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October 13, 2009
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On This Day in Aviation History: October 13th

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By: Phil Derner Jr.
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This is the actual aircraft that crashed in Uruguayan Flight 571 in the Andes.

This is the actual aircraft that crashed in Uruguayan Flight 571 in the Andes.

1977 – Lufthansa Flight 181, a 737-200 (registered D-ABCE) is hijacked by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft makes five stops in various countries before finally ending in Mogadishu, Somalia, where German GSG-9 teams stormed the aircraft, killing three of the terrorists. All 86 passengers survived, and the only civilian death was the Captain, who was killed by the lead hijacker.

1976 - A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia killing 100 (mostly children, killed on the ground).

1972 - Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, a Fairchild FH-227D, crashes into the Andes mountains, inspiring the popular movie “Alive.” Sixteen people survived 72 days in the mountains before being rescued. The crash took place in low visibility after the pilots misjudged their navigation by not factoring in headwinds while “dead reckoning“. After finding no trace of the crash, search teams called off their attempts after 8 days and the survivors were left to fend for themselves with little food and resources. They resorted to cannibalism with the deceased passengers, had to survive the harsh winter and an avalanche before sending a two-man expedition to go find civilization…a ten day walk. In total, there were 29 deaths.

1972 – An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashes outside of Moscow killing 176.