Flight 447 Report: 5 Other Mysterious Plane Crashes

Flight 447: 5 Other Mysterious Plane Crashes

The released report into the crash of Air France's Flight 447, which plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, will hopefully take the mystery a step closer to being solved.

The report blames pilot error for the crash, which had previously gone unsolved and which led to the deaths of all 228 on board.

The flight, travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on 1 June 2009, crashed into the ocean during a thunderstorm in what is Air France's deadliest crash.

However, should it never be completely solved, the crash will join a number of other tragic unsolved accidents in recent history:

TWA Flight 800, July 1996

One such disaster that has remained a mystery is 1996's TWA Flight 800 crash in which 230 died only 12 minutes after the plane launched from the John F Kennedy airport in New York.

A four-year report from the National Transportation Safety Board concluded its investigation by finding that the plane's fuel supply was somehow sparked. Although unable to be confirmed with complete certainty, this became the accepted theory behind the crash, although there are a litany of alternative theories.

Amelia Earhart, 1937

American explorer Amelia Earhart disappeared in July 1939, during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Popular theory has it that Earhart's plane crashed into the ocean and was never found. However recent evidence has led researchers to believe Earhart was able to survive, at least for a short while, on an island near where she went missing.

A $2m expedition has been launched to try to find evidence of Earhart's disappearance, in particular wreckage of her plane. Finding its remains could go a long way towards solving the mystery of the woman's disappearance.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, 1962

A military flight transporting US troops to Vietnam, this flight mysteriously disappeared after refuelling in Guam with the loss of 96 soldiers and 11 crew. The plane has never been found.

The US Civil Aeronautics Board decided that the plane probably exploded in mid-air although, due to the context of the Vietnam and Cold Wars, some believe sabotage may have played a part in the plane's disappearance.

In May 2012, 45 were killed in an exhibition flight crash, the cause of which remains unsolved

Sukhoi Superjet 100, 2012

A Sukhoi Superjet 100 briefly disappeared in May this year during a demonstration flight near Indonesia. Found on Mount Salak, a volcano in the West Java region of Indonesia, all 45 on board died.

Although still under investigation, no technical problems were reported with the aircraft, leaving it currently a mystery as to how the plane came to crash on the South Asian island.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 653, 1977

While it is known that Flight 653 from Penang to Singapore, was hijacked, the means of hijacking and the eventual crash are still a mystery.

Almost as soon as the plane reached altitude, the flight captain reported an unidentified attempt to wrestle control of the plane. While air control made contingency planes for a crash landing, communication was lost with the plane 20 minutes later.

The wreckage was found later the same day, with no identifiable bodies or evidence as to what may have happened in or around the plane.

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