Boeing · Single-aisle jet
Boeing 737 Classic
Is the Boeing 737 Classic safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 53 airliner families we rate, with 20 fatal accidents counted in about 33 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 20 in 32.9 million flights
0.61 fatal passenger accidents per million flights. Counted: passenger flights, accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 12
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 32.9 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1984 to 7 October 2026. 2019-2022: OpenSky flights by passenger airlines, re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country. Other years: fleet model (deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 19 years, about 847 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Gen 3 jet (glass cockpit and flight management system)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of their generation: 0.17 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 419 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 92%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 9 January 2021
Sriwijaya Air, 19 km NE of Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), Indonesia: 62 of 62 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 88
Civil aircraft destroyed or written off from all causes, including non-fatal accidents, cargo flights and attacks; airframes flown by air forces on military operations are left out (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the Boeing 737 Classic carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- One flight on the Boeing 737 ClassicThis aircraft1 in 2.9 million
- A day of skiing1 in 1.3 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
20 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 1,224 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sriwijaya Air737-524 (WL) · 19 km NE of Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), Indonesia | 62 / 62 on board | Climbing out of Jakarta, a binding right thrust lever caused the autothrottle to pull back only the left engine. The resulting asymmetry rolled the jet left; the crew did not catch it and it dived into the sea. Recurring autothrottle faults had not been fixed.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Tatarstan Airlines737-53A · Kazan International Airport (KZN), Russia | 50 / 50 on board | After a navigation map shift left the jet off the approach to Kazan, the crew went around but did not notice the autopilot had dropped out. It pitched up steeply, then the captain pushed into a near-vertical dive into the airport. Poor crew training was the root cause.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Aeroflot-Nord SU821737-505 · 11,5 km NE of Perm Airport (PEE), Russia | 88 / 88 on board | Hand-flying a night approach to Perm in cloud, the captain became spatially disoriented, unused to Western-style attitude indicators, and the jet rolled over into a steep dive. Alcohol was found in his body; fatigue and poor maintenance were also cited.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Garuda Indonesia Airways GA200737-497 · Yogyakarta-Adisutjipto Airport (JOG), Indonesia | 21 / 140 on board | Far too high and fast on approach to Yogyakarta, the captain dived steeply, ignored 15 terrain warnings and the copilot's go-around calls, and landed at over 220 knots with minimal flap. The jet overran into a rice field and burned.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| AdamAir737-4Q8 · 85 km W off Pambauang, Indonesia | 102 / 102 on board | At cruise both pilots became absorbed in fixing a recurring inertial reference fault. A switch selection dropped the autopilot, the jet rolled right unnoticed, and the disoriented crew lost control; it broke up and fell into the sea. The fault had gone unfixed for months.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Helios Airways737-31S · 2 km from Grammatikos, Greece | 121 / 121 on board | After maintenance the pressurisation selector was left on manual, and the crew missed it. The cabin did not pressurise, the pilots were overcome by lack of oxygen and the jet flew on autopilot for hours until fuel ran out and it crashed in hills near Grammatikos.Type: OtherASN record | |
| Flash Airlines737-3Q8 · 15 km S off Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt | 148 / 148 on board | The Boeing 737-300 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after a night takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh; the official report did not determine a cause. All 148 on board died.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| EgyptAir737-566 · 6,6 km NW of Tunis-Carthage Airport (TUN), Tunisia | 14 / 62 on board | Without an approach briefing, the crew started down early on a VOR/DME approach to Tunis and kept descending through cloud until the jet struck a hill about 6.6 km short. It had no enhanced terrain warning system.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Garuda Indonesia Airways737-3Q8 · 22,5 km NE of Yokyakarta, Indonesia | 1 / 60 on board | Detouring around storms during descent, the jet flew into heavy hail and rain and both engines flamed out. Restarts failed and electrical power ran out, so the crew ditched in the shallow Bengawan Solo River. One flight attendant died.Type: Windshear or stormASN record | |
| Thai Airways International737-4D7 · Bangkok International Airport (BKK), Thailand | 1 / 8 on board | While the jet was being readied at the gate in Bangkok heat, with air conditioning packs running beneath the centre tank, fuel vapour in that tank exploded, probably ignited by a pump running with metal debris. A flight attendant died and fire gutted the aircraft.Type: FireASN record | |
| Silkair MI185737-36N · 56 km N of Palembang, Indonesia | 104 / 104 on board | The Boeing 737-300 dived from cruise into a river near Palembang, Indonesia; the official investigation did not determine a cause. All 104 on board died.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| China Southern Airlines737-31B · Shenzhen Airport (SZX), China | 35 / 74 on board | Entering cloud on final, the pilot could not judge height and the jet hit hard nose-first and bounced. After a go-around, the damaged aircraft could not be controlled on the second landing, overran, broke in three and caught fire.Type: Hard landing or abnormal runway contactASN record | |
| THY Turkish Airlines737-4Y0 · 4 km from Van Airport (VAN), Türkiye | 57 / 76 on board | On a second VOR/DME approach in driving snow, with visibility down to 300 m, the aircraft struck a hill at 5,700 ft.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| USAir737-3B7 · near Aliquippa, PA, United States of America | 132 / 132 on board | Turning onto the approach, the jet passed through the wake of a preceding 727, then yawed and rolled left, stalled and dived into the ground. The NTSB found the rudder had most likely jammed and moved opposite to the pilots' input.Type: System failureASN record | |
| Asiana Airlines737-5L9 · 7,5 km SW of Mokpo Airport (MPK), South Korea | 68 / 116 on board | After two missed approaches in heavy rain and strong winds below minimums, the captain tried a third and descended well below the procedure altitude into a ridge of Mount Ungeo. Investigators cited the decision to continue and weak crew coordination.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| China Southern Airlines CZ3943737-3Y0 · 20 km S of Guilin Airport (KWL), China | 141 / 141 on board | During a visual approach the autothrottle advanced only the left throttle because the right lever stayed at idle. The crew did not notice the growing thrust imbalance, the jet rolled right and control was lost.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| USAir737-3B7 · Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX), United States of America | 22 / 89 on board | Landing at night, the jet ran into a SkyWest Metro the controller had cleared onto the same runway and forgotten; both slid in flames into an unused fire station, killing 34 in total. The NTSB blamed tower procedures and FAA oversight.Type: Runway collisionASN record | |
| Philippine Air Lines737-3Y0 · Manila-Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), Philippines | 8 / 120 on board | Shortly after pushback on a hot day, fuel vapour in the nearly empty centre tank exploded, heaving the cabin floor upward, and the jet caught fire. Damaged wiring was the probable ignition source; no bomb was found.Type: FireASN record | |
| USAir737-401 · New York-La Guardia Airport, NY (LGA), United States of America | 2 / 63 on board | The takeoff began with the rudder mistrimmed and the jet drifted left. After confusion over who was steering, the captain aborted near V1 and it ran off the end onto an approach-light pier and into the East River.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| British Midland Airways - BMA737-4Y0 · near Kegworth, United Kingdom | 47 / 126 on board | A fan blade broke in the left engine during the climb, but the crew shut down the healthy right engine. On approach to East Midlands the damaged engine lost power and the jet came down on the M1 motorway embankment short of the runway.Type: Engine failureASN record |
Listed but not counted
These events did not happen on regular passenger flights or were caused by a crime or a deliberate act, which says little about the aircraft design.
| Date | Flight | Killed | Why not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| K2 Airways KTA1732737-4M0 (BDSF) · 155 nm WSW off Karachi Airport, Indian Ocean | 5 / 5 on board | Cargo flight. The 737 freighter reported a navigation problem at cruise height over the Arabian Sea, then went through large climbs and descents before diving steeply into the sea. The cause had not been established.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| Swiftair, opf DHL Aviation QY5960737-476 (SF) · c. 1,3 km N of Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI), Lithuania | 1 / 4 on board | Cargo flight. On a night DHL cargo flight, a hydraulic problem dropped the autopilot and the crew, juggling radio frequencies, came in fast with the flaps still up. The stick shaker and terrain alerts sounded, go-around power came too late and the 737 hit a house short of the runway.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| China Xinhua Airlines737-39A · Jinan Airport (TNA), China | 1 / 143 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Hijacking. A passenger with a knife and a fake gun demanded to be flown south; as fuel ran low near Jinan he stabbed both pilots and was shot dead by an air marshal. The wounded copilot landed the jet.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| THY Turkish Airlines737-4Q8 · near Ceyhan, Türkiye | 6 / 6 on board | Ferry flight without passengers. Empty flight to Jeddah to collect Turkish pilgrims that crashed nine minutes after leaving Adana in bad weather. Investigators found the pitot heat was probably left off, and the crew did not work out why the airspeed readings went erratic.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| THY Turkish Airlines737-4Y0 · Diyarbakir Airport (DIY), Türkiye | 1 / 40 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Hijacking. A man with a pistol and a grenade demanded to go to Lausanne; the pilot landed at Ankara while letting him believe it was Sofia. Police special forces stormed the jet about seven hours later and killed him.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Royal Thai Air Force - RTAF737-3Z6 · Muang Khon Kaen, Thailand | 6 / 6 on board | Military operation. Royal Thai Air Force post-maintenance ferry flight after a pitch trim fault was checked. The crew reported engine trouble, and the jet apparently rolled and dived into the ground near Khon Kaen. No cause is given.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| VASP - Viação Aérea São Paulo737-317 · Goiânia-Santa Genoveva Airport, GO (GYN), Brazil | 1 / 98 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Soon after leaving Belo Horizonte a passenger hijacked the domestic flight, broke into the cockpit and shot the co-pilot dead as he resisted. The jet diverted to Goiânia, where the hijacker was overpowered hours later.Type: SecurityASN record |
The Boeing 737 Classic is a sound design with a weaker record than the 737 NG that replaced it, though a better one than the original 737 before it. Up to 7 October 2026 it has had 27 fatal events, 20 of which count, in about 33 million passenger flights. A few crashes exposed real design flaws, which were fixed. More came down to crews, maintenance and airlines with weak oversight. Few Classics still carry passengers.
What the Classic is
The Classic replaced the original 737-100 and -200 from 1984. Boeing fitted bigger CFM56 engines under the wing, which is why the engine intakes are flattened at the bottom. The 737-300 seats about 140, the -400 is a stretch and the -500 the short version. Boeing built 1,988 before the 737 NG replaced it in the late 1990s. The controls are cables and hydraulics, not Fly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary.
Where it still flies passengers
About 250 are still in service, many of them converted to carry cargo. USAir, Southwest, Lufthansa and British Airways, once big operators, retired theirs long ago. A Classic passenger flight today is most likely with a small or charter airline in Africa, Iran, Russia or Central Asia.
Design problems, and what was fixed
- Rudder. USAir 427 rolled and dived near Pittsburgh on 8 September 1994, and all 132 died. The NTSB found the rudder had most likely moved against the pilots' input after a valve in its power unit jammed. Boeing redesigned the rudder system, and the fix was fitted across the 737 fleet.
- Centre fuel tank. Fuel vapour in the centre wing tank, heated by the air-conditioning packs beneath it, exploded on a Philippine Airlines 737-300 during pushback at Manila on 11 May 1990 (8 of 120 died) and on a Thai Airways 737-400 at the gate in Bangkok on 3 March 2001 (one flight attendant died).
- Uneven thrust. On China Southern 3943 near Guilin on 24 November 1992, one thrust lever stayed at idle while the autothrottle pushed the other forward; all 141 died. Sriwijaya Air 182 off Jakarta on 9 January 2021 repeated the pattern with a binding lever, and all 62 died. Both times the crew did not catch the roll.
Crews, maintenance and airlines
- 8 January 1989, British Midland, Kegworth: a fan blade broke in the left engine and the crew shut down the right one. 47 of 126 died.
- 14 August 2005, Helios 522: the pressurisation was left in manual after maintenance, the crew lost consciousness from lack of oxygen, and all 121 died.
- 1 January 2007, AdamAir 574: both pilots were troubleshooting a navigation fault the airline had left unfixed for months, and nobody flew the aircraft. All 102 died.
- 7 March 2007, Garuda Indonesia 200, Yogyakarta: far too fast on approach, the captain ignored 15 ground proximity warnings. 21 of 140 died.
- 14 September 2008, Aeroflot-Nord 821, Perm: the captain became disoriented at night in cloud. All 88 died.
Two crashes have no official cause: Flash Airlines into the Red Sea on 3 January 2004 (148 dead) and Silkair 185 in Indonesia on 19 December 1997 (104 dead), which the US NTSB found consistent with deliberate pilot action. Both count as undetermined.
Seven events do not count: two cargo crashes, a 2024 Swiftair flight for DHL at Vilnius and a 2026 K2 Airways flight off Karachi; a 1999 Turkish Airlines ferry flight; a Royal Thai Air Force 737 in 1993; and three hijackings or attacks. Our methodology explains why.
How it compares
Per flight, the Classic's record falls short of the 737 NG, the A320 family and the MD-80 it competed with. Most of the deadliest crashes happened at airlines that have since closed or tightened up.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show B733 for the 737-300, B734 for the -400 and B735 for the -500. The remaining fleet is old and spread across small operators, so the airline's record tells you more than the type.
Questions people ask
Is the Boeing 737-300 still flying?
A few are. Of 1,988 Classics built, about 250 remain in service, and many of those are freighters. The large airlines that flew them in the 1990s retired them long ago, so a passenger flight on one today is most likely with a small or charter airline.
What caused the USAir 427 crash?
On 8 September 1994 a 737-300 rolled and dived on approach to Pittsburgh, and all 132 people died. US investigators found that the rudder had most likely moved the opposite way to the pilots' command, because a valve in its main power control unit jammed. Boeing redesigned the rudder control system after this and earlier upsets.
What happened to Sriwijaya Air flight 182?
On 9 January 2021 the 737-500 crashed into the sea four minutes after take-off from Jakarta, and all 62 people died. One thrust lever was binding, so the autothrottle pulled the other one back and the thrust became uneven. The aircraft rolled, the autopilot disengaged and the crew did not recover. The autothrottle had been written up several times in the days before.
Does the 737 Classic have MCAS like the 737 MAX?
No. MCAS was added only on the 737 MAX. The Classic is two generations older and has none of the MAX's flight control software.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: USAir flight 427, near Pittsburgh, 8 September 1994 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: China Southern flight 3943, Guilin, 24 November 1992 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Sriwijaya Air flight 182, off Jakarta, 9 January 2021 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Thai Airways 737-400 centre tank explosion, Bangkok, 3 March 2001 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.ASN record: Helios Airways flight 522, Grammatikos, 14 August 2005 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 6.ASN record: British Midland flight 92, Kegworth, 8 January 1989 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 7.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2019-2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 1984 to 7 October 2026. 2019-2022: OpenSky flights by passenger airlines, re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country. Other years: fleet model (deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 19 years, about 847 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.