Vanished: missing aircraft

Aircraft reported missing. The NTSB's 1962-1981 records code them as missing and not recovered; its 1982-2007 records as missing aircraft, some of which were found later; Wikipedia's as disappearances. Many are light aircraft lost over water, mountains or forest, where a search can cover thousands of square miles.

Without wreckage an investigation has only what came before the flight - the weather, the route filed, the last radio call or radar return - so these reports are often short, and the probable cause is often undetermined.

More collections

• Midair collisions Two aircraft, one piece of sky: airliners, trainers, formations and tours.
• Wire strikes Power lines are close to invisible from a cockpit. The aircraft that fly lowest meet them most.
• Shot down Airliners and military aircraft brought down by missiles, fighters and anti-aircraft fire.
• Running on empty Fuel exhaustion and fuel starvation: engines that stopped with the tanks dry, or with fuel that couldn't reach them.