On 23 March 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 stalled and crashed killing 75 people. The pilot's 15 year old son accidentally disabled autopilot while in the captain's seat, causing the aircraft to bank heavy to the right creating the stall.
On 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 dove out of the sky and crashed into the sea killing 217 people. The cause of the dive is disputed, the Egyptian government claims mechanical failure associated with the elevator controls caused the crash, while the US government claims the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti in a suicide/homicide.
On 3 July 1988, during the Iran–Iraq War the USS Vincennes (CG-49) shot down Iran Air Flight 655 killing everyone on board. The crew of the Vincennes, despite its high-tech equipment, mistook the airliner for an F-14 Tomcat fighter.
On 12 August 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123's rear pressure bulkhead burst, destroying the vertical stabilizer and rupturing all four hydraulic systems. The crew managed to keep the aircraft flying for a bit until it clipped a mountain ridge and crashed, killing 520 people.
On 28 April 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was en route from Hilo to Honolulu in Hawaii when the roof of the front fuselage was torn off sucking out a flight attendant. The aircraft landed safely at Kahului, Maui. The fuselage was torn off because of corrosion damage and metal fatigue.
On 20 December 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 headed for Cali, Colombia. The crew was asked if they would like to do a straight-in approach to Cali. The pilots agreed and inadvertently removed the waypoints from the flight plan in their Flight management system (FMS), causing them to become unsure of their exact position. Their mistakes caused them to crash into a 9,000 foot mountain near Buga. Only four passengers survived.
On 1 July 2002, the Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 collided with the DHL Flight 611 in German airspace near Überlingen. Flight 2937 was destroyed instantly and Flight 611 crashed shortly afterwards, killing all 71 people in the two aircraft. The crew of Flight 611 followed the TCAS instructions to initiate a descent while the crew of Flight 2937 listened to the air traffic controller over their TCAS and initiated a descent as well. The air traffic controller was killed later by the father of one of the families onboard the passenger plane.
On 31 January 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261's trimmable horizontal stabilizer jammed and broke free from its control system and the aircraft dove inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all on board. The stabilizer failed due to an improperly maintained jackscrew assembly.
On 2 October 1996, shortly after take off the crew of Aeroperú Flight 603 were confused by false speed and altitude readings and contradictory warnings from the aircraft's air data system. In preparation for an emergency landing the crew descended the aircraft, but relying on false readings the crew went too far causing the aircraft to crash into the water, killing everyone on board. The false readings and contradictory warnings were caused by duct tape over the static ports, the duct tape was used to protect the ports during maintenance but was not removed afterwards.
On 2 September 1998, a fire broke out on Swissair Flight 111 while in-flight, the fire kills the aircraft's vital systems and the aircraft crashed into the sea off Peggy's Cove with no survivors. The fire was caused by faulty wiring.
