As of January 2008 a total of 45 Boeing 747 aircraft have been involved in accidents and incidents resulting in the complete destruction of the aircraft or it being declared as damaged beyond economical repair.^[1] In many instances, these hull losses have been results of hostile actions, including terrorism, rather then any fault of the aircraft. Of the 45 aircraft losses, 19 resulted in no loss of life, one involved the murder of a hostage, while in another only a terrorist died.^[1] Some of the aircraft declared damaged beyond economical repair were older members of the 747 fleet that sustained relatively minor damage that had they been newer would have resulted in them being repaired.^[2][3]

The first hull loss of a Boeing 747 was as the result of terrorism. On 6 September 1970 an almost-new Pan American World Airways aircraft flying from Amsterdam to New York as Pan Am Flight 93 was hijacked and flown first to Beirut, then to Cairo. Shortly after the occupants were evacuated from the aircraft after arriving at Cairo, it was blown up.^[4]

The second loss was very similar to the first. A Japan Airlines 747 was hijacked on a flight between Amsterdam and Anchorage, Alaska on 23 July 1973 and flown to Dubai, then Damascus, before ending its journey at Benina International Airport in Libya. The occupants were released and the aircraft was blown up.^[5]

The first crash of a 747 took place on 20 November 1974, when Lufthansa Flight 540 crashed moments after taking off from Nairobi, killing 59 people.

On 9 May 1976 a 747 freighter of the Imperial Iranian Air Force crashed near Madrid due to the structural failure of its left wing in flight. The accident investigation determined that a lightning strike caused an explosion in a fuel tank in the wing, leading to flutter and the separation of the wing; the seventeen occupants died.^[6]

On 27 March 1977 the highest death toll in any aviation accident in history (as of February 2008) occurred when a KLM 747 collided with another 747 owned by Pan American World Airways in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities.^[7]

Air India Flight 855 crashed into the sea off the coast of Mumbai (Bombay) on New Year's Day, 1978. All passengers and crew were killed. Many residents of seafront houses in Mumbai witnessed the disaster.

Military actions have also caused 747 hull losses. Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was a 747-200B that was shot down by the Soviet Air Force on 1 September 1983. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed.

Avianca Flight 011, a 747-200 flying from Paris to Bogotá via Madrid, crashed into a mountainside on 27 November 1983 due to a navigational error, killing 181 people. It was manoeuvring to land at Madrid Barajas International Airport.

An inadequate repair resulted in the loss of a 747SR (SR meaning Short Range) flying as Japan Airlines Flight 123 on 12 August 1985. Most of the aircraft's vertical stabilizer was blown apart while the aircraft was at cruising altitude, after the rear pressure bulkhead failed. The pilots kept it in the air for 32 minutes but it eventually crashed, causing 520 fatalities. As of January 2008 it is the worst single-aircraft disaster in aviation history.^[8]

Air India Flight 182 was a 747-200B that exploded on 23 June 1985. All 329 on board were killed. Until the events of 11 September 2001, the Air India bombing was the single deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft.

South African Airways Flight 295, a 747-200BSCD "Combi" en route from Taipei to Johannesburg on 28 November 1987, crashed into the ocean off Mauritius after an in-flight fire in the rear cargo hold resulted in loss of control and destruction of the aircraft. All 159 people on board were killed.

Pan Am Flight 103, a 747-100, disintegrated in mid-air on 21 December 1988 due to a terrorist bomb in the luggage hold; the wings, with their tanks full of fuel, landed on Lockerbie, Scotland. The 259 people on board were killed as well as 11 people in Lockerbie. A Libyan national was eventually convicted of destroying the aircraft.

On 19 February 1989, Flying Tigers Flight 66 was flying an Non-directional beacon (NDB) approach to Runway 33 at Subang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur, after having flown half an hour from the departure runway at Changi International Airport, Singapore. During the approach, ATC radioed to the flight, "Tiger 66, descend two four zero zero [2,400 ft]. Cleared for NDB approach runway three three." The captain of Tiger 66 replied with, "Okay, four zero zero" (meaning 400 ft, which was 2,000 ft too low). Subsequent alarms triggered by the onboard Ground Proximity Warning System were ignored as false alarms, and the aircraft impacted a hillside at 600 ft above Sea level, killing all four people on board.^{[citation needed]}

British Airways Flight 149 was a 747-100 flying from London Heathrow Airport in London to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur with a stopover in Kuwait. The aircraft landed at Kuwait International Airport on 1 August 1990, four hours after the Gulf War broke out. All 385 passengers and crew were taken hostage by Iraqi forces; one was murdered but the others were released. The aircraft was subsequently blown up.

El Al Flight 1862 was a 747-200F that crashed shortly after departure from Amsterdam Schiphol on 4 October 1992. Engines 3 and 4 detached after takeoff; as a result the flight crew lost control and the crippled 747 crashed into the Klein-Kluitberg apartments in Bijlmermeer at high speed. The sole passenger and all three crew were killed as well as 39 on the ground.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763, a 747-100B, collided in midair over India with Air Kazakhstan Flight 1907, an Ilyushin Il-76 on 12 November 1996, killing all occupants of both aircraft.

TWA Flight 800, a 747-100 bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, exploded during its climb from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on 17 July 1996, killing all 230 people. Changes in fuel tank management were adopted after the crash.

Korean Air Flight 801, a 747-300, crashed into a hillside on 6 August 1997 while on approach to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on the island of Guam, killing all but 26 of its passengers.

Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a 747-400 flying from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, crashed into construction equipment on 31 October 2000 while attempting to take off from a closed runway at Taipei's Chiang Kai Shek International Airport. It caught fire and was destroyed, killing 79 passengers and three crew members.^[9]

China Airlines Flight 611, a 747-200B, broke apart mid-flight on 25 May 2002, en route to Hong Kong International Airport from Chiang Kai Shek International Airport in Taipei. All on board lost their lives. Metal fatigue at the site of a previous repair was cited as a cause.

The danger of volcanic ash to aircraft was demonstrated on 24 June 1982, when British Airways Flight 009 flew into a cloud of ash from a volcanic eruption, causing all four engines to fail. After the aircraft exited the ash cloud, the crew were able to restart three engines, allowing the aircraft to land safely in Jakarta.

China Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747SP-09, enroute from Taipei Taiwan to Los Angles suffered a loss of power from it's number four engine and dropped six miles from and altitude of 41,000 feet. The plane recovered at an altitude of 9500 feet and diverted to San fransisco. There were only two injuries and the aircraft sustained serious damage. The probable cause of the tragedy was fatigue, Spatial Disorientation, Jet Lag and neglect from the crew members. The flight engineer accidentally left the Bleed Air valve for engine four on for the majority of the flight which would have been the cause of the flameout of engine four.

United Airlines Flight 811, a Boeing 747-100, suffered an explosive decompression on 24 February 1989, shortly after takeoff from Honolulu. The decompression was caused by a cargo door that burst open during flight. Nine passengers were blown out of the aircraft; despite the large hole in the side of the fuselage the pilots managed to land it safely at Honolulu.

On 23 September 1999 Qantas Flight 1, a Boeing 747-400, overran the runway while landing in heavy rain at Bangkok. The aircraft was severely damaged in this incident, the most serious since the airline commenced jet operations.