Disasters timeline
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Vanport City Flood
At about 4:17 PM the western (railroad) dike burst, sending a 10 ft (3.0 m) wall of water into the area of Vanport College. Because of the numerous... Read more
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United Airlines Flight 624 Crashes, Killing 43
The airplane, named "Mainliner Utah", arrived in Chicago at 09:52 en route from Los Angeles to New York. After a 52-minute turnaround, the DC-6... Read more
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The 'Miss Macao' Crashes in the First Hijacking of a Commercial Aircraft
Fantastic but true." With those three words, spoken 60 years ago this month, the managing director of Cathay Pacific Airways introduced Hong Kong... Read more
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Northwest Airlines Flight 421 Crashes, Killing 37
Northwest Airlines Flight 421 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Chicago, Illinois to Minneapolis, Minnesota that crashed on 29 August... Read more
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Bukken Bruse Disaster
The Bukken Bruse disaster was the crash of a flying boat upon landing at Hommelvika in Malvik municipality, nearby Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway, on... Read more
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Ashgabat Earthquake of 1948
The earthquake struck at 2:17 in the morning on 6 October 1948. The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the small village Gara-Gaudan, 25... Read more
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KLM Constellation Air Disaster
Take-off from Schiphol was planned at 20:00 on 20 October 1948 for a flight to New York via Prestwick, with as alternative Shannon, Ireland. The... Read more
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Sinking of the SS Kiangya
Published by the People's Communication Press on November 1997, "A Brief History of Navigation on the Yangtze River" says the Jiangya ship,... Read more
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Airborne Transport's NC16002 Disappears
The disappearance of the Airborne Transporter DC-3 airliner, NC16002 occurred the night of December 28, 1948 near the end of a scheduled flight... Read more
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British South American Airways' Star Ariel Disappears
G-AGRE Star Ariel was an Avro Tudor Mark IVB passenger aircraft owned and operated by British South American Airways (BSAA) which disappeared... Read more
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St. Anthony's Hospital Fire
The death toll in the St. Anthony's hospital fire, which investigators believed may have been fed by fresh paint and varnish, was set at 66 today... Read more
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Superga Air Disaster
The plane was taking home the Turin soccer team after a match in Lisbon. The Fiat plane took off at 09:52 and made a refueling stop at Barcelona at... Read more
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The Great Earthquake of 1949
Ambato was completely destroyed by a large earthquake on the afternoon of 5 August 1949. Tragically, the entire city and surrounding villages were... Read more
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Albert Guay Affair
On this date in 1951, Albert Guay was hanged in Canada for one of the earliest commercial airline attacks — bombing a Canadian Pacific Airline... Read more
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SS Noronic Fire
About 2:30 a.m. on the morning of the 17th, a passenger discovered a small fire in a linen closet. Attempts to extinguish the fire proved futile... Read more
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Eastern Airlines Flight 537 Collides with NX-26927
Eastern Air Lines Flight 537, registration N88727, was a Douglas DC-4 aircraft en route from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C. via... Read more
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Hurum Air Disaster
The Hurum air disaster was an Aero Holland plane crash in Hurum southwest of Oslo, Norway as it was approaching Fornebu Airport on 20 November... Read more
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American Airlines Flight 157 Crashes, Killing 28
American Airlines Flight 157, a Douglas DC-6, was flying on November 29, 1949 from New York City bound for Mexico City with 46 passengers and crew.... Read more
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Mercy Hospital Fire
A fire in the mental ward of Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa killed 41 people today. "The flames spread rapidly through the 60-year-old brick... Read more
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Llandow Air Disaster
On 12 March 1950, an Avro 689 Tudor V owned by Airflight Limited and being operated under the Fairflight name, took off from Dublin Airport in... Read more
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Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 Disappears
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 was a DC-4 propliner operating its daily transcontinental service between New York City and Seattle when it... Read more
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TWA Flight 903 Crashes
TWA Flight 903 from Bombay, India to New York was carried out by TWA's Constellation "Star of Maryland". Departure from Bombay was at 08:34, August... Read more
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Air India's Malabar Princess Crashes on the Mont Blanc
1950 November 3, "Malabar Princess", a Lockheed Constellation of the Air India company, registered VT-CQP, was connecting Bombay to London via... Read more
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Tete de l'Obiou Accident
The Tete de I'Obiou accident was an airliner crash in France on 13 November 1950. Curtiss Reid Flying Services had been operating a scheduled... Read more
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Kew Gardens Train Crash
It is 6:32. The train bound for Babylon, after leaving Penn Station four minutes behind the Hempstead train, now comes barreling down the tracks at... Read more