Safest locations
Last updated: 2 March 2012

Which part of an aircraft is the safest location in case of a fatal accident? This list shows all fatal jetliner accidents operating on passenger flights, with at least one surivor.
The safest location - the part of the aircraft where most occupants survived - had been obtained from official aircraft accident investigation reports. For some accidents the official report could not be obtained, and in some cases the report did not give any information on the safest location (listed as "unknown").

  Date Type Occupants Survivors Phase 1 Safest location
1 27-AUG-1959 de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4 50 48 APR
2 20-OCT-1960 Tupolev 104A 68 65 APR
3 19-JAN-1961 Douglas DC-8-21 106 102 TOF
4 16-MAR-1961 Tupolev 104B 51 46 ENR
5 10-JUL-1961 Tupolev 104B 94 93 APR
6 11-JUL-1961 Douglas DC-8-12 122 105 LDG
7 21-DEC-1961 de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4B 34 7 ICL unknown
8 03-JUN-1962 Boeing 707-328 132 2 TOF unknown
9 20-AUG-1962 Douglas DC-8-33 105 90 TOF
10 13-JUL-1963 Tupolev 104B 35 2 APR
11 23-NOV-1964 Boeing 707-331 73 23 TOF unknown
12 08-MAR-1965 Tupolev 124V 39 9 ICL
13 20-MAY-1965 Boeing 720-040B 127 6 APR unknown
14 08-NOV-1965 Boeing 727-23 62 4 APR
15 11-NOV-1965 Boeing 727-22 91 48 APR rear
16 11-NOV-1965 Tupolev 124V 64 32 APR
17 15-FEB-1966 SE-210 Caravelle VIN 80 78 APR unknown
18 04-MAR-1966 Douglas DC-8-43 72 8 APR center
19 05-MAR-1967 Douglas DC-8-33 90 39 APR front
20 30-JUN-1967 SE-210 Caravelle III 80 56 APR front/rear
21 05-NOV-1967 Convair CV-880-22M-3 127 126 TOF unknown
22 06-NOV-1967 Boeing 707-131 36 35 TOF
23 20-NOV-1967 Convair CV-880-22-1 82 12 APR rear
24 07-FEB-1968 Boeing 707-138B 61 60 LDG
25 16-FEB-1968 Boeing 727-92C 63 42 APR unknown
26 07-MAR-1968 Tupolev 124 49 48 TOF
27 08-APR-1968 Boeing 707-465 127 122 ICL front/center
28 20-APR-1968 Boeing 707-344C 128 5 ICL
29 12-JUN-1968 Boeing 707-321C 63 57 APR
30 02-AUG-1968 Douglas DC-8-43 95 82 APR
31 05-JAN-1969 Boeing 727-113C 62 14 APR unknown
32 13-JAN-1969 DC-8-62 45 30 APR front
33 26-JUL-1969 SE-210 Caravelle VIN 37 4 APR
34 12-SEP-1969 BAC One-Eleven 402AP 47 2 APR
35 21-SEP-1969 Boeing 727-64 118 91 APR
36 29-JAN-1970 Tupolev 124V 38 27 APR
37 01-APR-1970 SE-210 Caravelle III 82 21 APR
38 02-MAY-1970 DC-9-33CF 63 40 ENR rear
39 27-NOV-1970 DC-8-63CF 229 182 TOF front
40 07-DEC-1970 BAC One-Eleven 424EU 27 8 APR
41 28-DEC-1970 Boeing 727-2A7 55 53 LDG front/center
42 23-MAY-1971 Tupolev 134A 83 5 LDG
43 25-JUL-1971 Tupolev 104B 126 29 APR
44 06-SEP-1971 BAC One-Eleven 515FB 121 99 ICL
45 21-JAN-1972 DC-9-32 5 4 APR
46 18-APR-1972 Vickers VC-10-1154 107 64 TOF unknown
47 14-JUN-1972 Douglas DC-8-53 87 5 APR
48 28-NOV-1972 DC-8-62 76 15 ICL unknown
49 08-DEC-1972 Boeing 737-222 61 18 APR rear
50 20-DEC-1972 DC-9-31 45 35 TOF
51 23-DEC-1972 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 45 5 APR
52 29-DEC-1972 Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 176 77 APR front/rear
53 22-JAN-1973 Boeing 707-3D3C 202 26 LDG
54 19-FEB-1973 Tupolev 154 100 34 APR
55 31-MAY-1973 Boeing 737-2A8 65 17 APR
56 30-JUN-1973 Tupolev 134A 85 83 TOF
57 11-JUL-1973 Boeing 707-345C 134 11 APR front/center
58 22-JUL-1973 Boeing 707-321B 79 1 ENR
59 31-JUL-1973 DC-9-31 89 1 APR
60 07-DEC-1973 Tupolev 104B 75 59 APR
61 01-JAN-1974 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 42 4 APR
62 26-JAN-1974 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 73 7 TOF unknown
63 30-JAN-1974 Boeing 707-321B 101 4 APR center
64 15-MAR-1974 SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 96 81 TXI
65 11-SEP-1974 DC-9-31 82 12 APR rear
66 20-NOV-1974 Boeing 747-130 157 98 TOF
67 24-JUN-1975 Boeing 727-225 124 11 APR rear
68 15-AUG-1975 Yakovlev 40 28 5 LDG
69 20-AUG-1975 Ilyushin 62 128 2 APR
70 01-SEP-1975 Tupolev 134 34 7 APR
71 24-SEP-1975 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 61 36 APR
72 30-OCT-1975 DC-9-32 120 45 APR
73 09-FEB-1976 Tupolev 104A 115 91 TOF
74 05-APR-1976 Boeing 727-81 57 56 LDG unknown
75 27-APR-1976 Boeing 727-95 88 51 LDG front
76 27-MAR-1977 Boeing 747-121 396 61 TXI unknown
77 30-MAR-1977 Yakovlev 40 27 19 APR
78 04-APR-1977 DC-9-31 85 22 ENR rear
79 27-MAY-1977 Ilyushin 62M 70 2 APR
80 21-SEP-1977 Tupolev 134 53 24 APR
81 27-SEP-1977 DC-8-62H 79 45 APR
82 19-NOV-1977 Boeing 727-282 164 33 LDG
83 21-NOV-1977 BAC One-Eleven 420EL 79 33 APR
84 02-DEC-1977 Tupolev 154A 165 106 ENR
85 18-DEC-1977 SE-210 Caravelle 10R 57 21 APR
86 11-FEB-1978 Boeing 737-275 49 7 LDG rear
87 01-MAR-1978 DC-10-10 200 198 TOF
88 08-MAY-1978 Boeing 727-235 58 55 APR unknown
89 19-MAY-1978 Tupolev 154B 134 130 ENR
90 26-JUN-1978 DC-9-32 107 105 TOF
91 15-NOV-1978 DC-8-63CF 262 79 APR
92 17-DEC-1978 Boeing 737-2A8 132 131 TOF
93 23-DEC-1978 DC-9-32 129 21 APR
94 28-DEC-1978 DC-8-61 189 179 APR rear
95 14-MAR-1979 Boeing 727-2D3 64 19 APR
96 17-MAR-1979 Tupolev 104B 119 61 ENR
97 07-OCT-1979 DC-8-62 154 140 LDG
98 31-OCT-1979 DC-10-10 88 16 LDG unknown
99 23-DEC-1979 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 45 4 APR
100 03-FEB-1980 Yakovlev 40 37 36 LDG
101 27-FEB-1980 Boeing 707-309C 135 133 APR
102 12-APR-1980 Boeing 727-27C 58 3 APR
103 07-AUG-1980 Tupolev 154B-1 168 167 APR
104 19-NOV-1980 Boeing 747-2B5B 212 198 LDG
105 27-JUL-1981 DC-9-32 66 36 LDG
106 29-AUG-1981 Yakovlev 40 34 31 APR
107 16-NOV-1981 Tupolev 154B-2 167 68 APR
108 13-JAN-1982 Boeing 737-222 79 5 ICL rear
109 23-JAN-1982 DC-10-30CF 212 210 LDG unknown
110 09-FEB-1982 DC-8-61 174 150 APR
111 25-MAY-1982 Boeing 737-2A1 118 116 LDG
112 22-JUN-1982 Boeing 707-437 111 94 LDG
113 13-SEP-1982 DC-10-30CF 394 344 TOF front/center
114 29-SEP-1982 Ilyushin 62M 77 70 LDG
115 16-JAN-1983 Boeing 727-2F2 67 20 APR
116 11-MAR-1983 DC-9-32 50 27 LDG
117 29-APR-1983 SE-210 Caravelle VIR 100 92 APR
118 02-JUN-1983 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 3000RC 61 58 TOF
119 02-JUN-1983 DC-9-32 46 23 ENR center
120 14-SEP-1983 Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 106 95 TXI
121 27-NOV-1983 Boeing 747-283B 192 11 APR unknown
122 28-NOV-1983 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 2000 72 19 APR
123 07-DEC-1983 Boeing 727-256 93 42 TOF unknown
124 30-AUG-1984 Boeing 737-2H7C 116 114 STD
125 11-OCT-1984 Tupolev 154B-1 179 5 LDG
126 23-DEC-1984 Tupolev 154B-2 111 1 ENR
127 01-FEB-1985 Tupolev 134AK 80 22 ICL
128 02-AUG-1985 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1 163 29 APR rear
129 12-AUG-1985 Boeing 747SR-46 524 4 ENR rear
130 22-AUG-1985 Boeing 737-236 137 82 TOF front
131 28-JAN-1986 Boeing 737-2A1 72 71 TOF
132 22-JUN-1986 Tupolev 134A 59 58 TOF
133 02-JUL-1986 Tupolev 134AK 94 40 ENR
134 19-OCT-1986 Tupolev 134A-3 44 10 APR rear
135 20-OCT-1986 Tupolev 134A 92 22 LDG
136 12-DEC-1986 Tupolev 134A 82 10 APR
137 03-JAN-1987 Boeing 707-379C 51 1 APR
138 04-APR-1987 DC-9-32 45 22 APR
139 19-JUN-1987 Yakovlev 40 29 21 LDG
140 04-AUG-1987 Boeing 737-2A1 33 32 LDG
141 16-AUG-1987 DC-9-82 155 1 TOF front
142 15-NOV-1987 Douglas DC-9-14 82 54 TOF rear
143 18-JAN-1988 Tupolev 154B-1 143 132 LDG
144 24-JAN-1988 Yakovlev 40 31 4 ICL
145 27-FEB-1988 Tupolev 134AK 51 31 APR
146 28-APR-1988 Boeing 737-297 95 94 ENR not relevant
147 02-AUG-1988 Yakovlev 40 37 8 TOF
148 31-AUG-1988 Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 89 82 LDG
149 31-AUG-1988 Boeing 727-232 108 94 TOF front/center
150 09-SEP-1988 Tupolev 134A 90 14 APR
151 15-SEP-1988 Boeing 737-260 104 69 APR rear
152 17-OCT-1988 Boeing 707-338C 52 19 APR unknown
153 19-OCT-1988 Boeing 737-2A8 135 4 APR
154 25-OCT-1988 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 69 57 ICL
155 11-DEC-1988 Ilyushin 76M 78 1 APR
156 08-JAN-1989 Boeing 737-4Y0 126 79 APR front
157 10-MAR-1989 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 1000 69 45 ICL
158 07-JUN-1989 DC-8-62 187 11 APR
159 17-JUN-1989 Ilyushin 62M 113 92 TOF
160 19-JUL-1989 DC-10-10 296 185 LDG center
161 27-JUL-1989 DC-10-30 199 124 APR
162 03-SEP-1989 Boeing 737-241 54 41 ENR
163 20-SEP-1989 Boeing 737-401 63 61 TOF front/center
164 21-OCT-1989 Boeing 727-224 146 15 APR
165 13-JAN-1990 Tupolev 134A 71 44 ENR
166 25-JAN-1990 Boeing 707-321B 158 85 APR rear
167 14-FEB-1990 Airbus A320-231 146 54 APR rear
168 11-MAY-1990 Boeing 737-3Y0 120 112 PBT
169 14-SEP-1990 Yakovlev 42 129 125 APR
170 02-OCT-1990 Boeing 757-21B 122 76 STD
171 24-OCT-1990 Yakovlev 40S2 31 20 APR
172 03-DEC-1990 Douglas DC-9-14 44 36 TXI front
173 01-FEB-1991 Boeing 737-3B7 89 67 LDG rear
174 20-FEB-1991 British Aerospace BAe-146-200A 73 53 LDG
175 23-MAY-1991 Tupolev 154B-1 178 165 LDG
176 26-JUN-1991 BAC One-Eleven 402AP 55 52 LDG
177 20-JAN-1992 Airbus A320-111 96 9 APR rear
178 22-MAR-1992 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 4000 51 24 TOF front/rear
179 31-JUL-1992 Yakovlev 42D 126 18 ICL
180 14-NOV-1992 Yakovlev 40 31 1 APR
181 21-DEC-1992 DC-10-30CF 340 284 LDG
182 05-MAR-1993 Fokker 100 97 14 ICL
183 26-APR-1993 Boeing 737-2A8 118 63 TOF
184 01-JUL-1993 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 3000 43 2 APR
185 23-JUL-1993 British Aerospace BAe-146-300 113 58 TOF
186 26-JUL-1993 Boeing 737-5L9 116 48 APR
187 28-AUG-1993 Yakovlev 40 86 4 TOF
188 14-SEP-1993 Airbus A320-211 70 68 LDG center/rear
189 26-OCT-1993 MD-82 80 78 LDG
190 13-NOV-1993 MD-82 102 90 APR
191 26-APR-1994 Airbus A300B4-622R 271 7 APR center
192 01-JUL-1994 Fokker F-28 Fellowship 4000 93 13 LDG
193 02-JUL-1994 DC-9-31 57 20 APR rear
194 18-SEP-1994 BAC One-Eleven 515FB 39 34 APR
195 05-NOV-1994 Yakovlev 40 31 25 LDG
196 29-DEC-1994 Boeing 737-4Y0 76 19 APR
197 10-JAN-1995 Douglas DC-9-14 52 1 APR
198 24-JUN-1995 Tupolev 134A 80 64 LDG
199 13-NOV-1995 Boeing 737-2F9 138 127 LDG
200 03-DEC-1995 Boeing 737-2K9 76 5 APR
201 05-DEC-1995 Tupolev 134B-3 82 30 ICL
202 20-DEC-1995 Boeing 757-223 163 4 APR unknown
203 13-JUN-1996 DC-10-30 275 272 TOF front/center
204 26-OCT-1996 Yakovlev 40K 37 32 LDG
205 14-FEB-1997 Boeing 737-2C3 52 51 LDG
206 08-MAY-1997 Boeing 737-31B 74 39 LDG
207 29-JUL-1997 BAC One-Eleven 203AE 55 54 LDG
208 06-AUG-1997 Boeing 747-3B5 254 26 APR front/center/rear
209 03-SEP-1997 Tupolev 134B-3 66 1 APR
210 15-DEC-1997 Tupolev 154B-1 86 1 APR
211 28-DEC-1997 Boeing 747-122 393 392 ENR not relevant
212 05-MAY-1998 Boeing 737-282 88 13 APR
213 29-AUG-1998 Tupolev 154M 91 21 TOF
214 11-DEC-1998 Airbus A310-204 146 45 APR
215 01-JUN-1999 MD-82 145 134 LDG front/rear
216 22-AUG-1999 MD-11 315 312 LDG
217 24-AUG-1999 MD-90-30 96 95 LDG
218 26-AUG-1999 Yakovlev 40 33 31 LDG
219 31-AUG-1999 Boeing 737-204C 103 40 TOF unknown
220 21-DEC-1999 DC-10-30 314 298 LDG unknown
221 30-JAN-2000 Airbus A310-304 179 10 ENR front/center/rear
222 17-JUL-2000 Boeing 737-2A8 58 3 APR unknown
223 31-OCT-2000 Boeing 747-412 179 96 TOF front/rear
224 03-MAR-2001 Boeing 737-4D7 8 7 STD not relevant
225 24-NOV-2001 Avro RJ.100 33 9 APR unknown
226 16-JAN-2002 Boeing 737-3Q8 60 59 APR
227 15-APR-2002 Boeing 767-2J6ER 166 37 APR front/rear
228 04-MAY-2002 BAC One-Eleven 525FT 77 6 ENR
229 07-MAY-2002 Boeing 737-566 62 48 APR
230 08-JAN-2003 Avro RJ.100 80 5 APR
231 06-MAR-2003 Boeing 737-2T4 103 1 ICL
232 08-MAY-2003 Ilyushin 76MD 115 108 ENR
233 22-JUN-2003 Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional 24 23 APR not relevant
234 08-JUL-2003 Boeing 737-2J8C 117 1 APR
235 25-DEC-2003 Boeing 727-223 163 22 TOF
236 30-NOV-2004 MD-82 163 138 LDG
237 20-APR-2005 Boeing 707-3J9C 169 166 LDG not relevant
238 23-AUG-2005 Boeing 737-244 98 58 APR front/rear
239 05-SEP-2005 Boeing 737-230 117 17 ICL
240 10-DEC-2005 DC-9-32 110 2 LDG
241 09-JUL-2006 Airbus A310-324 203 78 LDG
242 27-AUG-2006 Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional 50 1 TOF front
243 01-SEP-2006 Tupolev 154M 148 120 LDG
244 10-OCT-2006 British Aerospace BAe-146-200A 16 12 LDG
245 29-OCT-2006 Boeing 737-2B7 105 9 ICL
246 07-MAR-2007 Boeing 737-497 140 119 LDG center/rear
247 17-MAR-2007 Tupolev 134A-3 57 51 LDG
248 28-JUN-2007 Boeing 737-2M2 78 73 LDG
249 16-SEP-2007 MD-82 130 40 LDG
250 15-APR-2008 DC-9-51 94 91 TOF
251 30-MAY-2008 Airbus A320-233 124 121 LDG
252 10-JUN-2008 Airbus A310-324 214 184 LDG
253 20-AUG-2008 MD-82 172 18 TOF front
254 24-AUG-2008 Boeing 737-219 90 25 APR
255 25-FEB-2009 Boeing 737-8F2 135 126 APR center/rear
256 30-JUN-2009 Airbus A310-324 153 1 APR
257 24-JUL-2009 Ilyushin 62M 153 137 LDG
258 12-NOV-2009 Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional 15 14 TXI
259 12-MAY-2010 Airbus A330-202 104 1 APR
260 22-MAY-2010 Boeing 737-8HG (WL) 166 8 LDG front/center
261 16-AUG-2010 Boeing 737-73V (WL) 131 129 LDG
262 24-AUG-2010 Embraer ERJ 190-100 LR (ERJ-1 96 52 LDG
263 04-DEC-2010 Tupolev 154M 169 167 LDG
264 01-JAN-2011 Tupolev 154B-2 134 131 STD
265 09-JAN-2011 Boeing 727-286 105 28 APR
266 04-APR-2011 Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional 33 1 LDG
267 20-JUN-2011 Tupolev 134A-3 52 5 APR
268 08-JUL-2011 Boeing 727-022 (WL) 115 38 LDG
269 20-AUG-2011 Boeing 737-210C 15 3 APR
270 07-SEP-2011 Yakovlev 42D 45 1 ICL
271 25-DEC-2012 Fokker 100 71 70 LDG
1) Phase:
TOF = Takeoff
ICL = Initial climb
ENR = En route, descent
APR = Approach
LDG = Landing
TXI = Taxying

Phase Number of accidents
no info available171
not mentioned in investigation report24
rear20
front10
front/center8
front/rear7
not relevant5
center5
center/rear3
front/center/rear2