List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707

Accidents involving the Boeing 707 and 720 family of jet airliners:

1950s 1959 February 3: Pan Am Flight 115, was a commercial flight from Paris via London to New York City. At 22:05 GMT (16:05 EDT) on February 3, 1959, it was involved in one of the most significant jet upset incidents of the jet airliner age, over the North Atlantic near Newfoundland. August 15: American Airlines Flight 514, a 707-123 (N7514A, named Flagship Connecticut), crashed at Calverton, New York, United States, when it stalled during a training flight; five people were killed. This was the first crash of a 707. October 19: A Boeing 707-227 (N7071) crashed northeast of Arlington, Washington, while on an acceptance flight for Braniff International Airways. Four people were killed in the crash and four survived."Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report 2-1754." US Department of Transportation. Retrieved: December 27, 2009.

1960s 1961 January 28: American Airlines Flight 1502, a 707-123 (N7502A, named Flagship Oklahoma) crashed at Montauk, New York, United States, after an unexplained loss of control while on a training flight; six were killed. February 15: Sabena Flight 548, a 707-320, crashed while on approach to Brussels Airport, Belgium. All 73 people were killed, including the U.S. Figure Skating team."Sabena Flight 548 accident summary." Aviation-Safety.net. Retrieved: December 27, 2009. July 27: Air France Flight 272, a 707-328 (F-BHSA, named Chateau de Versailles) crashed when take-off was aborted at Hamburg, West Germany, with no fatalities; the cause was not determined. August 3: Continental Airlines Flight 54 was hijacked from Los Angeles by two men, who demanded to be taken to Cuba. The plane would be destroyed in a suicide bombing the following year. December 4: A Lufthansa 720-030B (D-ABOK) crashed at Ebersheim, West Germany after an unexplained nose-dive while on a training flight, three killed. 1962 March 1: American Airlines Flight 1, a 707-123B, crashed into Jamaica Bay after taking off from Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport) while heading for Los Angeles International Airport. All 95 people on board died. May 22: Continental Airlines Flight 11, a 707-124, was destroyed by a bomb brought on board by a despondent passenger while en route from Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri. All 45 passengers and crew were killed, including the suicide bomber, Thomas Doty. June 3: Air France Flight 007, a 707-328 (F-BHSM), crashed while attempting to takeoff from Paris's Orly Airport. The crash killed 130 people aboard; two stewardesses survived. It was, at the time, the worst single-plane disaster. June 22: Air France Flight 117, a 707-328 (F-BHST), crashed into a hill while attempting to land at Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. All 113 aboard were killed in the crash. November 27: Varig Flight 810, a 707-441 (PP-VJB) flying from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Lima was initiating an overshoot procedure at the suggestion of the control tower because it was too high, and proceeded to start another approach when it crashed into La Cruz peak, 8 miles away from Lima Airport. Possibly, a misinterpretation of navigation instruments occurred. All 97 passengers and crew aboard died. 1963 February 12: Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705, a 720-051B, crashed in the Everglades after breaking up in severe turbulence, with 43 killed. December 8: Pan Am Flight 214, a 707-121, crashed outside Elkton, Maryland, during a severe electrical storm, with a loss of all 81 passengers and crew. The Boeing 707, registered as N709PA, was on the final leg of a San Juan–Baltimore–Philadelphia flight. 1964 April 7: Pan Am Flight 212, a 707-139 (N779PA), was damaged beyond repair after overrunning the runway at New-York-JFK. July 15: A Lufthansa 720-023B (D-ABOP) crashed near Ansbach, West Germany, after losing control and breaking up while on a training flight, with three killed. November 23: TWA Flight 800, a 707-331 (N769TW), crashed at Rome-Fiumicino, Italy. The aircraft hit a roller during an aborted take-off after a thrust reverser malfunctioned; 49 were killed. 1965 May 20: PIA Flight 705, a 720-040B, crashed near Cairo, Egypt, after an unexplained descent, with 121 killed. It is the worst-ever accident involving the 720. June 28: Pan Am Flight 843, a 707-321B, suffered an uncontained engine failure on take-off from San Francisco International Airport. Despite the loss of part of a wing, a successful emergency landing was made at Travis Air Force Base. All 153 people on board survived uninjured. July 1: Continental Airlines Flight 12, a 707-124 N70773 overran the runway and crashed at Kansas City, Missouri, United States, with no casualties. August 21: A Middle East Airlines 720-047B is damaged beyond repair by shelling at Beirut, Lebanon. September 17: Pan Am Flight 292, a 707-121B, crashed into the side of a mountain in a storm on the island of Montserrat, killing all 30 passengers and crew on board. December 4: TWA Flight 42, a 707-131B, collided with a Eastern Air Lines Flight 853, a L-749 Constellation. The 707 make an emergency landing, injuring a flight attendant, while the L-749 makes a force crash-landing, killing 3 passengers and the captain. 1966 January 24: Air India Flight 101, a 707-437, crashed into Glacier des Bossons on the southwest face of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed. March 5: BOAC Flight 911, a 707-436 en route from Tokyo to Hong Kong, encountered clear-air turbulence close to Mount Fuji; the sudden, violent gusting caused the vertical stabilizer to detach from the aircraft, following which the aircraft entered an uncontrolled dive. The 707 progressively broke up as a result of aerodynamic over-stressing of the airframe, then struck the ground near the foot of the mountain. All 124 passengers and crew on board died. 1967 November 6: TWA Flight 159, a 707-131, was damaged beyond repair at Covington, Kentucky, United States following an aborted take-off, with one killed. 1968 January 9: Middle East Airlines Flight 272, a 720-060B (ET-AAG), landed nose gear-first at Beirut, Lebanon; the nose gear folded back and a small fire developed, but was extinguished; the aircraft burned out 30 minutes later when the fire restarted; no casualties occurred. The aircraft was operating for Ethiopian Airlines. February 7: Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 322, a 707-138B (N791SA), operated by Standard Airways, crashed at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The aircraft hit airport buildings when it failed to stop after landing, killing a flight attendant and an airport employee.Crash Probe Opens, Vancouver Sun, 7 February 1968 March 5: Air France Flight 212, a 707-328, crashed at Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe. All 63 passengers and crew on board were killed. April 8: BOAC Flight 712, a 707-465, suffered engine failure on take-off from London Heathrow Airport followed by an engine fire. The plane made an emergency landing back at the airport, but an explosion in the port wing caused the plane to catch fire. Four passengers and a flight attendant were killed and 122 escaped. April 20: South African Airways Flight 228, a 707-344C, crashed shortly after take-off from Windhoek, Namibia."South African Airways." Aviation-Safety.net. The crew used a flap retraction sequence from the 707-B series on the newly delivered 707-C, which retracted the flaps in larger increments for that stage of the flight, leading to a loss of lift at above ground level. The inquiry blamed the crew for not observing their flight instruments when they had no visual reference. June 13: Pan Am Flight 1, a 707-321 (N798PA, named Clipper Caribbean) crashed at Calcutta, India, due to crew and instrument errors, with six killed. July 13: A Sabena 707-329 (OO-SJK) crashed at Lagos, Nigeria, after an unexplained descent, with seven killed. July 23: El Al Flight 426 was hijacked by three men of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. September 7: A Varig 707-341 (PP-VJR) was destroyed in a hangar fire at Rio de Janeiro-Galeao, Brazil, with no casualties. November 8: An Olympic Airways flight out of Paris was hijacked by two Italian men, who carried a handgun and a grenade. The hijackers forced the crew to hand out pamphlets to the passengers. The hijackers claimed to be members of the International Command for Greece. The two men later surrendered. November 24: Pan Am Flight 281 was hijacked by four men after take-off from JFK International Airport. The plane was diverted to Cuba. December 12: Pan Am Flight 217, a 707-321B, en route to Caracas, Venezuela, crashed into the Caribbean Sea. All 51 passengers and crew on board died. City lights may have caused an optical illusion that affected the pilots."Pan Am Accidents: 1950:1969." panamair.org. December 26: Pan Am Flight 799, a 707-321C, a cargo flight, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 3 on board. December 28: A Middle East Airlines 707-3B4C (OD-AFC) was destroyed by fire at Beirut, Lebanon. The aircraft was one of 14 (a 707, DC-6, C-54, Vickers VC.10, Vickers Viscount 720, two DC-7s, two Convair 990s, two Sud Caravelles, and three de Havilland Comets) destroyed in a raid by Israeli forces. 1969 June 17: TWA Flight 154 was hijacked by William Lee Brent, who diverted the plane to Cuba. He died in Cuba in 2006. July 28: TWA Flight 5787, a 707-331 (N787TW), crashed at Pomona, New Jersey, United States, due to loss of control after the hydraulic system was shut off, and five were killed. August 29: TWA Flight 840 was hijacked by two PFLP members, Leila Khaled and Salim Issawai. No casualties occurred, though the plane was damaged and two passengers were held hostage for a month. October 8: An Aerolíneas Argentinas flight was hijacked shortly before arriving in Santiago, Chile. The hijacker diverted the plane to Cuba. After the hijacker deboarded, the plane flew to Miami. October 31: TWA Flight 85 en route from Los Angeles to San Francisco was hijacked by 19-year-old US Marine Raffaele Minichiello. All passengers, including the band Harpers Bizarre, and three stewardesses were released in Denver. The hijacker, three pilots, and a stewardess continued on to JFK Airport in New York, where two pilots were added for the overseas flight. The plane refueled in Bangor, Maine, and Shannon, Ireland, before continuing to Rome, Italy. In Rome, Minichiello took the chief of the airport police as a hostage and departed in a car, from which he slipped away, but was caught shortly thereafter. Minichiello intended to visit his dying father in Italy. Italy did not extradite Minichiello and he served only 18 months in jail. Covering 6,900 miles, this was the longest hijacking in history. November 4: Varig Flight 911 was hijacked by six men who demanded to be taken to Cuba. November 29: A hijacker on Varig Flight 827 demanded to be taken to Cuba. December 1: Pan Am Flight 812, a 707-321 (N892PA), crashed at take-off from Sydney, Australia, following a bird strike in the number-two engine and collapse of the nose gear, with no fatalities. The aircraft was repaired and put back in service two months later. This plane was destroyed in an accident 41 years later while serving as a tanker. December 2: TWA Flight 54 was hijacked by a man demanding to be taken to Cuba. December 4: Air France Flight 212 crashed shortly after takeoff at Caracas, Venezuela. All 62 people on board were killed. December 12: An Ethiopian Airlines flight was by hijacked by two Yemenis. The first Yemeni entered the cockpit with a pistol and demanded the plane be diverted to Aden. The pilot told the hijacker that the plane needed to refuel in Rome, but the plane was not allowed to land there. Shortly, a security guard shot and killed the hijacker and his knife-wielding accomplice.

1970s 1970 April 22: A Trans World Airlines 707-131 (N743TW) was destroyed by fire at Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.