In 1973, a Boeing 707 landed in Paris, France, eight minutes after a fire broke out in a lavatory. 124 passengers and crew died from breathing toxic smoke and fumes. Only two people survived.
On August 19, 1980, a Saudia L-1011 was climbing out of Riyadh en route to Jiddah when the crew reported smoke in the aft cargo compartment. The aircraft returned to Riyadh, but by the time rescuers got the doors open, no one was moving. All 301 on board were dead, most from smoke inhalation.
On June 2, 1983, an Air Canada DC-9 en route from Dallas/Fort Worth to Toronto declared an emergency after fire broke out in a lavatory. The captain made an emergency landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the cabin crew commenced evacuation, but a minute after the exits were opened, a flash fire enveloped the interior of the aircraft. Of the 46 aboard, 23 were overcome by smoke and fumes and died before they could get out.
On August 22, 1985, the captain of a British Airtours Boeing 737 rejected a takeoff from Manchester, England. The left engine caught fire and the cabin filled with thick black smoke. The cabin crew attempted to evacuate the aircraft, but were hampered by utter panic among the choking passengers who could not see or breathe. 82 survived, but 55 died -- 48 of them from smoke inhalation, according to a House of Commons report.
On July 19, 1989, a United Airlines DC-10 crash-landed at Sioux City, Iowa, after a catastrophic failure of the tail-mounted #2 engine caused a complete loss of all three hydraulic systems that powered the flight controls, and rendered the aircraft nearly uncontrollable. Of the 296 aboard, 111 people died, 37 of them from smoke inhalation.
On December 3, 1990, a Northwest Airlines DC-9 collided with a Northwest Airlines 727 during a runway-incursion accident in heavy fog at Detroit Metro. The DC-9 caught fire and eight passengers died, seven of them from smoke inhalation.
On February 1, 1991, a landing USAir Boeing 737 collided with a position-and-hold Skywest Metroliner at Los Angeles International Airport as the result of an ATC operational error. Of the 34 fatalities aboard the USAir jet, 22 died from breathing toxic smoke and fumes.
On May 22, 1993, a Beech 18 nosed over during a landing in windy conditions at North Branch, Minn., due to the pilot's excessive use of brakes. The aircraft burned. The passenger escaped unharmed, but the pilot died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Toxicology tests at autopsy showed the pilot had 58% carboxyhemoglobin saturation and 1.1 mg/L cyanide in his blood.
On October 6, 1993, a Piper Aztec with a CFI and multiengine student aboard collided with trees while in the traffic pattern at East Hampton, N.Y. The aircraft was destroyed by post-impact fire, and both pilots were fatally injured. An autopsy listed the cause of death as "smoke inhalation and thermal injuries."
On January 12, 1995, a Cessna 414 collided with the ground and burst into flames as the pilot attempted an emergency landing two miles south of the airport at Augusta, Ga., after an engine failure. The four people aboard the IFR flight were fatally injured. A postmortem exam ruled the cause of death for the pilot and passengers as smoke inhalation, with a 28% level of carboxyhemoglobin and 0.29 mg/L of cyanide in the pilot's blood.
On August 11, 1995, a Piper Cherokee 140 impacted trees one minute after takeoff from Pulaski, Tenn., crashed inverted, and burned. The pilot and passenger died from smoke inhalation and burns. The autopsy found high levels of CO in the blood of both occupants. A bystander who attempted to rescue them stated that both were alive and he attempted to kick in a side window but was unable to do so before the occupants were overcome.
On January 15, 1996, a homebuilt KR-2 crashed and burned during high-speed taxi tests at Denver's Front Range airport. The pilot died from inhalation of smoke containing lethal levels of cyanide. The aircraft was constructed of wood, foam and fiberglass, and the foam produces cyanide when exposed to extreme heat associated with combustion.
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