to have been on the flight. Two of the passengers were Millard Harmon and James Roy Andersen.[110] [111] | ||
| Commando (Liberator B Mk II (LB-30), AL504) | style=text-align:center | 7+ | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | At least seven passengers including Sir Peter Drummond were lost when this military transport flight went missing. | ||
| Douglas C-47A (81) | style=text-align:center | 3 | Within China | Disappeared on a CNAC cargo flight between and Xuzhou (also romanized as Suifu, now known as Yibin).[112] | ||||
| Avro Lancaster (PA278) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Mid-air explosion (probable) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: Lancaster PA278 disappearance A second Lancaster flying with PA278 saw an explosion at 04:40 GMT. Both were transporting military personnel. | |||
| Douglas C-47B (A65-83) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Indian/Pacific Ocean | Main article: 1945 Dakota A65-83 disappearance Flight was transporting wounded military personnel.[113] | |||
| TBM Avenger (5 planes) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Fuel starvation (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: Flight 19 Five TBM Avengers carrying 14 people went missing as the result of a presumed navigational error. This was widely covered in the news at the time, and helped to contribute to the Bermuda Triangle myth. | |||
| Martin PBM-5 Mariner (BuNo 59225) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Mid-air explosion (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean | This was a search and rescue mission that was looking for the missing TBM Avengers (see above). | |||
| Röd Niklas (Saab 18, 18180) | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Sweden | Military ferry-flight from Halmstad to Kalixfors outside Kiruna which included pilot Håkan Gunnar Hoffberg, aerial scout Karl Einar Carlsson, and signalist Alf Stig Einar Andersson. It is thought the plane may be in a bog in the Swedish province of Jämtland.[114] | ||
| Avro Lancastrian (G-AGLX) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (suspected) | Indian Ocean | Qantas passenger flight with five crew and five passengers missing en route from Negombo to the Cocos, one leg of a flight from the UK to Australia.[115] | |||
| Douglas C-54G (45-489) | style=text-align:center | 5 | style=text-align:center | unknown | Pacific Ocean | Disappeared between Kwajalein and Guam. A Boeing B-17G (44-83783) sent to search for the C-54 also disappeared. | ||
| Douglas Dakota IV (KJ918) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Malaysia | RAF transport from Singapore to Calcutta via Butterworth and Yangon. Shortly after takeoff the pilot reported that he was over the northeastern coast of Thailand, but then decided to return to Butterworth due to bad weather. The pilot radioed 33 minutes later that he was in a "terrible storm" somewhere over the Cameron Highlands. | |||
| Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (34032) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Within Alaska | Disappeared while carrying an Army-Navy football team from Kodiak to Dutch Harbor.[116] | |||
| Star Tiger (Avro Tudor Mark IV, G-AHNP) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: BSAA Star Tiger disappearance Notable missing passengers included Arthur Coningham. | |||
| Douglas C-47A (NC17645) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Superior Oil Corp. transport flight from Gander to Shannon.[117] | |||||
| Lionel de Marnier (Latécoère 631, F-BDRC) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | In-flight fire (probable) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: Air France Flight 072 | |||
| Ilyushin Il-12 (CCCP-Л1450) | style=text-align:center | Azerbaijan | Main article: 1948 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash | |||||
| Douglas C-47A-DK (NC66637) | style=text-align:center | Pacific Ocean | Pacific Alaska Air Express passenger flight from Yakutat to Annette Island. Last communication was received at 05:10 reporting they were at 10,000 feet (3048 m) 235 km SE of Yakutat.[118] | |||||
| Douglas DC-3DST-144 (NC16002) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1948 Airborne Transport DC-3 (DST) disappearance | |||||
| Star Ariel (Avro Tudor Mark IVB, G-AGRE) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: BSAA Star Ariel disappearance | |||||
| Unknown (F-....) | style=text-align:center | Mauritania | Disappeared on a private flight from Rio de Oro. All 3 occupants found unhurt; unknown if crash site was located.[119] | |||||
| Douglas C-47 | style=text-align:center | Pacific Ocean | Local press reported that the aircraft, owned by a fishing company from Ensenada, was carrying 7000 pounds (3175 kg) of live lobsters. | |||||
| Douglas C-54D Skymaster (42-72469) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Canada | Main article: 1950 Douglas C-54D disappearance | |||
| Douglas DC-4 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | United States | Main article: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 | |||
| Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (49-0244) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | In-flight fire | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1951 Atlantic C-124 disappearance An onboard fire of unknown origin prompted the pilots to ditch. When the USCSC Casco reached the ditching site a day later, the aircraft and its occupants could not be found. | |||
| Douglas DC-4 (CF-CPC) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Icing (probable) | United States | Main article: Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505 | |||
| Avro York (G-AHFA) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1953 Skyways Avro York disappearance | |||||
| Miles M.38 Messenger 2A (G-AKBL)[120] | style=text-align:center | 2 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Private flight piloted by Rodney R. Matthews-Naper with passenger Walter Bradley.[121] [122] Possible debris from their plane was sighted from the air, west of Isle of Man. | ||
| F-89C Scorpion (51-5853A) | style=text-align:center | 2 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Canada | Fighter jet piloted by Felix Moncla that was deployed to intercept an unusual object that had been detected via radar. Moncla and the radar operator Robert L. Wilson were lost. While theories range from vertigo to an encounter with a UFO, no trace of the aircraft has ever been found. There is a memorial to Moncla at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Moreauville LA. | ||
| Lockheed R7V-1 Constellation (128441) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | United States Navy Flight 57, disappeared off Maryland with 42 passengers and crew. | |||
| Avro Shackletons (WG531 and WL743) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Mid-air collision (probable) | Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1955 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance The two aircraft probably collided in mid-air after being launched within six minutes of each other. An engine from WL743 was found by a trawler in July 1966, some 120 km north of the original search area. | |||
| Lockheed P2V-3W Neptune (131442) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (probable) | Caribbean Sea | US Navy aircraft took off from NAS Guantanamo to investigate Hurricane Janet, then a category 4 hurricane south of Jamaica. The aircraft penetrated the hurricane's eyewall at 700 feet (215 m), then all contact was lost. No wreckage has been found.[123] | |||
| North American B-25J Mitchell (44-29125) | style=text-align:center | 2 | style=text-align:center | Fuel starvation | United States | The aircraft ditched in the Monongahela River due to fuel starvation while transporting military personnel. Both crew members were lost, and the airframe has never been found. | ||
| Boeing B-47 Stratojet (SN:52-534) | style=text-align:center | 3 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1956 B-47 disappearance Nuclear weapons material lost in incident. | ||
| McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee (126330) | style=text-align:center | 1 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Inexplicably dropped out of formation and descended through clouds during a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ferry flight. No trace of the aircraft or pilot was ever found despite an extensive RCN and US Navy search effort.[124] | ||
| Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance A 14-day search for the aircraft and survivors found only wheels and a life raft floating 596 km (370 miles) southwest of Lands End. | |||
| SNCASE Languedoc (61/F-SSUN) | style=text-align:center | 10 | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Mediterranean Sea | French Air Force aircraft, of EARS 99 (the SAR unit of the French Air Force), took off from Istres Air Base to assist a Panamanian cargo ship, the Antares, which had sent a distress signal. The aircraft circled the area of the Mediterranean Sea in poor weather. At 23:56, the pilot radioed his position to be 41°44'N, 005°06'E with an estimated return to Istres of 00:50. Nothing more was heard from the flight. | ||
| Boeing C-97C Stratofreighter (50-0702) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | Military transport carrying 10 crew and 57 passengers went missing.[125] | |||
| Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Central Pacific Ocean | Main article: Pan Am Flight 7 Last contact with the aircraft was a routine radio transmission between the pilot and a US Coast Guard cutter performing radar surveillance duty at Ocean Station November, located at the approximate halfway point between the mainland and the island of Oahu. | |||
| Boeing C-97A Stratofreighter (49-2597) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Pacific Ocean | 7 crew missing; debris found 277 mi southwest of Honolulu was confirmed to be from the aircraft. | |||
| Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation (141310) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Military (airborne radar patrol) flight.[126] | |||
| Avro 685 York I (OD-ADB) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | An MEA cargo flight disappeared en route from Beirut to London before a stopover in Rome.[127] | |||||
| Douglas DC-3 (TAM-05) | style=text-align:center | 3 | Bolivia | Cargo plane operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar.[128] | ||||
| Martin PBM-5 Mariner (CS-THB) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Aero-Topográfica (ARTOP) flight from Lisbon to Funchal, piloted by Harry Frank Broadbent. The flight departing at 12:23 and the last radio transmission, received at 13:21, was "QUG", meaning "I am forced to land immediately."[129] [130] | |||||
| Cessna 310 (FAR-53) | style=text-align:center | 3 | North Atlantic Ocean | Private flight piloted by Camilo Cienfuegos. |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas C-47 (VT-DGS) | style=text-align:center | Indian Ocean | This Gulf Aviation flight from Doha made up of 3 crew, and 13 passengers either crashed at sea or overflew its destination (Sharjah) causing CFIT.[131] | |||||
| Douglas C-47A | style=text-align:center | Central Pacific Ocean | Main article: Garuda Indonesia Flight 542 5 crew and 21 passengers were reported missing.[132] | |||||
| North American FJ-4 Fury (Routing Mission) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | 1 crew was reported missing ‘’sortied’’ from USS Lexington (CV-16).[133] | |||
| Piaggio P.166 (VH-PAU) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather | Papua New Guinea | Papuan Air Transport (Patair) flight from Popondetta to Port Moresby piloted by Geoffrey Neil Wallace, 25. Last contact 10 minutes from arrival over Kokoda with a report of bad weather. 17-day search with up to 30 aircraft found nothing; anecdotal reports of wreckage discovery in October 1970 unconfirmed.[134] | |||
| Lockheed L-749A Constellation (HH-ABA) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | This was a cargo flight, operated by Air Haiti International from San Juan to Managua. | |||||
| De Havilland Dragonfly ZK-AFB | style=text-align:center | New Zealand | The first of five aircraft to have disappeared in the area.[135] | |||||
| Lockheed L-1049H Constellation | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Mid-air explosion (presumed) | North Pacific Ocean | Main article: Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 Military transport. | |||
| Douglas C-124 Globemaster II (52-0968) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | One passenger was lost in this military transport flight. | |||
| Douglas C-54A Skymaster (N4726V) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Engine fire (presumed) | North Pacific Ocean | The aircraft involved had previously been used in the movie The High and the Mighty (1954).[136] [137] | |||
| Cessna 210A (N9492X) | style=text-align:center | (Charles Clifford Ogle) | United States | Private flight. | ||||
| Boeing 307B-1 Stratoliner (F-BELV) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down (presumed)[138] | North Pacific Ocean | On board were four crew members, and nine international delegation members of the ICSC. A study done in 1996 concluded that the aircraft was most likely shot down by a North Vietnamese military unit. | |||
| Fairchild C-119F Flying Boxcar (51-2680) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Atlantic Ocean | Four of those lost were mechanics being transported to Grand Turk Island to repair a C-119. Debris from the aircraft was found on 19 July on the beach of Gold Rock Cay just off the shore of Acklins Island.[139] | |||
| Douglas C-54 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Engine fire | Costa Rica | Main article: 1965 Argentine Air Force C-54 disappearance 25 lifebuoys, personal belongings and some wreckage were found in Bocas del Toro Archipelago, but the airplane or bodies were never recovered.[140] [141] | |||
| Curtiss C-46D Commando (HK-527) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | This was a cargo flight. Wreckage was found on 18 November 1966 some 200km (100miles) south of Santiago. | ||||
| Douglas DC-3 (HS-OOO) | style=text-align:center | Pacific Ocean 840 km off the US coast | Delivery flight. | |||||
| Grumman HU-16E Albatross (1240) | style=text-align:center | Gulf of Mexico | Rescue flight responding to a fishing boat distress signal near the Carrabelle sea buoy.[142] | |||||
| Cessna 150 | style=text-align:center | |||||||
| Lockheed A-12 (A-12 Aircraft No. 129)[143] [144] [145] | style=text-align:center | This was an engine replacement check flight. Lost: CIA pilot Jack W. Weeks. Scheduled as last operational A-12 flight from Kadena. | ||||||
| Douglas DC-4 (N3821) | style=text-align:center | This was a cargo flight. | ||||||
| Rivet Amber (Boeing RC-135) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Flight to maintenance facility. | ||||
| Free Life (Rozière balloon, N2079) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Attempted transatlantic flight (first by balloon). | ||||
| Cessna 172 (N8342L) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Lake Michigan (presumed) en route to Holland, Michigan | A snowstorm hit the day of the flight, pilot reported four hours of fuel left. No sign of the plane or occupants has ever been found.[146] | |||
| Boeing EC-135N (61-0331) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Military observation flight returning from French nuclear test Encelade. | ||||
| Douglas C-54A-DO (XW-TDE) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down | Laos | Royal Air Lao passenger flight. Last radio contact at 13:20.[147] | |||
| Lockheed P-3A Orion (152155) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Military training flight.[148] | ||||
| Canadair CC-106 Yukon (LV-JYR) | style=text-align:center | Cargo flight | ||||||
| Cessna 310C (N1812H) | style=text-align:center | Alaska en route from Anchorage to Juneau | Among the passengers on this flight were Nick Begich and Hale Boggs; both were serving U.S. Representatives. | |||||
| Douglas DC-4 (TAM-52) | style=text-align:center | Operated by Transporte Aéreo Militar. | ||||||
| Beech 95/B55 Baron (VH-FWR) | style=text-align:center | Queensland en route from Gladstone to Longreach | [149] | |||||
| Light Heart (superpressure balloon) | style=text-align:center | (Thomas Leigh Gatch, Jr.) | Attempted transatlantic flight (first by balloon). The last radio contact with Gatch saying that he was 1,490 km NE of San Juan, PR on February 19 is disputed. | |||||
| Beechcraft Bonanza V35A (OH-BBD) | style=text-align:center | The flight took off from Ivalo,Finland heading to Bodø, Norway.The plane was carrying a Sami delegation for a visit to Norway. More (Finnish only): Web site: Bodø lento-onnettomuus 1974. | ||||||
| Swan 38 (Lockheed WC-130, 65–0965) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather | Weather reconnaissance aircraft lost during Typhoon Bess (1974). | ||||
| Tupolev Tu-154 (HA-LCI) | style=text-align:center | Mediterranean Sea, close to Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport[150] | Main article: Malév Flight 240 | |||||
| Curtiss C-46D Commando (HK-1282) | style=text-align:center | This was a cargo flight that might have been lost on September 16 rather than the 24th. | ||||||
| Douglas DC-3 (HP-671) | style=text-align:center | Cargo flight. | ||||||
| Lockheed L-188CF Electra (N126US) | style=text-align:center | One passenger, and three crew members were lost on this cargo flight.[151] | ||||||
| Cessna 180 ZK-BMP | style=text-align:center | Lake McKerrow, New Zealand | ||||||
| Douglas DC-3 (N407D) | style=text-align:center | Aircraft flying to pick up passengers in Havana.[152] | ||||||
| Cessna 182L (VH-DSJ) | style=text-align:center | (Frederick Valentich) | No radar confirmation of the pilot-reported position. Theories of the disappearance range from the pilot being deceived by the illusion of a tilted horizon, to a UFO encounter as shown on Unsolved Mysteries. | |||||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander (H4-AAC) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Fuel starvation | Pacific Ocean near Bellona, Solomon Islands | Lost during a Solomon Airlines flight from Bellona to Honiara when the pilot turned back due to weather and became disoriented. Plane ditched while still in radio contact but not recovered.[153] | |||
| Douglas DC-6A/B (HK-1707X) | style=text-align:center | Cargo flight.[154] | ||||||
| Piper Cherokee Six ZK-EBU | style=text-align:center | Milford Sound, New Zealand | ||||||
| Boeing 707-323C | style=text-align:center | Main article: Varig Flight 967 Cargo flight which carried 53 of Manabu Mabe's paintings which were lost. | ||||||
| Socata Rallye 235GT (N302RA) | style=text-align:center | Among the missing is Ian Mackintosh.[155] | ||||||
| Douglas C-47B-50-DK (N63250) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Ditching | Trans National Airlines ferry flight that became lost and was forced to ditch due to LORAN failure.[156] |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERCO Ercoupe 415-D (N3808H) | style=text-align:center | From Las Américas Intnl Airport, Dominican Republic to San Juan, Puerto RicoWeb site: ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 9407. | |||||
| Beechcraft 80 Queen Air (N242Q) | style=text-align:center | Florida | Plane crashed into lake near Kenansville in what was likely an illegal smuggling flight. The wreckage and pilot, Mark Elliott, could not be found.[157] | ||||
| Douglas DC-3 (C-47A) (ECT-025) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | This aircraft had been previously decommissioned with a provisional and limited airworthiness certificate. The intention was to eventually ferry this aircraft to an aviation museum, but this was cut short by an unauthorized take off. The runway used was unrated (possibly damaging), and the plane had no working radio equipment.[158] | ||||
| Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (F-BJBY) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | |||||
| Cessna 210M (VH-MDX)[159] | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Instrument failure | Australia | Main article:1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance | ||
| Learjet 35A (N482U) | style=text-align:center | (including Upali Wijewardene) | Indian/Pacific Ocean | Operated by Upali Air. On February 19, a survival pack was found that was apparently from the aircraft. | |||
| Cessna 172K (ZK-CSS) | style=text-align:center | New Zealand | |||||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander (C-GIPF) | style=text-align:center | Canada | Notable lost passengers include George Cogar. | ||||
| Cessna 402 (N44NC) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Associated Air Service flight from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini. Disappeared from radar 14 minutes after departure in a 5,400 FPM descent. Two witnesses saw plane go down near Bimini between 08:30 and 09:00.[160] | ||||
| Douglas C-47B-1-DL (RP-C138) | style=text-align:center | North Pacific Ocean | Cargo flight en route from Davao to Manila. | ||||
| Pitts S-2 (N13AS) | style=text-align:center | (Art Scholl) | style=text-align:center | Flat spin | North Pacific Ocean | Accident occurred during filming for Top Gun (1986). The aircraft involved entered into a fatal flat spin, but the cause was never determined. | |
| Antonov An-32 (K2729) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Indian Ocean | Main article: 1986 Indian Air Force An-32 disappearance Delivery flight operated by Indian Air Force.[161] | ||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (storm loss) | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: LIAT Flight 319 Operated by LIAT.[162] | ||
| Cessna 402 (N2652B) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | 56-year-old Richard Yerex, a commuter pilot for the Ford Motor Company and a retired Air Force pilot, left Palm Beach at 8:05, headed to Marsh Harbor to pick up tourists on a return flight. He sent his last transmission over Grand Bahama Island near a weather balloon. He failed to arrive at 8:50 and the Coast Guard launched a search 25 minutes later; the 2 day search failed to find any trace of the aircraft.[163] | ||||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander (C-GOMC)[164] | style=text-align:center | Canada | |||||
| Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain (N712AN) | style=text-align:center | Hawaii | Panorama Air Tour flight from Honolulu to Molokai. Was to fly across 35 km (22-mile) channel on an overcast night with no moon. Plane slowed from 170 to 95 knots (315 to 176 km/h), gained 500 feet (150 m) altitude, and turned left 190 degrees before disappearing from radar at 18:53. Pilot had not flown IFR for 15 months and only flew during the day.[165] | ||||
| Douglas C-47A Skytrain (CP-1418)[166] | style=text-align:center | Bolivia | |||||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | style=text-align:center | Pakistan | Main article: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404 Probably crashed into the Himalayan mountains, no wreckage was ever found.[167] | ||||
| Cessna 150H (N7156S) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Loss of control | North Pacific Ocean | Disappeared during night touch-and-go landing practice at nearby Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. The aircraft's wheel chocks and a few other items were recovered. Officially attributed to loss of control and the pilot's lack of night flying experience.[168] | ||
| Boeing 727 (OB-1303) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Fuel starvation | North Atlantic Ocean | Main article: 1990 Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance On September 11, 1990, a Faucett Boeing 727 went missing some 290 km (180 miles) southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland. After having been leased to Air Malta, the aircraft was being returned to Peru from Europe via Iceland, when the crew reported a low fuel notice and that they were preparing to ditch. There were no survivors among 16 occupants on board.[169] | ||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislander Mk. III-2 (PK-KTC) | style=text-align:center | Tumbang Miri, Indonesia | Lost during a Bali International Air Service flight from Palangka Raya to Sampit. Was holding in the Sampit area due to weather but failed to land.[170] | ||||
| Cessna 340 (N69469) | style=text-align:center | Alaska | Private flight piloted by Jeffery H. Roth from Yakutat to Anchorage. Pilot reported reaching assigned altitude (12,000 feet/3660 m) and all communications were lost. Roth's wife, however, listened to the FAA tapes herself and claimed she heard her husband say "6,000" and "icing conditions" several minutes after this point, but FBI analysis could not confirm this.[171] | ||||
| Piper PA-28-181 (N81453) | style=text-align:center | California | Despite a warning that VFR flight would not be suitable due to weather conditions, the pilot left anyway. Cleared for takeoff at 12:03 and last heard from 11 minutes later. Searches turned up no trace of the aircraft;[172] a tip claimed the plane had gone down in the Big Basin area but nothing was found there either.[173] | ||||
| Piper Cherokee Arrow (N15206) | style=text-align:center | Michigan (presumed Lake Michigan) | Plane disappeared 83 minutes into the flight from Toledo Suburban airport, north of Grand Rapids. No evidence of a crash, plane or pilot has ever been found.[174] | ||||
| Cessna 172I (N35549) | style=text-align:center | Michigan (presumed Lake Michigan) | Lost enroute from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[175] | ||||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (presumed) | Indian Ocean | en route from Bima Airport to Satartacik Airport, Ruteng. Disappeared in bad weather. | ||
| Cessna 404 Titan (C-FPVB) | style=text-align:center | Peru | Aerodat charter flight from Pucallpa to Cuzco. All three passengers were Canadians on an oil exploration trip.[176] | ||||
| Cessna 180 (ZK-FMQ) | style=text-align:center | New Zealand | |||||
| Antonov An-72 (ER-ACF) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Shot down (possible) | South Atlantic Ocean | Cargo flight en route from Port Bouet Airport, Côte d'Ivoire to Rundu Airport, Namibia. Possibly shot down by Angolan Air Force.[177] | ||
| Aero L-39 Albatross | style=text-align:center | Northern Michigan | Pilot and co-pilot went missing from radar while doing a preparation flight before the National Cherry Festival Air Show. Despite a search area of 1,900 square miles (4900 km2), no evidence of the plane or pilots has ever been found. |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-26 (D2-FBR) | style=text-align:center | Angola | Cargo flight from Luanda to Cafunfo, operator unknown. Disappeared in the Malanje-Lunda Norte border area.[178] | |||||
| Boeing 727-223 (N844AA) | style=text-align:center | + (Ben C. Padilla & John M. Mutantu) | style=text-align:center | Theft (presumed) | Main article: 2003 Angola Boeing 727 disappearance Stolen at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, it is unclear how many people were aboard.[179] | |||
| GippsAero GA8 Airvan (VH-WRT) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Australia | Arnhem Land Community Airlines cargo flight from and to Elcho Island with stops in Mata Mata, Muthamul, Nyinyikay, and Rurruwuy. Plane noticed missing at 12:30. Witness spotted plane followed by black smoke rising from eastern Napier Peninsula. Some wreckage found in southwestern Buckingham Bay on October 17; main wreckage and pilot missing.[180] | |||
| Beechcraft King Air 65-A90-1 (N87V) | style=text-align:center | Guyana | Lost: 3 crew. Aircraft vanished over a remote part of the Guyana jungle.[181] | |||||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A Trislander Mk.III-2 (N650LP) | style=text-align:center | Atlantic Ocean | Línea Aérea Puertorriqueña (LAP) passenger flight from Santiago de los Caballeros to Mayaguana. Pilot contacted Providenciales ATC at 17:06 reporting an emergency. The pilot's license had been suspended in October 2006.[182] | |||||
| Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (D2-FFT) | style=text-align:center | Angola | Grupo Chicoil aircraft on a flight from Pointe Noire to Luanda, chartered by Dubai-based businessman Rachid Mustapha. Contact was lost in the Caxito area at 00:20; no sign of the aircraft has been found.[183] | |||||
| Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (OB-1922-P) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Hijacking and theft | 45-minute Aerodiana sightseeing flight of the Nazca Lines, departing 07:10, with 9 occupants (2 crew, 7 passengers). A number of passengers used false identities. Pilot and copilot were released 21 days later but the plane was never returned nor found.[184] | ||||
| Robinson R44 (LV-ZYO) | style=text-align:center | (Alejandro Ferzola) | Argentina | En route from Brandsen to Santa Teresita, Argentina.[185] | ||||
| Piper PA-31-310 Navajo (N174BH) | style=text-align:center | Lake Superior | Plane owned by Family Celebrations, on a maintenance test flight out of South Saint Paul. Plane was following along western shoreline of lake, 0.5 miles (800 m) from shore. Last recorded position 30 miles (48 km) NE of Duluth at 1,600 feet (490 m) at 14:27. Search suspended on July 4, 2012.[186] | |||||
| Beechcraft 1900C (ZS-PHL) | style=text-align:center | (Jerry Krause) | North Atlantic Ocean | Private flight.[187] | ||||
| Boeing 777-200ER (9M-MRO) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Indian Ocean | Main article: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Most evidence suggests that the plane went down in the Indian Ocean west of Australia.[188] While some debris was later recovered, the plane is still marked as missing. | |||
| Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander (8R-GHE) | style=text-align:center | Guyana | Cargo flight en route from Mahdia, Guyana to Karisparu, Guyana that failed to arrive at destination. Despite a 21-day search effort, no trace was found.[189] | |||||
| British Aerospace 125 air ambulance (6V-AIM) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Atlantic Ocean | Collided with a CEIBA Intercontinental Boeing 737 near Tambacounda, Senegal, flew westerly for about an hour without making any radio calls, then disappeared. Investigators believe that the 737's winglet struck 6V-AIM's fuselage, resulting in uncontrolled decompression which incapacitated everyone on board; 6V-AIM then flew until it ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. No trace of 6V-AIM or its 7 occupants was ever found. The 737 landed safely.[190] | ||||
| PA-28-161 Warrior II (C-GDTK) | style=text-align:center | British Columbia | Disappeared in the British Columbia Interior.[191] En route from Cranbrook, British Columbia, to Kamloops, British Columbia. | |||||
| Embraer EMB 720C Minuano (PT-RDZ) | style=text-align:center | Brazil | Disappeared during a flight from Matawaré, an isolated village in Brazil's Tumucumaque Mountains National Park, to Laranjal do Jari, a mining town in the state of Amapá. Contact was lost after the pilot reported losing a cylinder. A two-week search by the Brazilian Air Force and a weeks-long search by relatives of those on board failed to find any trace of the plane.[192] | |||||
| Piper PA-32R (N41453) | style=text-align:center | North Atlantic Ocean | Disappeared en route from Lantana airport in Palm Beach to the Bahamas. A 24 hour search failed to turn up any trace of the plane or any debris. On April 8, 2019, the body of the pilot washed up on the Bahamas coast, but the aircraft and the passenger remain unaccounted for.[193] | |||||
| F-35A (JASDF 79-8705) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | North Pacific Ocean | Some small pieces of the aircraft's tail were found, but the plane is still marked as missing. Contact was lost about 135 kilometers east of Misawa Air Base.[194] [195] | |||
| MBB Bo 105 | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Unknown | Russia | Missing en route.[196] [197] |
| Date | Aircraft | People missing | Type of incident | Location (assumed) | class=unsortable | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piper PA-28R-200-2 (G-EGVA) | style=text-align:center | style=text-align:center | Weather (Lost in "highly convective clouds") | English Channel, approximately 20 nmi (37 km) west of Le Touquet | G-EGVA was one of seven aircraft flying from Wellesbourne Mountford Aerodrome to Le Touquet in France. As they approached the middle of the English Channel, the aircraft reported that they were in the clouds. The flight was operating under visual flight rules and neither pilot was qualified to fly in cloudy conditions. Shortly after transmission report, the plane disappeared from radar and has never been found, despite extensive searches by both UK and French authorities.[198] [199] |