Suicide by pilot

Aviation disaster in which a pilot intentionally crashes the aircraft

This Airbus A320, operating as Germanwings Flight 9525, was deliberately crashed into the Alps by a suicidal co-pilot on March 24, 2015, killing all 150 people on board. United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists, leading to it being deliberately crashed into 2 World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks.

Suicide by pilot is an aviation event in which a pilot deliberately crashes or attempts to crash an aircraft as a suicide act, with or without the intention of causing harm to passengers on board or people on the ground. If others are killed, it may be considered a type of murder–suicide.[1] It is suspected to have been a possible cause in several commercial flight crashes and has been confirmed as the cause in other instances. Determining the motives of pilots can be challenging for crash investigators, as pilots may intentionally disable recording devices or engage in other actions to impede future investigations.[2] Consequently, definitively proving pilot suicide can be difficult.[3][4]

Investigators do not classify aircraft incidents as suicides unless there is compelling evidence indicating that the pilot intended suicide. This evidence may include suicide notes, past suicide attempts, explicit threats of suicide, or a documented history of mental illness. A study conducted on pilot suicides between 2002 and 2013 identified eight cases as definite suicides, along with five additional cases of undetermined cause that may have been suicides.[5] In some cases, investigators may collaborate with terrorism experts to investigate potential connections to extremist groups, aiming to ascertain whether the suicide was an act of terrorism.[6][7][8]

A Bloomberg News study conducted in June 2022, focusing on crashes involving Western-built commercial airliners, revealed that pilot murder-suicides ranked as the second most prevalent cause of airline crash deaths between 2011 and 2020. Additionally, the study found that deaths resulting from pilot murder-suicides increased over the period from 1991 to 2020, while fatalities due to accidental causes significantly decreased. However, most cases of suicide by pilot involve general aviation in small aircraft, where typically the pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft. In approximately half of these cases, the pilot had consumed drugs, often alcohol or antidepressants, which would typically result in a ban on flying. Many of these pilots have concealed their mental illness histories from regulators.[5]

## World War II suicide attacks

[edit]

Main article: Kamikaze

Impact of two kamikazes on the USS Bunker Hill

During World War II, the Russian aviator Nikolai Gastello was the first Soviet pilot credited with a (later disputed) "fire taran" in a suicide attack by an aircraft on a ground target, although his aircraft had been shot down and was in a rapid partially controllable descent.[9] Another early example took place during the attack on Pearl Harbor where First Lieutenant Fusata Iida told his men before taking off, that if his aircraft were to become badly damaged he would crash it into a "worthy enemy target".[10]

In the following years there were more suicide attacks; the best known by military aviators are the attacks from the Empire of Japan, called kamikaze, against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II. These attacks were designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks; between October 1944 and 1945, 3,860 kamikaze pilots committed suicide in this manner.[11]

## List of declared or suspected pilot suicides

[edit]

This list excludes World War II suicide attacks on ground and naval targets (see section above).

Legend:

| Confirmed suicide

|

| Believed to be suicide
| Possible suicide
| Attempted suicide halted

### By pilots in control of whole flight

[edit]

Crash date  | Flown
by  | Flight
Type  | Flight  | Fatalities  | Theories  | Aircraft  | Refs

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| Mar 27, 1972 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Stolen
aircraft  | 1 (pilot)  | Timofei Shovkunov crashed an Aeroflot Antonov An-2 into his own apartment in Voroshilovgrad. He was the only casualty.  |  | [12][13]
| Mar 23, 1976 | Pilot  | General
aviation | 1976 Tokyo suicide attack  | 1 (pilot)  | Movie actor Mitsuyasu Maeno attempted a Kamikaze attack against right-wing political figure Yoshio Kodama in Tokyo using a rented Piper PA-28 Cherokee; Kodama survived unhurt.  |  | [14]
| Sep 26, 1976 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Stolen
aircraft  | 5
(pilot,
4 on the
ground) | Vladimir Serkov attempted to pilot his Antonov An-2 plane into his ex-wife's parents' apartment in Novosibirsk where she and his two-year-old son were visiting; 4 residents were killed (his wife survived). See An-2 incidents.  |  | [15][16]
| Jan 5, 1977 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Connellan air disaster | 5
(pilot,
4 on the
ground) | Colin Richard Forman, a disgruntled former employee of Connellan Airways (Connair), flew a Beechcraft Baron into the Connair complex at the Alice Springs Airport, Northern Territory, Australia.  |  | [17]
| Aug 22, 1979 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Stolen
aircraft  | 4
(pilot,
3 on the
ground) | A 23-year-old aircraft mechanic working at Bogota El Dorado Airport stole a SATENA Hawker-Siddeley HS-748 and crashed it into a Bogota suburb, killing 3.  |  | [18][19]
| Jun 1, 1980 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Barra do Garças air disaster | 7
(pilot, 4 passengers,
2 on ground) | After an argument with his wife and mother-in-law, Brazilian pilot Mauro Milhomem attempted to crash his Embraer EMB 721 Sertanejo, which was also carrying four passengers, into a hotel owned by a family member after he discovered that his wife had cheated on him. He failed to hit the hotel, and instead hit several objects before crashing the plane into another building. His wife killed herself a few days later. In total, seven people were killed and four were wounded.  |  | [20]
| Feb 9, 1982 | Pilot | Commercial
flight | JAL Flight 350 | 24
| Pilot engaged number 2 and 3 engines' thrust-reversers in flight. The first officer and flight engineer were able to partially regain control, but the aircraft crashed into Tokyo Bay, killing 24 of the 174 people on board.  |  | [21]
| Sep 15, 1982 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Bankstown Airport incident | 1
| Philip Henryk Wozniak, a student pilot, stole a SOCATA Tobago and killed himself by deliberately crashing into Bankstown Airport in the City of Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia. Two aircraft on the ground were also destroyed.  |  | [22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
| Mar 23, 1994 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Unscheduled solo flight from Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri.  | 1
| Bob Richards was having marital and other personal problems. He deliberately crashed his Piper Cherokee single-engine airplane onto the ground. He was alone in the plane, and the only fatality.  |  | [27]
| Jul 13, 1994 | Pilot  | Military | Stolen
aircraft  | 1
| A Russian air force engineer stole an Antonov An-26 at Kubinka air base outside Moscow. He circled the aircraft until it ran out of fuel and crashed.  |  | [28]
| Aug 21, 1994 | Pilot  | Commercial
flight | Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 | 44
| Crashed intentionally by pilot  |  | [29]
[30]
| Sep 12, 1994 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Stolen
aircraft  | 1
| Crashed intentionally by Frank Eugene Corder on the White House south lawn.  |  | [31]
| Apr 2, 1997 | Pilot  | Military  | Craig D. Button incident  | 1
| While on a training mission, Button flew off course and ceased radio contact. The A-10 Thunderbolt II later crashed into a mountain in Colorado. The United States Air Force declared his death a suicide because no other generally accepted hypothesis explains the events  |  | [32]
[33]
[34]
| Dec 19, 1997 | Pilot  | Commercial
flight | SilkAir Flight 185 | 104
| The United States' NTSB ruled the incident a suicide, but the Indonesian NTSC listed the cause as undetermined. A private investigation blamed a flaw in the plane's rudder.  |  | [35]
| Sep 6, 1998 | Pilot  | General
aviation  | Stolen
aircraft  | 1  | Crashed intentionally by off duty flight instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.  |  | [36]
| Oct 11, 1999 | Pilot  | Stolen commercial aircraft | 1999 Air Botswana incident | 1
| Pilot commandeered and then crashed an Air Botswana aircraft into a group of aircraft at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, Botswana, destroying both the plane as well as the parked aircraft at their stands, effectively crippling the airline as they lost all their operational airliners during the incident.  |  | [37]
| Oct 31, 1999 | First officer  | Commercial
flight | EgyptAir Flight 990 | 217
| After the captain left the cockpit, the cockpit voice recorder recorded the relief first officer Gameel Al-Batouti praying, as he disengaged the autopilot and shut down the engines, causing the plane to enter a dive and crash into the Atlantic Ocean. The reasons for his actions were not determined.[38][39][40] The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash was a suicide, while the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority blamed a fault in the elevator control system caused by deliberate actions by the First Officer.[41] |  | [42]

[43]

| Jan 5, 2002 | Pilot  | General
aviation | 2002 Tampa airplane crash | 1
| Crashed into Bank of America Plaza. The pilot, teen Charles J. Bishop, credited and praised Osama bin Laden for September 11, 2001 attacks in his suicide note.  |  | [44]
| Apr 18, 2002 | Pilot  | General
aviation | 2002 Pirelli Tower airplane crash | 3
(pilot, 2 on ground) | 65-year old Luigi Fasulo piloted his aircraft, a Rockwell Commander 112, and crashed into the Pirelli Tower in Milan, Italy.  |  | [45]
| Sep 16, 2003 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Stone Mountain  | 1 | Phillip Daniel Rogers deliberately crashed his single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza light aircraft into the south side of Stone Mountain in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States.  |  | [46]
| Jul 22, 2005 | Pilot  | General
aviation  | 2005 Berlin airplane crash  | 1  | A 39-year old pilot deliberately crashed his own light aircraft, a Platzer Kiebitz, in a field right in front of the Reichstag in Berlin.  |  | [47]
| Feb 18, 2010 | Pilot  | General
aviation | 2010 Austin suicide attack | 2
(pilot,
1 on the
ground) | Andrew Joseph Stack III deliberately crashed his single-engine Piper Dakota light aircraft into Building I of the Echelon complex housing IRS offices in Austin, Texas, United States.  |  | [48]
| Jul 17, 2012 | Pilot  | Stolen commercial aircraft | Stolen aircraft  | 1
| A suspended SkyWest Airlines pilot, under investigation for the stabbing death of a woman in his home, stole a Canadair CRJ200ER regional jet at St. George Regional Airport in Utah. The aircraft struck the terminal building while leaving the gate and the pilot taxied into a parking lot at high speed. He then fatally shot himself inside the aircraft.  |  | [49]
[50]
[51]
| Jul 22, 2013 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Shannon Airport Cessna 172 crash  | 1
| The pilot took off in a Cessna 172M from Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The pilot's fiancée summoned police, saying that she and the pilot had an altercation before the flight, and that he intended to kill himself. The aircraft went into a steep dive and crashed northwest of the runway.  |  | [52]
| Nov 29, 2013 | Pilot  | Commercial
flight | LAM Mozambique Airlines Flight 470 | 33
| The pilot intentionally crashed the aircraft. The co-pilot was locked out of the cockpit, according to the voice recorder.  |  | [29]
| Mar 8, 2014 | Pilot  | Commercial
flight  | Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 | 239  | The flight data recorder and CVR have never been recovered. Several possible explanations for the disappearance of the aircraft have been offered. A leading theory amongst experts is that either the pilot or the co-pilot committed an act of murder–suicide.[53] A Canadian air crash investigator also believes the crash was a murder-suicide.[54] Former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has also stated that Malaysian officials always believed the crash to have been caused by a suicidal pilot.[55][56] An investigation by the Malaysian government asserted that the plane was manually flown off course. The lead investigator was quoted as saying that the turns made by MH370 were "not because of anomalies in the mechanical system. The turn back was made not under autopilot but under manual control... We can confirm the turn back was not because of anomalies in the mechanical system".[57] |  |
| Mar 24, 2015 | First officer  | Commercial
flight | Germanwings Flight 9525 | 150
| Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, previously treated for depression and suicidal tendencies, locked the captain out of the cockpit before crashing the plane into a mountain near Prads-Haute-Bléone, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France.  |  | [58]
| Oct 11, 2016 | Student pilot  | General
aviation | East Hartford Piper PA-34 Seneca crash  | 1
| Jordanian student pilot Feras Freitekh was killed and his instructor injured when their Piper PA-34 crashed into a utility pole during the landing approach in East Hartford, Connecticut. The instructor said there was an argument and a struggle for control, and investigators concluded the crash was a suicide. The crash took place outside the headquarters of aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation ruled out terrorism due to a lack of evidence.  |  | [59]
| Mar 15, 2017 | Pilot  | General
aviation | Manitouwadge Cessna 172 crash  | 1  | Experienced pilot Xin Rong departed from Ann Arbor, Michigan, in a Cessna 172P and disappeared. The aircraft was found wrecked late that night near Manitouwadge, Ontario, with a door open, but no human remains nor footprints in the snow were found. Investigators concluded that Rong deliberately jumped out en route and the Cessna later ran out of fuel. In October 2017, he was declared dead. His skeletal remains were found in September 2018 in a wooded area in Chapin Township, Michigan, and identified in December 2021 through DNA analysis and dental records.  |  | [60]
[61]
[62]
| Aug 10, 2018 | Ground service employee  | Stolen commercial aircraft  | 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident | 1  | Horizon Air ground service employee Richard "Beebo" Russell took off without authorization in a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 from Sea-Tac International Airport and performed aerobatic maneuvers over Sea-Tac and Puget Sound whilst being pursued by fighter jets. Though the air traffic controller attempted to convince Russell to land the plane safely, Russell instead crashed the plane into Ketron Island in the South Puget Sound.  |  | [63]
[64]
| Aug 13, 2018 | Pilot  | Stolen private aircraft  | Stolen Cessna 525 CitationJet | 1  | A man who was released after arrest for domestic assault charges stole an aircraft then crashed at his own home in Payson, Utah, in an apparent attempt to murder his spouse. The man, who was an experienced pilot, was killed while no one in the house was harmed.  |  | [65]
| Mar 23, 2019 | Pilot  | General
aviation  | Beechcraft B200 Super King Air | 1  | A man who was an uninvited guest at a private party earlier that day crashed the airplane into a clubhouse at Matsieng Air Strip, Botswana. The clubhouse was evacuated prior to the crash and the perpetrator was the sole fatality.  |  | [66]
| Sep 10, 2021  | Pilot  | General
aviation  | Stolen Cessna
172S Skyhawk | 1  | A man who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and was told that he had three months left to live crashed the aircraft into a field near Ashford, UK.  |  | [67][68]
| Mar 21, 2022 | Pilot  | Commercial flight  | China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 | 132  | On May 17 the Wall Street Journal reported that investigators believe the airliner was intentionally crashed. There was no response to repeated calls from air traffic controllers, Chinese investigators found no major safety problems, and China Eastern resumed flying the Boeing 737-800 in April after grounding its fleet for less than a month. Cockpit intrusion was also considered, but China Eastern said it was unlikely, as no emergency signal had been received. Official investigation still open / ongoing.  |  | [69]
[70]
| Jul 29, 2022 | First officer  | Commercial flight  | CASA C-212 Aviocar | 1  | The first officer (FO) of a commercial skydiving flight performed a hard landing, breaking off the right main landing gear, and immediately took off again. The captain declared an emergency and diverted to a larger airport. While en route over Raleigh, North Carolina, the "visibly upset" FO walked to rear of the aircraft saying that "he was going to be sick and needed air". The captain saw the FO lower the rear ramp and jump from the aircraft without a parachute and without attempting to grab the bar above the ramp.  |  | [71][72]
| Aug 12, 2024  | Pilot  | General
aviation  | Stolen Robinson R-44 | 1  | A man under the influence stole a Robinson R-44 helicopter from a hangar at Cairns Airport in Australia and crashed it into a Hilton hotel, killing himself and injuring several others.  |  | [73]

### By hijackers

[edit]

Crash date  | Attacker  | Flight Type  | Flight  | Fatalities  | Theories  | Aircraft  | Refs

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| May 7, 1964 | Passenger  | Commercial flight | Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 | 44 | Francisco Paula Gonzales, a depressed man in debt, shot both pilots before shooting himself, causing the plane to crash. All 44 people on board died.  |  | [74]
| March 17, 1970 | Passenger  | Commercial flight | Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320 | 1
(first officer) | Passenger John J. Divivo shot both pilots, but the first officer took Divivo's gun and shot him before succumbing to his own wounds. Despite gunshot wounds in both arms, the captain landed the aircraft safely. Divivo subsequently hanged himself while awaiting trial.  |  | [75][76]
| February 22, 1974 | Terrorist hijacker  | Commercial flight | Delta Air Lines Flight 523 | 3
(hijacker, co-pilot, police officer) | Samuel Byck intended to crash into the White House in the hope of killing U.S. President Richard Nixon. He killed a police officer and hijacked the aircraft, but the aircraft never left the gate. Byck shot the co-pilot before being wounded by police in a shootout and committing suicide.  |  | [77]
| December 7, 1987 | Former employee  | Commercial flight | Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 | 43
(all; five believed shot before impact) | The plane was hijacked by David A. Burke, a disgruntled former employee of USAir, who is believed to have shot his former boss, both pilots, a flight attendant and the chief pilot of Pacific Southwest Airlines before crashing the plane near Cayucos, California, United States.  |  | [78]
| September 29, 1988 | Passenger  | Commercial flight | VASP Flight 375 | 1 (co-pilot)  | The plane suffered a hijack attempt by Raimundo Nonato Alves da Conceição, who planned to attack the Planalto Palace and kill the then Brazilian President José Sarney. He was stopped by the commander Fernando Murilo de Lima e Silva, but killed the co-pilot Salvador Evangelista.  |  | [79]
| April 7, 1994 | Employee and off duty pilot  | Commercial flight | Federal Express Flight 705 | 0
(4 injured) | Deadheading Federal Express pilot Auburn Calloway smuggled weapons aboard and attempted to hijack the cargo jet and crash it in an insurance fraud scheme for his family's benefit. Despite severe injuries inflicted by Calloway, the crew subdued him using a number of techniques including high-speed aerobatic maneuvers, and landed safely.  |  | [80]
| December 24, 1994 | Terrorist hijackers  | Commercial flight | Air France Flight 8969 | 7
(all 4 hijackers, 3 passengers) | After having killed three passengers, the hijackers intended to crash the aircraft into the Eiffel Tower in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, a counterterror unit of the French National Gendarmerie (GIGN) raided the aircraft and killed all four hijackers.  |  | [81]
| September 11, 2001 | Terrorist hijackers  | Commercial flight | American Airlines Flight 11 | 1,390
(87 passengers and crew, 5 hijackers, about 1,303 on the ground) | Aircraft hijacked and crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center by hijackers as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks.  |  | [82]
| September 11, 2001 | Terrorist hijackers  | Commercial flight | United Airlines Flight 175 | 1,363
(60 passengers and crew, 5 hijackers, about 1,303 on the ground) | Aircraft hijacked and crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center by hijackers as part of September 11, 2001 attacks.  |  | [82]
| September 11, 2001 | Terrorist hijackers  | Commercial flight | American Airlines Flight 77 | 189
(59 passengers and crew, 5 hijackers, 125 on the ground) | Aircraft hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon by hijackers as part of September 11, 2001 attacks.  |  | [82]
| September 11, 2001 | Terrorist hijackers  | Commercial flight | United Airlines Flight 93 | 44
(40 passengers and crew, 4 hijackers) | Aircraft hijacked as part of September 11, 2001 attacks. Passengers revolted against the hijackers, resulting in the jet crashing in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania. Although all aboard died, the passengers prevented the hijackers from reaching their target, thought to be the White House or the Capitol Building.  |  | [82]
| July 7, 2021 | Passenger  | Commercial flight | Ryan Air Services flight  | 0 | A passenger grabbed the controls of a Cessna 208 Caravan on approach to Aniak Airport and placed the aircraft in a dive. He was restrained by other passengers and the pilot regained control and landed safely. The hijacker was arrested by Alaska State Troopers and admitted that the incident was an attempted murder-suicide.  |  | [83][84]
| Oct 22, 2023 | Employee and off duty pilot | Commercial
flight | Alaska Airlines Flight 2059 | 0 | Deadheading pilot attempted to turn off engines. The flight was forced to divert at Portland International Airport, pilot later arrested and charged.  |  | [85]

## Published studies

[edit]

A 2016 study published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance analyzed suicide and homicide-suicide events involving aircraft. They state, "In aeromedical literature and in the media, these very different events are both described as pilot suicide, but in psychiatry they are considered separate events with distinct risk factors." In the years 1999–2015 the study found 65 cases of pilot suicide (compared to 195 pilot errors) and six cases of passengers who jumped from aircraft. There were 18 cases of homicide-suicide, totaling 732 deaths; of these events, 13 were perpetrated by pilots. Compared to non-aviation samples, a large percentage of pilot suicides in this study were homicide-suicides (17%).[86][inconsistent]

## Prevention

[edit]

U.S. regulations require at least two flight crew members to be in the cockpit at all times for safety reasons, to be able to help in any medical or other emergency, including intervening if a crew member tries to crash the plane.[87][88] Following the deliberate crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 on March 24, 2015, some European, Canadian and Japanese airlines adopted a two-in-cockpit policy[89][90] as did all Australian airlines for aircraft with 50 or more passenger seats.[91]

## See also

[edit]

* Aviation accidents and incidents
* Aviation safety
* List of aircraft hijackings, for instances where a hijacker crashed the aircraft
* Vehicle ramming attack
* Mental health in aviation
* Suicide by cop
* John Verrept, the first person in history to commit suicide with a plane

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Charles Bremner (Paris), March 26, 2015, The Times, Locked door boosts pilot suicide theory . Retrieved March 26, 2015
2. ^ Richard Lloyd Parry, December 16, 2000, The Independent, "Singaporean air crash that killed 104 was suicide by pilot, say investigators" Archived September 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 26, 2015, "...An airliner which crashed into an Indonesian swamp, killing all 198people on board, was an apparent suicide attempt by the pilot, ... the cockpit voice and data recorders had been switched off half a minute before the aircraft began its descent."
3. ^ Young, Toby (March 16, 2014). "Could a four-year-old thriller unlock the mystery of flight MH370?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2015. "...If this was a case of "suicide-by-pilot", why do we still know so little about the motive? ..."
4. ^ March 31, 2014, The Guardian, MH370: authorities release new account of pilot's final words: Malaysia's civil aviation authority say pilot's final words heard by air traffic control were 'goodnight Malaysian three seven zero' Archived April 10, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 26, 2015, "...Malaysia says the plane, which disappeared less than an hour into its flight, was likely to have been diverted deliberately far off course. Investigators have determined no apparent motive or other red flags among the 227 passengers or the 12 crew. ..."
5. ^ a b Lewis, Russell; Forster, Estrella; Whinnery, James; Webster, Nicholas (February 2014). "Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the United States, 2003-2012" (PDF). Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. NTL.BTS.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
6. ^ March 2015, The Independent, ... Co-pilot of crashed Germanwings flight 9525 'wanted to destroy plane in suicide and mass murder mission' Archived September 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ Jane Onyanga-Omara, January 19, 2015, USA Today, No evidence of terrorism in AirAsia crash Archived August 21, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 27, 2015, "...Investigators have found no evidence so far that terrorism was involved in the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501, ..."
8. ^ March 27, 2014, The New Zealand Herald, Flight MH370: Terrorism expert backs theory of pilot suicide flight Archived February 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 27, 2015, "...University of Canterbury Professor Greg Newbold, who lectures on terrorism, said the only person who could have changed MH370's computerised flight plan and switched off its electronics was someone who was highly experienced...."
9. ^ "Гастелло Николай Францевич". Archived from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
10. ^ Axell, p. 44.
11. ^ Zaloga, Steve (June 21, 2011). Kamikaze: Japanese Special Attack Weapons 1944-45. Bloomsbury USA. p. 12\. ISBN 9781849083539. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
12. ^ "Horrific 'suicides by plane' that occurred in the USSR". September 10, 2019. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
13. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-2 CCCP-42621 Voroshilovgrad". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
14. ^ "Japan rewind: 40 years since the porn star's kamikaze attack in Tokyo". June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
15. ^ "Criminal Occurrence Description 26 September 1976". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
16. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-2P CCCP-79868 Novosibirsk". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
17. ^ Kramer, Tarla. "The Silent Grief of Alice Springs". BushMag. Retrieved November 20, 2010.[dead link]
18. ^ "Accident Description 22 August 1979". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
19. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Hawker Siddeley HS-748-260 Srs. 2A FAC-1101 Bogota-Eldorado Airport (BOG)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
20. ^ Cinco mortos no choque do "Sertanejo" Archived December 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Folha de S.Paulo (June 3, 1980)
Morrem feridos no acidente Archived December 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Folha de S.Paulo (June 5, 1980)
\- Mulher se mata depois do marido se suicidar Archived April 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, Tribuna da Imprensa (June 6, 1980)
21. ^ Stokes, Henry Scott. "Cockpit Fight Reported on Jet That Crashed in Tokyo Archived May 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine," The New York Times. February 14, 1982. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
22. ^ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 33040 - Socata TB10 Tobago VH-BXC 16-SEP-1982". Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
23. ^ "VH-AEU. Douglas C-47-DL. c/n 6108. Badly damaged during crash of a suicidal pilot at Bankstown Airport". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
24. ^ "Plane crashes at Bankstown, pg5, The Age, 16 September 1982". The Age. Newspapers.com. September 16, 1982. p. 5\. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
25. ^ "WOZNIAK, Philip Henryk (death notice), pg30, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 September 1982". The Sydney Morning Herald. Newspapers.com. September 22, 1982. p. 30\. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
26. ^ "No inquest on plane death, pg14, The Sydney Morning Herald, 09 February 1983". The Sydney Morning Herald. Newspapers.com. February 9, 1983. p. 14\. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
27. ^ "Was it news? Some soul searching after the death of weatherman Bob Richards". Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
28. ^ "Accident Description 13 July 1994". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
29. ^ a b 2015, Aviation Safety News, List of aircraft accidents caused by pilot suicide Archived March 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 26, 2015
30. ^ "Crash that killed 44 was pilot suicide Archived April 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine." Associated Press at the Altus Times. Thursday August 25, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
31. ^ Stephen Labaton (September 13, 1994). "CRASH AT THE WHITE HOUSE: THE DEFENSES; Pilot's Exploit Rattles White House Officials - New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
32. ^ "Radar reports, sightings plot path of missing A-10". CNN. April 11, 1997. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
33. ^ Brooke, James (August 18, 1997). "Jet's Crash In April Still A Mystery To Air Force". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
34. ^ Wald, Matthew (October 25, 1997). "Air Force Says Pilot Committed Suicide". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
35. ^ "Pushed to the Limit". Mayday. Season 12. Episode 4. August 24, 2012.
36. ^ "20001211X11123-20191201-232056". app.ntsb.gov. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
37. ^ "World: Africa Suicide pilot destroys Air Botswana fleet". BBC News. October 11, 1999. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
38. ^ "NTSB Releases EgyptAir Flight 990 Final Report". NTSB. March 21, 2002. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
39. ^ Erica Goode (March 27, 2015). "Suicide by Plane Crash Is Rare but Not Without Precedent". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
40. ^ Brad Plumer (March 26, 2015). "The disturbing history of pilots who deliberately crash their own planes". Vox. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
41. ^ "Report of Investigation of Accident: EgyptAir 990" (PDF). ECAA. June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
42. ^ Ellison, Michael (June 9, 2000). "US and Egypt split on fatal plane crash". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
43. ^ "Germanwings Plane Crash Investigation: Echoes of 1999 EgyptAir Disaster". The New York Times. March 26, 2015. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
44. ^ "Police: Tampa pilot voiced support for bin Laden". CNN. January 6, 2002. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
45. ^ "Investigators:Intentional or accidental crash?". Corriere Della Sera.it. April 20, 2002. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
46. ^ "Stone Mountain Plane Crash".
47. ^ "Berlin: Selbstmörder stürzt sich mit Flugzeug vor den Reichstag". Spiegel Online. July 23, 2005. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
48. ^ Cronan, Carl (February 18, 2010). "Echelon Building Destroyed in Plane Crash". GlobeSt.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
49. ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
50. ^ "Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives 17 July 2012". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
51. ^ Sperry, Todd; Ahlers, Mike M. (July 18, 2012). "Police: Suspect in Colorado slaying tried to steal plane in Utah". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
52. ^ "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report ERA13FA330". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
53. ^ Wolochatiuk, Tim (February 15, 2015), What Happened to Malaysian Flight 370? (Documentary, Crime, Drama, History), Stephen Bogaert, Von Flores, Adriano Sobretodo Jr, Adrian Nguyen, Galaxie Productions, NF Inc., archived from the original on April 2, 2021, retrieved December 4, 2020
54. ^ "MH370 crash was murder-suicide, says Canadian investigator". Global News. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
55. ^ "Former Australia, Malaysia leaders talk freely about MH370 pilot suicide theory | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
56. ^ "Malaysia suspected MH370 downed intentionally by pilot: Ex-Australian Prime Minister". CTVNews. February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
57. ^ "Families of MH370 victims say search must go on despite report into missing plane". Newsweek. July 30, 2018. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
58. ^ "Germanwings Plane Crash Investigation". NewYorkTimes.com. April 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
59. ^ "U.S. investigators see suicide behind Connecticut plane crash: sources". Reuters. October 13, 2016. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
60. ^ Kaufman, Gina (September 18, 2017). "Mystery surrounds U-M student's final flight". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
61. ^ Kaufman, Gina (October 5, 2017). "7 months after plane crash, missing U-M doctoral student declared dead". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
62. ^ "After 3 years, Saginaw John Doe (2018) is now Identified". DNASolves. December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
63. ^ "N449QX Criminal Occurrence description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
64. ^ "FBI Completes Investigation into August 2018 Unauthorized Flight from Seattle-Tacoma Airport". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
65. ^ "N526CP Criminal Occurrence description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
66. ^ "A2-MBM Criminal Occurrence description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
67. ^ Stephens, Max (February 18, 2022). "Professor with terminal cancer took his own life by crashing stolen plane". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
68. ^ Varga, John (February 18, 2022). "Professor given just three months to live stole plane from Kent airfield before crashing". Express.co.uk. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
69. ^ "China Eastern Black Box Points to Intentional Nosedive". Wall Street Journal. May 17, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
70. ^ Shepardson, David (May 18, 2022). "China Eastern crash probe looks into crew actions, sources say". Reuters. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
71. ^ Godlewski, Meg (August 16, 2022). "NTSB Preliminary Report Sheds Light on Copilot Mid-Air Departure". Flying. Retrieved August 17, 2022. "According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the copilot of a skydiving aircraft that made an emergency landing July 29 at Raleigh, North Carolina, intentionally departed the aircraft in flight without a parachute. According to the surviving pilot, the copilot was upset about the hard landing that damaged the airplane."
72. ^ Phelps, Mark (August 16, 2022). "NTSB Preliminary Report Includes PIC Testimony In Fatal Copilot Plunge". AVweb. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022. "According to the NTSB report, "...the SIC lowered the ramp in the back of the airplane, indicating that felt like he was going to be sick and needed air. The PIC stated that the SIC then got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized, and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door. The PIC stated that there was a bar one could grab about six feet above the ramp; however, he did not witness the SIC grab the bar before exiting the airplane.""`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
73. ^ "Pilot who died when helicopter crashed into Cairns hotel was 'affected by alcohol', ATSB finds". The Guardian. October 9, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
74. ^ Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
75. ^ Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
76. ^ Eastern Airlines Hijacking Archived January 18, 2013, at archive.today at CelebrateBoston.com
77. ^ Hiskey, Daven (February 22, 2012). "This Day in History: Samuel Byck Hijacks an Airliner with the Intent of Flying it into the White House to Kill President Nixon". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
78. ^ [1] Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
79. ^ "Sequestrador tentou jogar avião no Planalto 13 anos antes do 11/9" (in Brazilian Portuguese). September 6, 2011. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
80. ^ 7 April 1994 - Fedex 705 Archived March 31, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
81. ^ Peter Taylor (June 18, 2008). "The Paris Plot". Age of Terror. BBC World Service. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009. "The plan foreshadows Osama bin Ladin's holy war on the West. Seven years before 9/11, the hijackers were planning to fly to Paris and crash the aircraft with over 200 passengers on board into the heart of the city."
82. ^ a b c d "We Have Some Planes". National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. July 2004. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
83. ^ Williams, Tess (July 8, 2021). "Bethel 18-year-old told troopers he was suicidal when he grabbed controls of plane near Aniak, sending it into nosedive". Anchorage Daily News. Anchorage, Alaska. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
84. ^ "AK21076117 Terroristic Threatening / Attempted Assault Investigation" (Press release). Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troppers Public Information Office. July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
85. ^ "3 passengers sue Alaska Airlines after off-duty pilot accused of trying to cut engines mid-flight". CBS News.
86. ^ Kenedi, Christopher; Friedman, Susan Hatters; Watson, Dougal; Preitner, Claude (April 2016). "Suicide and Murder-Suicide Involving Aircraft". Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. 87 (4). Aerospace Medical Association: 388–396\. doi:10.3357/AMHP.4474.2016. PMID 27026123.
87. ^ Reducing Risks After the Germanwings Crash Archived August 21, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (New York Times, March 26, 2015)
88. ^ Could the Germanwings Crash Have Been Avoided? Archived December 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (The Atlantic, March 26, 2015)
89. ^ Germanwings crash prompts airlines to introduce cockpit ‘rule of two’ Archived February 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (The Guardian, March 26, 2015)
90. ^ The disturbing history of pilots who deliberately crash their own planes Archived August 21, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (Vox, March 26, 2015)
91. ^ Germanwings: Australia tightens cockpit safety laws in wake of French Alps plane crash Archived March 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine (Australian Broadcasting Corporation News, March 30, 2015)

## External links

[edit]

* Deliberate acts: 5 cases of pilots intentionally crashing at cnn.com
* List of aircraft accidents and incidents intentionally caused by pilots Archived January 8, 2022, at the Wayback Machine at aviation-safety.net
* Pilot suicide cases few and far between at canberratimes.com

* v
* t
* e

Lists of aviation accidents and incidents

By type|

* All
* Ground collision
* Hijacking
* India
* Turkey
* Mid-air collision
* United Kingdom
* Pilot suicide
* Shootdown
* Structural failure
* Wheel-well stowaway

Commercial|

* by airline
* A–C
* Aeroflot
* Aerolíneas Argentinas
* Air France
* American Airlines
* Cubana de Aviación
* D–O
* Deutsche Luft Hansa
* Ethiopian Airlines
* Garuda Indonesia
* Japan Airlines
* KLM
* Korean Air
* P–Z
* by location worldwide
* United Kingdom
* United States
* by year
* cargo
* shootdown
* bombing
* controlled flight into terrain

Military|

| By year|

* Pre-1925
* 1925–1934
* 1935–1939
* 1940–1942
* 1943–1944
* 1945–1949
* 1950–1954
* 1955-1959
* 1960–1969
* 1970–1974
* 1975–1979
* 1980–1989
* 1990–1999
* 2000–2009
* 2010–2019
* 2020–present

|

By conflict|

* Vietnam War
* USAF
* RAF
* PAF
* Soviet Afghan War
* Falklands War
* Argentine
* British
* Yugoslav Wars
* U.S war in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* Libyan Civil War 2011 and NATO intervention
* Libyan Crisis
* Syrian civil war
* Russo-Ukrainian War
* Saudi-led Intervention in Yemen and later US intervention

Other|

* by aircraft
* Air rage
* Airships
* Ballooning
* Air shows
* 20th century
* 21st century
* By registration
* Commercial aviation
* General aviation
* Helicopters
* News aircraft
* Spaceflight
* Sole survivors
* Unrecovered and unusable flight recorders

Deaths|

* by aircraft misadventure
* by death toll
* of notable people
* at least 50 fatalities
* by number of ground fatalities
* in the United States

Location|

* Channel Islands
* Guatemala
* Indonesia
* Isle of Man
* Netherlands
* Norway
* United States
* Near-miss incidents in the United States since 2023
* John F. Kennedy International Airport
* LaGuardia Airport

Related topics|

* Accident analysis
* Air crash investigators
* Aviation archaeology
* Aviation safety

* Italics indicates that the list is a category page.

* v
* t
* e

Suicide

Suicide crisis|

* Assessment of suicide risk
* Crisis hotline
* list
* Suicidal ideation
* Suicide intervention
* Suicidology
* Suicide prevention
* Suicide watch
* Warning signs

Social aspects|

* Advocacy
* Altruistic
* Awareness
* Interpersonal theory
* Legislation
* Philosophy of suicide
* Religious views
* Euthanasia
* Right to die
* Social media and suicide
* Suicide survivor
* bereavement
* Literature
* Terminology
* Suicide and the Internet

Suicide types|

* Assisted suicide
* list
* Bullying and suicide
* list
* Charcoal-burning
* Copycat
* Epidemic
* Familicide
* Forced
* Gunshot
* Hanging
* Honor
* Immolation
* Jumping from height
* locations
* Mass
* Murder–suicide
* Vatakkiruttal
* Seppuku
* Sokushinbutsu
* Sallekhana
* Sati
* Prayopavesa
* By train
* London Underground
* Self-sacrifice
* Banzai charge
* Kamikaze
* Senicide
* Suicide attack
* By cop
* By pilot
* Pact
* Suicide pill
* Vehicular

Epidemiology|

* Sex differences
* List of countries by suicide rate
* Antidepressants and suicide risk

History|

* Suicide in antiquity
* List of suicides
* heads of state and government
* in the 21st century

Related|

* Animal suicide
* Caring letters
* Suicide attempt
* Consensual homicide
* Self-harm
* Suicide methods
* Suicide note
* Last words
* Tourism
* Suicide prevention contract

By subculture|

* Doctors
* LGBTQ people
* list
* Mormon
* Military
* Music subcultures
* Prisoners
* Youth

By country|

* Afghanistan
* Australia
* Bangladesh
* Belarus
* Bhutan
* Cameroon
* Canada
* China
* France
* Denmark
* Greenland
* Greece
* Guyana
* Hong Kong
* student
* India
* youth
* farmers
* Iran
* Ireland
* Japan
* Kazakhstan
* Lesotho
* Lithuania
* Mexico
* Mozambique
* Nepal
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Romania
* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* LGBT youth
* Spain
* Sri Lanka
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Assisted suicide
* United States
* Assisted suicide
* college
* farmers
* military veteran
* Native American
* teenage
* Uruguay

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template