List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747

As of March 2026, a total of 66 Boeing 747 aircraft, or just above 4% of the total number of 747 built, have been involved in accidents and incidents resulting in a hull loss, meaning that the aircraft was either destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair since the type was first flown commercially in 1970. Of the 65 Boeing 747 aircraft losses, 32 resulted in no loss of life; in one, a hostage was murdered; and in one, a terrorist died.

Some of the aircraft that were declared damaged beyond economical repair were older 747s that sustained relatively minor damage. If these planes had been newer, repairing them might have been economically viable. This is becoming less common with the 747's increasing obsolescence as a passenger aircraft.

Some 747s have been involved in accidents resulting in the highest death toll of any civil aviation accident, the highest death toll of any single airplane accident, and the highest death toll of a midair collision. As with most airliner accidents, the root causes of these incidents involved a confluence of multiple factors that rarely could be ascribed to flaws with the 747's design or its flying characteristics.

• Pan Am Flight 93 was the first hull loss of a 747 (747-121), the result of terrorism after it was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On September 6, 1970, a new Pan Am aircraft flying from Amsterdam to New York City was hijacked and flown first to Beirut, then to Cairo. Shortly after the occupants were evacuated from the aircraft after arriving at Cairo, it was blown up.
• On July 30, 1971, Pan Am Flight 845, a Boeing 747-121, struck the approach lighting system at San Francisco International Airport during an emergency landing, injuring 29 of the 218 occupants. The cause of the incident was determined to be the pilot's use of incorrect takeoff reference speeds.
• On February 22, 1972, Lufthansa Flight 649, a Boeing 747-230B, was hijacked by five passengers in demand of US$5 million. After landing at Aden International Airport, the hijackers released all women and children among the passengers, as well as one female flight attendant. The next day, once the ransom were paid, they allowed all male passengers to leave. In the evening all remaining on board were released, and the hijackers surrendered. All 192 occupants survived.
• On July 2, 1972, Pan Am Flight 841, a Boeing 747-121, was hijacked by a 24-year-old South Vietnamese native named Nguyễn Thái Bình. After landing at Tan Son Nhut Airport, the captain and passengers overcame and killed the lone hijacker - the sole fatality of the 152 occupants, ending the hijack.
• Japan Airlines Flight 404, the second 747 hull loss was very similar to the first. The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, on July 20, 1973, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine working with the Japanese Red Army. It flew to Dubai, then Damascus, before ending its journey at Benghazi. The occupants were released and the aircraft was blown up. One of the hijackers died.
• On November 25, 1973, KLM Flight 861, a Boeing 747-206B, was hijacked by three passengers claiming to be members of Arab Youth Organisation. After multiple stopovers, the hijackers surrendered in Dubai, and none of the 264 occupants died.
• Lufthansa Flight 540 was the first fatal crash of a 747. On November 20, 1974, it stalled and crashed moments after taking off from Nairobi, with 59 deaths and 98 survivors. The cause was an error by the flight engineer in combination with a lack of a sufficient warning system.
• On February 3, 1975, 144 people felt ill abroad a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747-246B. The plane performed an emergency landing at Copenhagen Airport. No one died, but 30 of the 364 occupants were hospitalised.
• Air France Flight 193, a 747-128 (N28888) operating the sector between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Tel Aviv to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, was destroyed by fire, June 12, 1975, on the ground at Bombay’s (now Mumbai’s) Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted take-off, with no fatalities.
• On May 9, 1976, Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight ULF48, a 747 freighter, crashed near Madrid due to the structural failure of its left wing in flight, killing the 17 people on board. The accident investigation determined that a lightning strike caused an explosion in a fuel tank in the wing, leading to flutter and the separation of the wing.
• On March 27, 1977, the deadliest aviation accident in history occurred when KLM Flight 4805 collided on the runway with Pan Am 1736 in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities. Both aircraft were 747s. The 61 survivors were all from the Pan Am 747. The Pan Am aircraft was the first 747 to enter commercial service.
• Air India Flight 855 crashed into the sea off the coast of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on New Year's Day, 1978. All 213 passengers and crew died. The cause was lack of situational awareness on the captain's part after executing a banked turn.
• On June 2, 1978, Japan Air Lines Flight 115, a Boeing 747SR-46, experienced a severe tailstrike when pilots attempted to flare after a bouncy landing at Itami Airport. Of the 394 people on board, 25 sustained injuries, 23 minor and 2 serious. Seven years later, it was the cause of a deadly crash.
• On August 9, 1978, Olympic Airways Flight 411, a Boeing 747-284B, flew dangerously low over downtown Athens, with the plane unable to ascend further and coming close to stalling due to engine failure. The plane returned to Ellinikon International Airport safely with no fatalities of the 418 occupants. The investigation concluded that the incident was caused by inadvertent shut off of the water injection pumps by the flight crew.