A look at the world's worst air disasters in recent years

More than 200 people lost their lives when an Air India flight en route to London, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed shortly after taking off from India's Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Authorities have warned that the death toll may rise as rescue operations continue. Below is a summary of some of the most fatal aviation accidents in recent years.

2025 – United States

On January 29, a regional passenger aircraft operated by American Airlines collided midair with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter. The crash sent the plane into the icy waters of the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing more than 60 people.

2024 – South Korea

On December 29, Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 crashed while attempting to land at Muan International Airport. All 175 passengers and four of the six crew members perished, marking the deadliest aviation accident in South Korean history.

2024 – Kazakhstan

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, operated with an Embraer E190, crashed on December 25 after being rerouted from Russian airspace to Kazakhstan. The incident claimed 38 lives. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated the aircraft may have been hit by ground fire in Russia, though Moscow has not verified the claim.

2024 – Japan

On January 2, a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350-941 collided with a smaller Coast Guard plane while on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Although all 379 passengers aboard the JAL aircraft survived the fire, five out of six crew members on the Coast Guard plane were killed.

2022 – China

A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 went down in the mountainous Guangxi region on March 21, resulting in the deaths of all 132 passengers and crew. It was the deadliest aviation incident in China in nearly three decades.

2020 – Iran

On January 8, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shortly after takeoff from Tehran. All 176 people aboard were killed. Investigators attributed the tragedy to radar misalignment and operator error within the country’s air defense system.

2019 – Ethiopia

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed just minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing all 157 people onboard. This was the second fatal crash involving the 737 MAX, prompting a worldwide grounding of the aircraft model.

2018 – Indonesia

Lion Air Flight JT610, another Boeing 737 MAX 8, plunged into the Java Sea shortly after departing from Jakarta on October 29. All 189 people on board were killed, marking the first major crash involving the 737 MAX series.

2014 – Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17 while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur amid ongoing conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people onboard died.

Earlier that year, on March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. Despite extensive international search efforts, the aircraft and its occupants remain missing.