On this day in aviation — October 21
619 notable aviation events on October 21 across history, drawn from official investigation records.
Every year on October 21, aviation history records accidents and incidents worldwide. FlightFinder surfaces 619 deduplicated entries for this calendar date from NTSB, EASA, and 70+ other official sources.
Notable events
- October 21, 1989Hull loss
131 fatalities
Following an uneventful flight from Managua, the crew started a night descent to Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport. The standard approach to runway 01 consisted of a three-steps descent from the initial approach fix…
- October 21, 1972
37 fatalities
Following an uneventful flight from Kerkyra Airport, the crew started the descent in poor weather conditions and limited visibility due to the night. On final approach in stormy weather, the airplane struck the water…
- October 21, 2016Hull loss
19 fatalities
- October 21, 1945
19 fatalities
The airplane departed Adak on a flight to Elmendorf AFB with an intermediate stop in Cold Bay. In the late evening, while approaching Elmendorf AFB, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snow falls. A first…
- October 21, 1987
18 fatalities
The four engine aircraft was engaged in a military cargo flight from Kabul to Tashkent, carrying 13 passengers and a crew of six. The aircraft was ready for takeoff and its crew was awaiting the clearance. ATC cleared…
- October 21, 1948
17 fatalities
Crashed in unknown circumstances into the Mediterranean Sea off Gibraltar while performing a flight from Rabat to Istres.
- October 21, 1971Hull loss
16 fatalities
Improper Ifr Operation. Factors: Low Ceiling; Rain; Fog
- October 21, 1992
8 fatalities
While approaching Caballococha, the seaplane suffered an engine failure. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in Lake Caballococha. Three occupants were injured and eight others killed.…
See all 619 events for October 21:
https://himaxym.com/history/on-this-day
Contemporaneous coverage and timeline for October 21 — Recap.at:
Data is aggregated from public investigation records and may be revised as sources are reconciled.
Primary source: https://himaxym.com/history/on-this-day
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