Disasters at Cruising Altitude: A Map of Deadly Plane Crashes

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By Amanda Wills2014-03-10 15:44:58 UTC

The search is still on for the Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which mysteriously vanished somewhere en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 7. There were 239 people on board, and so far, all clues have led nowhere.

Flight 370 was cruising around 35,000 feet when it dropped from radar with no signal from pilots, which is almost unheard of in the aviation world. Authorities believe it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, but no wreckage has been recovered after a weekend search with 34 aircrafts and 40 ships. It's extremely rare for an aircraft to suddenly vanish, without warning, during cruising altitude, as most airplane accidents occur during takeoff or landing. Since 2003, only seven fatal commercial jet accidents have occurred during cruising altitude.

While the cause of the Malaysia Airlines flight 370 incident is still unknown, the map below plots a few other crashes that occurred during cruising altitude as the result of mechanical failures or technical errors. Click on icons to expand information. (Editor's Note: This is not a comprehensive list of airplane crashes during cruising altitude. The map does not include crashes due to criminal activity or terrorist plots, such as the fatal crashes of Sept. 11, 2001. )

Sources: National Transportation Safety Board, Boeing Statistical Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents (2008, 2011 and 2012).

Topics: Airplane, flight, Malaysia, maps, U.S., US & World, World