The missing EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea Thursday is an Airbus 320.
The passenger jet is a twin-engine plane that operates on short and medium-haul routes. It is considered to be one of the safest planes now flying.
The A320 model has been involved in 14 fatal accidents since entering service in 1988.
Here is a list of some of the airplane crashes that involved models of the Airbus A320 family which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321.
1. Feb. 2, 2016; Daallo Airlines A321-100, near Mogadishu, Somalia: Shortly after takeoff, either an explosion or a structural failure ripped a hole in the fuselage, sucking one passenger out of the plane.
2. Oct. 31, 2015; Metrojet A321-200; near Hasna, Egypt: A flight from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to St. Petersburg, Russia crashed in the Sinai Peninsula about 23 minutes after takeoff. Everyone on the plane, seven crew members and 217 passengers, were killed.
3. March 29 2015; Air Canada A320-200; near Halifax, Canada: The plane was in a holding pattern near Halifax due to bad weather. Trying to land, it touched down about 300 yards short of the runway. No one was killed.
4. March 24, 2015; Germanwings A320-200; near Barcelonnette, France: About a half hour after takeoff, the Airbus flight from Barcelona, Spain to Dusseldorf, Germany, began losing altitude then crashed some 10 minutes later. Authorities determined the co-pilot had intentionally flown the plane into the ground. All six crew members and 144 passengers were killed.
5. Dec. 28, 2014; AirAsia A320-216; Java Sea: The aircraft crashed into the Java Sea after requesting an altitude change due to weather. There were no survivors among the 162 on board.
6. July 28, 2010; Airblue; A321-231; near Islamabad, Pakistan: The plane crashed on approach into Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 146 passengers and six crew members. Investigators believe weather may have played a part in the accident.
7. January 15, 2009; US Airways A320-200, New York, NY: Known as the "Miracle on the Hudson," the plane en route from New York to Charlotte, N.C. hit a flock of birds, damaging both engines. The pilot, Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, glided the plane down into the Hudson River near Midtown Manhattan. All five crew members and all 150 passengers on the plane survived.
8. Nov. 27 2008; XL Airways Germany A320-200; near Perpignan, France: A test flight prior to the aircraft being returned to its owner, Air New Zealand, ended in tragedy when on approach into Perpignan, the plane entered a rapid dive before it crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Everyone onboard, seven people, were killed.
9. May 3, 2006; Armavia Airlines A320; near Sochi, Russia: The Armavia Airlines flight was on its second attempt to land in bad weather at the Sochi airport. In the darkness and under light rain, the plane crashed into the Black Sea about 3 miles from the airport. All aboard, eight crew members and 105 passengers were killed.
10. August 23, 2000; Gulf Air A320; Near Manama, Bahrain: On its third attempt to land, the plane crashed into the sea about 3 miles from the airport. All eight crew members and 135 passengers were killed.
AeroInside, which gathers information on aviation technical incidents and accidents, has 820 incidents involving an A320 on file. Most are minor technical issues.
There are 6,200 Airbus 320s in use around the world, and according to the company, one lands or takes off every 2.5 seconds somewhere in the world.
Sources: Airsafe.com; Aviation Week; Plane Crash Info; AirBus
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