Buzz
After recent claims from some investigators alleging that the pilot of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 deliberately crashed the aircraft into the Indian Ocean, the unsettling phenomenon of suicide-by-pilot has once again been brought into the spotlight. Though rare, incidents of pilots taking their own lives in such tragic circumstances have a history that is both chilling and thought-provoking.
10. Germanwings Flight 9525
On March 24, 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525 tragically crashed into the French Alps. Investigators quickly determined that the plane, which was traveling from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, was deliberately flown into the mountains by copilot Andreas Lubitz. The crash claimed the lives of all 150 people aboard.
Just after making its final communication with air traffic control at 9:30 AM, the pilot left the cockpit. At that point, the plane was flying at an altitude of 12,000 meters (38,000 ft). Lubitz then locked himself inside the cockpit and altered the flight controls to initiate a descent.
Before the crash, investigators discovered that Lubitz had searched for terms like “suicide” and “cockpit doors” online. Additionally, he had a history of treatment for 'suicidal tendencies' prior to receiving his pilot’s license.
9. Japan Airlines Flight 350
In 1982, Captain Seiji Katagiri, 35, narrowly avoided causing an even greater catastrophe. The pilot, who had a known history of mental illness including signs of potential psychosis or sociopathy, intentionally crashed his aircraft. Despite the desperate efforts of copilot Yoshifumi Ishikawa and flight engineer Yoshimi Ozaki to regain control of the plane and prevent its descent, they were unsuccessful. The plane ultimately crashed into Tokyo Bay, resulting in the deaths of 24 out of the 166 people on board.
Incredibly, although airline doctors had previously deemed Katagiri fit for duty, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity during his trial. After spending several years in a mental hospital, Katagiri now lives with his wife in a house with a view of Mount Fuji.
8. Connellan Air Disaster
Colin Richard Forman, by all accounts, was a man facing deep personal struggles. A British immigrant to Australia in the early 1970s, Forman somehow obtained a pilot's license despite clear signs of mental instability. Over time, his condition worsened, and what pushed him to the brink was his dismissal from Connair after they discovered his past conviction for attempting to forge a Qantas ticket to return to England.
Blaming Connair's owner, Roger Connellan, for his downfall, Forman destroyed his apartment in Mount Isa on Monday, January 3, 1977. When authorities entered the flat, they found that, along with destroying most of the furniture, Forman had scrawled the words 'Sentenced to death' in red ink in a logbook.
On January 5, Forman stole a Beechcraft 58 Baron from Wyndham and flew it to Alice Springs Airport. At 11:00 AM, he crashed the plane into the Connair hangar, killing four people.
7. The 2002 Tampa Airplane Crash
On January 5, 2002, 15-year-old Charles J. Bishop, though not a licensed pilot, was in the process of obtaining his credentials when he decided to carry out a shocking act. Around 5:00 PM, while performing a routine preflight inspection at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, Bishop’s private instructor left him alone inside the Cessna 172R. Left unattended, Bishop started the engine and took off without permission, sparking panic as multiple Florida air traffic control towers and MacDill Air Force Base were alerted.
After a brief pursuit, Bishop crashed the plane into Tampa’s Bank of America Plaza, tragically killing himself in the process. In the aftermath, a note was found in which Bishop praised Osama bin Laden for the September 11th terror attacks. In an unexpected turn, Bishop’s family filed a $70 million lawsuit against the manufacturers of Accutane, an acne medication, alleging it had negatively affected their son’s mental health.
6. LAM Mozambique Airlines Flight 470
On November 29, 2013, while flying from Maputo International Airport to Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola, Captain Herminio dos Santos Fernandes of TM470 made a deliberate change to the plane's autopilot, steering the aircraft directly into the swamps of Namibia's Bwabwata National Park. As is typical with many suicide-by-pilot cases, Fernandes locked himself in the cockpit to crash the plane without interference. The aircraft ultimately plummeted from 12,000 meters (38,000 feet) to 180 meters (592 feet), losing speed, and crashing, killing all 33 people on board.
LAM is not highly regarded and is banned from operating in Europe. The crash of Flight 470 marked the airline's first major incident since the 1970s. The motivations behind Fernandes’s actions remain unclear, with speculation pointing to personal struggles, including domestic issues and depression, as possible contributing factors.
5. Attempted Attack on the White House
At 2:00 AM on September 12, 1994, Frank Eugene Corder, a truck driver from Maryland and former Army soldier, crashed a Cessna 150 onto the South Lawn of the White House. Although the two-seat, propeller-driven aircraft came dangerously close to the building, it only managed to strike several magnolia trees.
In the aftermath of the crash, which claimed Corder's life, authorities discovered the plane had been stolen. Known to have struggled with alcoholism, prior drug convictions, and financial and marital problems, Corder’s actions appeared to have been intentional. Investigators also determined that his aim had likely been to crash directly into President Clinton’s bedroom.
Though Corder’s suicide caused minimal physical damage, his successful breach of restricted airspace, despite the presence of Secret Service personnel, led the US government to reassess security protocols at the White House.
4. 2002 Pirelli Tower Crash
Although it has never been officially classified as a suicide-by-pilot incident, the crash on April 18, 2002, at the Pirelli Tower in Milan, Italy, presents significant circumstantial evidence suggesting that suicide was the likely motive behind the crash.
At exactly 5:48 PM local time, a single-propeller Rockwell Commander 112 TC aircraft collided with Milan’s tallest building. The Pirelli Tower, which previously housed the headquarters of the Pirelli tire and cable company, was left with a large, smoking gash in its facade. The crash resulted in the deaths of three individuals, including the pilot, and left over 20 others injured.
The crash, occurring eight months after the September 11th attacks and closely resembling al-Qaeda's tactics, initially sparked fears of terrorism. However, further investigation shifted focus to pilot Luigi Gino Fasulo, a 65-year-old man who had recently experienced financial turmoil. Fasulo’s son, Marco, revealed to Italian media that he believed the incident was a suicide.
3. The Craig D. Button Incident
The mysterious Craig D. Button incident of April 2, 1997, stands out for its strange and unexplained circumstances. On this day, Captain Craig D. Button of the U.S. Air Force veered his A-10 Thunderbolt II miles off course and severed all communication. Shortly afterward, the aircraft crashed into Gold Dust Peak near Edwards, Colorado.
With few leads to pursue, investigators from both the Air Force and civilian authorities started examining the possibility that Captain Craig D. Button may have taken his own life. It was eventually revealed that Button's personal life was in deep distress, particularly due to fears that an affair with another pilot at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base would soon be exposed. This discovery contradicted earlier speculations that his fatal flight had been driven by other causes, such as his unrequited love for a former girlfriend or his mother’s pacifist beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness.
2. SilkAir Flight 185
The crash of SilkAir Flight 185 on December 19, 1997, continues to puzzle aviation experts. The Boeing 737 was cruising smoothly at 11,000 meters (35,000 feet) above Indonesia under clear skies, en route to Singapore Changi Airport. Without warning, the plane suddenly plummeted at supersonic speeds. Upon crashing into the Musi River near Palembang, Indonesia, all 104 passengers lost their lives immediately. The aircraft had been recently delivered, and SilkAir was known for its safety record, which only deepened the mystery surrounding the crash.
During the investigation, it was revealed that at 4:05 PM, Captain Tsu Way Ming left the cockpit to grab a drink of water, leaving the controls in the hands of co-pilot Duncan Ward. Moments later, the cockpit voice recorder ceased to function. By 4:11 PM, six minutes after the recorder stopped, the flight-data recorder also stopped transmitting data. Although the official Indonesian report described the crash as an accident, US investigators insisted that Ming intentionally disconnected the vital cockpit equipment and did nothing to prevent the plane from its rapid descent.
1. 1999 Air Botswana Crash
In a tragic turn of events, pilot Chris Phatswe deliberately destroyed all but one of Air Botswana's aircraft during a suicide mission.
On October 11, 1999, Phatswe piloted an Aerospatiale ATR 42-320 from Sir Seretse Khama Airport in Gabarone. He flew alone for nearly two hours before contacting air traffic control and declaring, “I intend to kill myself.” After a lengthy series of discussions, which included a conversation with Botswana’s vice president, Phatswe crashed the aircraft onto the tarmac, resulting in his death along with the destruction of two other ATR-42s.
Within hours of the crash, international media reported that Phatswe was ‘disgruntled’ and frustrated by Air Botswana's decision to suspend his flying privileges due to health issues. Some have pointed to depression and other mental health struggles as potential causes. However, Phatswe's true motives remain unclear to this day.
