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Backgrounder: Major US plane crashes since 2000

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-13 21:50

BEIJING -- A US commuter plane crashed on Thursday in the state of New York, killing all 48 people aboard and one person on the ground, media reports said.

A plane burns after it crashed into a house in Clarence Center, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009. New York State Police say the plane was a 50-passenger commuter aircraft. [Agencies]

The following is a review of major air accidents in the United States since 2000:

-- January 31, 2000: A McDonnell Douglas MD-83 of Alaska Airlines crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 4.5 km north of Anacapa Island, California. The two pilots, three cabin crew members, and 83 passengers on board were killed.

-- November 12, 2001: An Airbus belonging to American Airlines crashed into a residential area in New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport. The accident killed all 260 people on board and five more on the ground.

-- January 8, 2003: A Raytheon 1900D aircraft belonging to Air Midwest crashed shortly after takeoff from North Carolina. The two crew members and 19 passengers aboard the airplane were killed, and one person on the ground received minor injuries.

-- October 19, 2004: An aircraft belonging to Corporate Airlines struck trees and burst into flames shortly before landing at an airport in Missouri. The captain, first officer, and 11 of the 13 passengers were fatally injured. The two surviving passengers received serious injuries.

-- December 19, 2005: A seaplane ferrying passengers from Miami to the  Bahamas crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 20 people aboard.

-- August 27, 2006: A plane taking off from Lexington in Kentucky, bound for Atlanta, Georgia, crashed at the end of the runway. All 47 passengers and three of the four crew members died; the only one who survived  received serious injuries.