Boeing · Single-aisle jet
Boeing 737 Next Generation
Is the Boeing 737 Next Generation safe? It ranks #10 of 53 airliner families we rate, with 13 fatal accidents counted in about 170 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 13 in 165 million flights
0.079 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
- 7.2
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
- 165 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1998 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 almost no retirements yet, about 1,631 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: 98%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 29 December 2024
Jeju Air flight 7C2216, Muan International Airport (MWX/RKJB), South Korea: 179 of 181 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 30
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 Next Generation carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- One flight on the Boeing 737 Next GenerationThis aircraft1 in 22 million
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 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
13 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 926 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeju Air 7C2216737-8AS (WL) · Muan International Airport (MWX/RKJB), South Korea | 179 / 181 on board | Going around after flying into a flock of ducks, with bird remains later found in both engines, the crew turned back and landed the other way with the gear up, far down the runway. The 737 slid off the end into a concrete-based localizer mound and burned.Type: Bird strikeASN record | |
| China Eastern Airlines MU5735737-89P (WL) · Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China | 132 / 132 on board | The Boeing 737-800 dived from cruise altitude and crashed in Guangxi, China; no cause has been published. All 132 on board died.Cause not yet established; counted.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| Air India Express IX1344737-8HG (WL) · Kozhikode-Calicut Airport (CCJ), India | 21 / 190 on board | Returning in rain after a missed approach, the jet touched down about halfway along Kozhikode's tabletop runway with a tailwind, overran, fell down a 34 m slope and broke in two. The probable cause was pressing on with an unstable approach despite a go-around call.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Pegasus Airlines737-86J (WL) · Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), Türkiye | 3 / 183 on board | Landing at Sabiha Gökçen as a storm passed, with a strong tailwind, the jet failed to stop, overran, struck ILS antennas and dropped about 30 m down an embankment, breaking into three pieces. A warning of tailwind gusts had been passed only in Turkish.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Air Niugini737-8BK (WL) · 0,5 km from Chuuk/Weno International Airport (TKK), Micronesia | 1 / 47 on board | On an RNAV approach to Chuuk the crew flew into a storm cell below the missed approach point, ignored repeated sink rate and glideslope alerts and hit the lagoon short of the runway. One passenger died; boaters and navy divers rescued the rest.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Southwest Airlines737-7H4 (WL) · 105 km NW of Philadelphia, PA, United States of America | 1 / 149 on board | A fatigued fan blade broke off in the left engine during the climb, and cowling debris smashed a cabin window, causing a rapid decompression. The crew diverted to Philadelphia and landed; the passenger seated at the window died.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| flydubai FZ981737-8KN (WL) · Rostov Airport (ROV), Russia | 62 / 62 on board | After a long hold and a second go-around in windshear at night at Rostov, the captain trimmed the nose down for 12 seconds and the jet dived into the runway. Investigators classed it as loss of control and cited his disorientation and stress.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| AIRES Colombia737-73V (WL) · San Andres Island-Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Airport (ADZ), Colombia | 2 / 131 on board | On a night approach to San Andrés in heavy rain, the crew believed they were higher than they were and flew below the correct path, a typical 'black hole' illusion. The jet hit the ground 49 m before the threshold and broke into three.Type: Landed short or longASN record | |
| Air India Express737-8HG (WL) · Mangalore-Bajpe Airport (IXE), India | 158 / 166 on board | After sleeping through much of the flight, the captain flew a high, unstable approach to Mangalore's tabletop runway, touched down far along it and then tried to go around. The jet ran off the end, hit the localizer antenna and fell into a gorge.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Ethiopian Airlines ET409737-8AS (WL) · 11 km SW off Beirut International Airport (BEY), Lebanon | 90 / 90 on board | Departing Beirut at night near storms, the crew did not hold assigned headings, the aircraft was out of trim and the stick shaker sounded twice. It rolled past vertical into a spiral dive into the sea. Investigators blamed inconsistent control inputs and poor crew teamwork.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| THY Turkish Airlines TK1951737-8F2 · 1,5 km N of Amsterdam-Schiphol International Airport (AMS), Netherlands | 9 / 135 on board | On approach to Schiphol a faulty left radio altimeter read -8 ft, so the autothrottle cut to idle while the autopilot held the glideslope. The crew missed the speed loss until the stick shaker, recovered too late, and the jet stalled into a field.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Kenya Airways KQ507737-8AL · 5,5 km SE of Douala Airport (DLA), Cameroon | 114 / 114 on board | Climbing out of Douala at night after storms, the captain let go of the controls for nearly a minute without the autopilot engaged. The jet slowly rolled right; his confused corrections steepened the bank into a spiral dive into a swamp. Spatial disorientation was the cause.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Gol Linhas Aéreas737-8EH · 30 km from Peixoto Azevedo, MT, Brazil | 154 / 154 on board | Over the Amazon at FL370, the 737 met a Legacy business jet flying the opposite way at the same level; the Legacy crew had unknowingly turned off its transponder, so collision avoidance systems could not warn either crew. The 737 lost its left wing.Type: Mid-air collisionASN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine International Airlines PS752737-8KV (WL) · near Sabashahr, Iran | 176 / 176 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Minutes after leaving Tehran, the 737 was hit by missiles from an Iranian air defence unit whose system had a 107-degree alignment error; the operator fired without approval from his coordination centre. Fire broke out and the jet crashed.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines737-8E9 (WL) · Chittagong-Shah Amanat International Airport (CGP), Bangladesh | 1 / 148 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Some 15 minutes after leaving Dhaka, a passenger brandishing a toy gun tried to reach the cockpit; the 737 landed at Chittagong and was evacuated, and security forces stormed it and killed the hijacker.Type: SecurityASN record |
The 737 NG is a safe aircraft with a long, well-measured record. It has flown about 165 million passenger flights since 1998, second only to the A320 family, and 13 fatal accidents count against it up to 7 October 2026. Per flight, that is close to the A320. Most of the crashes came down to crew handling, weather, runway design or air traffic control, not a defect in the aircraft.
What the NG is and where you fly on it
The Next Generation 737 is the third version of Boeing's best-selling jet, between the 737 Classic and the 737 MAX. It first flew in 1997 and entered service in 1998. Versions are the 737-600, -700, -800 and -900 (plus the longer-range -900ER), and the BBJ business jet. About 7,000 were built and about 6,500 are still flying. The 737-800, with about 160 to 189 seats, is the one you will meet most.
Ryanair, Southwest, United, American, Delta, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian and hundreds of smaller airlines fly it. Boeing has replaced it on the production line with the MAX.
Design features that matter for safety
The NG has a modern glass cockpit and CFM56-7B engines, but conventional flight controls without the envelope protection of Airbus 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. Pilots can stall or overbank it, as happened on Turkish Airlines 1951 at Amsterdam in 2009: a faulty radio altimeter made the autothrottle cut power, the crew did not notice the speed falling, and the aircraft stalled short of the runway. 9 of 135 died.
Known structural and engine issues were caught before they caused crashes. In 2019 inspections found cracks in the "pickle fork" that attaches the wings to the fuselage on some high-cycle NGs, and affected aircraft were repaired. After a fan blade broke on Southwest 1380 in April 2018, killing a passenger who was partly pulled through a broken window, regulators ordered inspections of CFM56-7B fan blades.
The fatal record
The deadliest counted NG accidents are Jeju Air 2216 at Muan in 2024 (179 of 181), Air India Express 812 at Mangalore in 2010 (158 of 166), Gol 1907 over the Amazon in 2006 (154, after a business jet hit it in mid-air), China Eastern 5735 in 2022 (132), Kenya Airways 507 at Douala in 2007 (114) and Ethiopian 409 off Beirut in 2010 (90). Air India Express 1344 Runway excursionWhen an aircraft leaves the runway surface during take-off or landing, either off the end (an overrun) or off the side (a veer-off).More in the glossary at Kozhikode in 2020 (21 of 190), and flydubai 981 crashed at Rostov in 2016 (62). Smaller ones include AIRES at San Andrés in 2010, Air Niugini at Chuuk in 2018 and Pegasus at Istanbul in 2020.
MU5735 dived from cruise into a hillside in Guangxi and no final report with a cause was out by our data cut-off. It counts, as our methodology does for every crash with no established cause.
Two events are excluded. Ukraine International 752 was shot down by Iranian air defences after leaving Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176. A 2019 hijacking of a Biman Bangladesh flight ended with only the hijacker dead.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight apps and booking sites show the ICAO code: B736 (737-600), B737 (737-700), B738 (737-800) and B739 (737-900 and -900ER). Do not confuse B738 with B38M, which is the 737 MAX 8. From outside, the surest sign is the engine covers: smooth at the rear on the NG, saw-toothed on the MAX. Winglets are less reliable, because some NGs have been fitted with split winglets that look like the MAX's.
A 737-800 at a well-run airline is a very low-risk flight. Many of the counted crashes happened on approach or landing in bad weather or at hard airports (Mangalore and Kozhikode both have tabletop runways with drops at the end), so the airline and the airport tell you more than the type.
Questions people ask
Is the 737-800 a safe plane?
Yes. The 737-800 is the most common version of the 737 NG, a family with about 165 million passenger flights and 13 counted fatal accidents up to 7 October 2026. Per flight that is close to the A320 family. Most of those crashes involved crew decisions, weather, runways or air traffic control rather than a fault in the aircraft.
What caused the Jeju Air crash?
On 29 December 2024 Jeju Air 2216 hit a flock of ducks during a go-around at Muan, South Korea, and feathers were found in both engines. The aircraft then landed with its gear up, slid past the end of the runway and struck a concrete platform that held the landing-system antennas. 179 of the 181 people on board died. The final report had not been published by our data cut-off.
What is the difference between the 737 NG and the 737 MAX?
The MAX replaced the NG's CFM56 engines with larger LEAP-1B engines and added the MCAS software involved in its two crashes in 2018 and 2019. The NG has no MCAS. Both use the same conventional flight controls without envelope protection.
Why does China Eastern 5735 count if the cause is unknown?
Our method counts every passenger crash unless an investigation finds it was a deliberate act or unlawful interference. China's investigators had not published a final report with a cause by our data cut-off of 7 October 2026, so the crash, in which all 132 people died, stays in the score.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Jeju Air flight 7C2216, Muan, 29 December 2024 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, Wuzhou, 21 March 2022 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Turkish Airlines flight TK1951, Amsterdam, 25 February 2009 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Southwest Airlines 737-700 engine failure near Philadelphia, 17 April 2018 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.ASN record: Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, near Tehran, 8 January 2020 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 6.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2019-2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 1998 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 almost no retirements yet, about 1,631 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.