Air travel is the most preferred mode of transportation for people travelling long distances as it is comfortable and time-saving. However, the global aviation industry has not been without its dark points in history. Air travel is dangerous, despite numerous advances in technology and aviation engineering over the years. Taking a look at the worst aviation accidents in history can give you an idea of just how badly things can go – often due to preventable mistakes.
An aviation accident is an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until all such persons have disembarked, where a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure or the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible. If the aircraft is destroyed or severely damaged so that it must be written off, it is further defined as a hull loss accident.
Here are the top 20 deadliest accidents in aviation history.
| Rank | Accident | Location | Deaths |
| 1. | Pan Am Flight 1736 and KLM Flight 4805 | Tenerife, Spain | 583 |
| 2. | Japan Air Lines Flight 123 | Ueno, Japan | 520 |
| 3. | Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 | Charkhi Dadri, India | 349 |
| 4. | Turkish Airlines Flight 981 | Fontaine-Chaalis, France | 346 |
| 5. | Air India Flight 182 | Atlantic Ocean, area of Cork, Ireland | 329 |
| 6. | Saudia Flight 163 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 301 |
| 7. | Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 | near Hrabove, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine | 298 |
| 8. | Iran Air Flight 655 | Strait of Hormuz, off Shib Deraz, Iran | 290 |
| 9. | Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (15-2280) | near Kerman, Iran | 275 |
| 10. | American Airlines Flight 191 | Des Plaines, Illinois, U.S. | 273 |
| 11. | Pan Am Flight 103 | Lockerbie, United Kingdom | 270 |
| 12. | Korean Air Lines Flight 007 | Sea of Japan, near Moneron Island, Russia | 269 |
| 13. | American Airlines Flight 587 | Belle Harbor, New York City, New York, U.S. | 265 |
| 14. | China Airlines Flight 140 | Komaki, Japan | 264 |
| 15. | Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 261 |
| 16. | Algerian Air Force (7T-WIV) | Boufarik, Algeria | 257 |
| 17. | Air New Zealand Flight 901 | Mount Erebus, Antarctica | 257 |
| 18. | Arrow Air Flight 1285R | Gander, Newfoundland, Canada | 256 |
| 19. | Air Africa (RA-26222) | Kinshasa, DR Congo | 251 |
| 20. | Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 | Indian Ocean | 239 |
