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Did you know that the worst crashes in American history (aside from terrorist attacks) happened, for the most part, over 20 years ago? Read on to learn more about the worst airplane crashes in the United States.

▲This flight crashed in 1994 as it was approaching the runway at Pittsburgh International.

▲The plane had a faulty rudder, which jammed, causing the plane to fall.

▲The pilots were unable to save the plane, and it crashed seconds later, killing all 132 passengers and crew.

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In 1979, a flight took off from Chicago O’Hare, only to immediately have its left engine come loose and rip over the wing, causing the plane to roll.

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The plane crashed into a trailer park at the end of the runway a few thousand feet later.

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The crash killed 258 passengers and 13 crew members, leaving no survivors. The cause of the crash was determined to be the use of dangerous shortcuts during routine maintenance of the plane.

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The budget airline had cheap fares because it spent very little on airplane maintenance.

▲In May 1996, a Valujet flight attempted to fly from Miami to Atlanta, but experienced trouble in the air and crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing everyone onboard to perish.

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The company suffered major losses after the crash, and as a result operated as AirTran Airways up until it was eventually bought by Southwest Airlines.

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This 1982 tragedy occurred as a result of bad weather.

▲The plane attempted to take off from New Orleans' airport, but was hit by an intense wind that caused it to stop gaining altitude when it was just 150 ft off the ground.

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The plane hit the ground, exploding on impact, and killed all 153 passengers and crew, plus four people on the ground.

▲In 2000, this flight was attempting to land in San Francisco, but as it descended over the ocean it suddenly took a violent nosedive and began hurtling downward.

▲As a result of faulty maintenance, the horizontal stabilizer on the plane’s tail had jammed, and the pilots had to pull on it with massive effort to keep the plane from falling.

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However, as they announced a new landing strategy, the aircraft began to fall again, and the pilots couldn’t fix it this time. It hit the Pacific Ocean hard, killing all 83 passengers and crew.

▲Two planes collided in the air above New York City in 1960. A United flight and a TWA flight were scheduled to land at different New York airports, but the United plane’s navigation systems failed and the sky was obscured with fog and rain.

▲The crew did not notify air traffic control and flew off course, eventually crashing into the TWA plane. After the collision, the TWA plane fell into Staten Island and New York Harbor, and the United plane fell into Brooklyn.

▲The crash killed 128 passengers and crew as well as six people on the ground, with the only survivor dying the next day of pneumonia.

▲This Pacific Southwest flight in 1978 encountered a smaller daily flight as it approached San Diego.

▲Unfortunately, the two airplanes collided, with the smaller plane ripping off parts of the larger plane’s wing and causing both planes to fall to the ground.

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The collision killed all 144 passengers and crew on the 727, both pilots of the smaller plane, plus seven people on the ground. The crash is said to have occurred because the smaller plane’s pilot was wearing a sun visor that impaired his vision. This crash caused major reform with regard to air traffic policies.

▲In 1996, this airplane suffered an explosion shortly after takeoff, the result of a short circuit in a fuel tank. Some conspiracy theorists say that a US Navy ship accidentally fired at the plane.

▲Either way, the airplane began to fall apart shortly after becoming airborne.

▲The flight fell into the ocean near Long Island, just 12 minutes after takeoff.

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In November 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, this plane attempted to take off from JFK when its tail suddenly detached, causing the vehicle to fall.

▲The cause of this is said to be co-pilot error, with the co-pilot acting too aggressively while using the rudder, which caused structural failure.

▲The plane crashed into Queens, killing all 260 people on board, plus five people on the ground.

▲This 1985 crash occurred when the crew decided to fly through a severe thunderstorm in order to stay on schedule.

▲Just before the plane was supposed to land on the runway, an intense downward gust of wind occurred right in front of it, causing the pilots to lose control.

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The plane crashed into a water tank, killing 136 out of 163 passengers and crew, plus a motorist on the ground. The crash occurred as a result of inadequate training.

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On January 29, American Airlines flight 5342 collided midair with an Army helicopter, killing 67 people, in what is the deadliest US air disaster in more than 20 years.

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The flight departed from Wichita, Kansas, with destination to Washington, D.C., with the collision occurring shortly before landing.

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Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River, where rescue teams quickly mobilized to search for possible survivors and to recover debris.