Deadliest plane crashes 2025: Washington collision, Air India disaster, UPS cargo plane, missing Alaska flight
2025 has been a devastating year for aviation, marked by catastrophic crashes worldwide. Here are some of the most significant air disasters that shook the globe this year.
Washington plane crash kills 67
On January 29 American Airlines Flight 5342, a Bombardier CRJ700 airliner collided mid-air with a US Army Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, DC.
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The airliner was on final approach from Wichita, Kansas, when the crash happened at about 300 feet altitude. This incident marked the deadliest US air disaster since 2001 and the first major US commercial flight crash in 16 years.
In a post on TruthSocial, US President Donald Trump said the situation could have been “prevented”.
“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport,” he wrote.
“The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn.
Seven confirmed dead after US Medevac plane crash
On January 31, a US medevac Learjet 55 crashed into a residential area in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff, killing seven people.
Six individuals aboard the aircraft and one person on the ground died, while at least 23 more were injured.
The crash caused an explosion that ignited several homes, marking it as a tragic disaster with significant casualties.
Missing Alaska plane wreck found
On February 7, a day after it went missing, the wreckage of a missing Bering Air flight was found off the coast of Alaska.
All 10 people on board perished when the plane suffered a sudden altitude drop and crashed into Norton Sound.
Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, an officer with the Coast Guard in Alaska, has said the plane suffered a rapid loss of altitude and speed, according to radar data. Preliminary reports suggested the aircraft was overweight but investigators continued to look into all factors.
Sudan military aircraft crash
On February 25, in Sudan, a military plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing dozens.
At least 46 people died in one of the deadliest plane crashes in the northeastern African nation in the past two decades.
The Antonov aircraft crashed over a populated district in the city of Omdurman, also injuring at least 10 people, according to the government-run Khartoum Media Office.
The military said the plane crashed while taking off from the Wadi Sayidna air base north of Omdurman, which is the sister city of the capital, Khartoum.
The crash also damaged a number of houses in the Karrari district of Omdurman, the media office said.
Air India plane crash
June saw a catastrophic crash of Air India Flight 171 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport, where only one person survived out of 242 passengers and crew.
The official death toll rose as search teams discovered more bodies, and the crash also claimed 19 lives on the ground. It was the first fatal crash and hull loss of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The June 12 crash was the deadliest disaster this decade, since the downing of MH17 in 2014.
London Southend plane crash ‘fireball’
On July 13, a small aircraft crashed and caught fire moments after taking off from London Southend Airport, creating a fireball on impact.
The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air, operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation, was en route to the Netherlands when it encountered difficulties and crashed within the airport boundary, Essex Police Detective Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin told reporters.
Authorities confirmed four foreigners who were on the plane sadly died when the 12-metre-long turboprop craft came down moments after take-off and burst into flames.
“Sadly, we can now confirm that all four people on board died,” Cronin said.
Two Dutch pilots and a Chilean nurse were among those on board, according to a document which lists passengers.
One woman on the plane was reportedly on her first day working as a flight nurse, according to the BBC.
Brescia, Italy fireball and highway crash
The horrifying moment a plane nose-dived onto a highway was caught on camera on July 23.
Two people were killed when the ultralight aircraft ran into trouble and plunged from the sky onto the busy road in Italy’s Brescia region on Tuesday.
The plane was incinerated in the resulting fireball and both the pilot and passenger were killed instantly.
They were been identified as Milanese lawyer Sergio Ravaglia, 75, and his partner Anna Maria Stefano, 60, according to Brescia Today.
The video shows a passing car and van on the Corda Molle ring road driving were also hit in the disaster, with two motorists receiving non-life threatening injuries.
UPS cargo plane crash Kentucky
On November 5, at least seven people are believed to have died, and 11 others were injured after a UPS plane crashed near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, exploding into flames.
The explosion impacted a petroleum recycling centre and an auto parts business, with authorities dealing with an “active situation”, as fears of further explosions remain.
UPS flight 2976 from Louisville, KY to Honolulu, an MD-11 aircraft, crashed during takeoff around 5.15pm (local time) on Tuesday, sparking an enormous emergency response.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for the surrounding areas. Jet fuel spilled around a densely populated industrial zone, and the fire continues to burn hours after the crash.
Kentucky Governor Adam Beshear provided a harrowing update on the “catastrophic crash”, revealing the death toll “will get larger”.
