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Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

Category: Plane Crashes

The deadly plane crash in Madrid this week is the country's worst since Dec. 7, 1983, when a jet liner got lost in fog and taxied into a Boeing 727 and killed 93 people. The deadliest takeoff crash in history occurred March, 1977, when a KLM 747 crashed into a Pan Am 747 on the runway in the Canary Islands, killing 583.

Since 1977, there have been only 15 others including the latest one in Spain. Now, I know what you're thinking - ONLY 15!, but wait a minute. . .that's 16 listed as the deadliest takeoff crashes by MSNBC out of thousands & thousands of takeoffs everyday - multiply that x365 days a year x31 years. Just a reminder we hear about the tragedies, but not the successful takeoff taking place all over the world everyday. That said, Frieda is giving you the list of the others.

After the KLM crash in 1977, came an American Airlines DC-10 crash in May of 1979 after an engine fell off at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, killing 273.

Then came:
Nov. 28, 1979 - Air New Zealand DC-10 crashed into Mt. Erebus, 257 dead.
May 9, 1987 - Polish IL-62M crashes into a forest near Warsaw, Poland, 183 dead.
Aug. 16, 1987 - Northwest Airlines MD-82 crashed at Detroit airport, killing at least 156.
Jan. 30, 2000 - At least 169 die when Kenya Airways Airbus A310 crashes into the Atlantic, 10 survived.
July 25, 2000 - World's first Concorde crash occurred when an Air France Concorde crashed into hotel after taking off from Paris.
Oct. 8, 2001 - At least 118 died when a Cessna 525A collided with a SAS MD-87 in heavy fog in Italy.
Nov. 12, 2001 - American Airlines Airbus A300 crashes into the ground at JFK killing at least 265.
May 4, 2002 - EAS Airlines BAC1-11 crashed into a crowd of people in Nigeria, killing 154 from the plane and on the ground.
July 8, 2003 - A Sudan Airways Boeing 737-200 crash kills 115.
Jan. 3, 2004 - Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300 kills at least 148 when it crashed into the Red Sea off Egypt.
Sept. 5, 2005 - Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed in Indonesia, killing 145.
May 5, 2007 - A Kenya Airways Boeing 737-800 crash kills 114.

Frieda hopes with all her heart one day with all the new technology being developed and the public insisting on the safest air travel possible, airline crashes will be almost non existent - until that time, we know the odds are still on our side.