Deadliest Air Disasters

1. Date: March 27, 1977

What Happened: A KLM Boeing 747 and a PanAmerican Boeing 747 collided on a runway in Tenerife, Canary Islands, setting off a massive explosion.

Death Toll:583

2. Date: Aug. 12, 1985

What Happened: A Japan AirLines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountainside 70 miles from Tokyo after losing part of its tail.

Death Toll: 520

3. Date:Nov. 12, 1996

What Happened: A Saudi Arabia Airlines Boeing 747 collided with a Kazakhstan Airlines cargo plane near New Delhi, India.

Death Toll: 349

4. Date: Aug. 19, 1980

What Happened:A Saudi Arabian Airlines Lockheed jet made an emergency landing at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after a fire broke out on board. Flames engulfed the plane.

Death Toll: 302

5. Date: Feb. 19, 2003

What Happened: A Russian-made Iranian Revolutionary Guard military plane crashed in mountainous terrain as it prepared to land in Kerman in southeastern Iran.

Death Toll: 275

6. Date: May 25, 1979
What Happened: An American Airlines DC-10 crashed after takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
Death Toll: 275

7. Date:Nov. 12, 2001
What Happened: An American Airlines Airbus A300 crashed after takeoff from JFK International Airport into the New York City borough of Queens.
Death Toll: 265, including people on the ground

8. Date: April 26, 1994
What Happened: A China Airlines Airbus A300 crashed on landing at Nagoya Airport in Japan.
Death Toll: 264

9. Date:Dec. 12, 1985
What Happened: An Arrow Air DC-8 crashed after takeoff from Newfoundland, Canada. The chartered plane was carrying U.S. troops from Egypt to Fort Campbell, Ky.
Death Toll: 256

10. Date:Sept. 26, 1997
What Happened: A Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 crashed near the airport in Medan, Indonesia.
Death Toll: 234
 

(Sources: AP, bbc.co.uk)