Afriqiyah Airways plane en route to Tripoli, Libya, from Johannesburg, South Africa, crashes into the desert less than a mile from the runway, killing 103 people.

The plane of Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashes outside the western Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 aboard.

: Yemenia Airbus 310 en route to the Comoros Islands crashes into the Indian Ocean with 153 people on board.

Air France Airbus A330 runs into thunderstorms and crashes into Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing 228 people on board.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard military plane crashes into a mountain. 275 dead.

China Airlines Boeing 747 breaks apart midair and crashes into the Taiwan Strait. 225 dead.

American Airlines Airbus A300 crashes after takeoff from JFK Airport into the New York City borough of Queens. 265 dead, including people on the ground.

EgyptAir Boeing 767 crashes off Nantucket; the NTSB blames actions by the co-pilot. 217 dead.

Swissair MD-11 crashes off Nova Scotia. 229 dead.

China Airlines Airbus A300 crashes on landing at airport in Taipei, Taiwan. 203 dead.

Garuda Indonesia Airbus A300 crashes near airport in Medan, Indonesia. 234 dead.

Korean Air Boeing 747-300 crashes on landing in Guam. 228 dead.

Saudi Boeing 747 collides with Kazakh cargo plane near New Delhi. 349 dead.

TWA Boeing 747 explodes and crashes into the Atlantic off Long Island, New York. 230 dead.

China Airlines Airbus A300 crashes on landing at Nagoya Airport in Japan. 264 dead.

Arrow Air DC-8 crashes after takeoff from Newfoundland, Canada. 256 dead.

Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashes into a mountainside after losing part of its tail fin. 520 dead in the world's worst single-plane disaster.

Saudi Tristar makes emergency landing in Riyadh and bursts into flames. 301 dead.

American Airlines DC-10 crashes after takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. 275 dead.

Air India 747 crashes into the ocean after takeoff from Mumbai. 213 dead.

KLM 474, Pan American 747 collide on runway in Tenerife, Canary Islands. 583 dead in world's worst airline disaster.

— Source: World Almanac, Associated Press.