When a plane crashes, it is frequently due to pilot error - in fact, nearly 50% of all crashes resulting in a fatality are traced to a mistake by the pilot, even if that mistake is something related to weather or mechanical problems. But is the chance of crashing great enough to validate fear of flying? Not necessarily. The best airlines have nearly flawless records: the odds of being on a flight resulting in at least one fatality are 1 in 3,720,000; the odds of being the passenger killed on any given flight are 1 in 7,710,000. In first world domestic aircraft, the chances of dying are 1 in 8,000,000 - that figure drops to 1 in 500,000 for third world domestic aircraft. Commuter jets in the United States have a mortality rate of 1 in 2,000,000.

If you're going to crash, though, there are a number of ways to do it. Planes have dropped from the sky because of mistakes by air traffic controllers, design flaws, hitting a bird, sabotage, a fire in the cargo hold or cabin, hijacking, lightning, pilot incapactation, and plain old running out of gas.

Crash Nodes:
Air Canada Flight 621 (5 Jul 1970 - Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada - 109 killed)
Air China flight 129 (15 Apr 2002 - Busan, South Korea - 128 killed)
Air Florida Flight 90 (13 Jan 1982 - Washington, D.C., United States - 79 killed)
Air Transat Flight 236 (21 Aug 2001 - Terciera Island, Portugal - 0 killed)
American Airlines Flight 11 (11 Sep 2001, New York City, New York, United States - 92 killed)
American Airlines Flight 77 (11 Sep 2001, Arlington, Virginia, United States - 64 killed)
American Airlines Flight 191 (25 May 1979, Chicago, Illinois, United States - 270 killed)
American Airlines Flight 587 (12 Nov 2001, Belle Harbor, New York, United States - 260 killed)
American Airlines Flight 965 (20 Dec 1995, Buga, Colombia - 160 killed)
American Airlines Flight 1420 (1 Jun 1999, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States - 12 killed)
China Airlines Flight 611 (25 May 2002, Taiwan Strait, Taiwan - 225 killed)
China Northern Airlines flight 6136 (7 May 2002, Yellow Sea, China - 112 killed)
COMAIR Flight 3272 (9 Jan 1997, Ida, Michigan, United States - 29 killed)
Delta Air Lines Flight 554 (19 Oct 1996, New York City, New York, United States - none killed)
Eastern Airlines flight 401 (29 Dec 1972, Everglades National Park, Florida, United States - 100 killed)
Fine Airlines Flight 101 (7 Aug 1997, Miami, Florida, United States - 4 killed)
Flight 19 (5 Dec 1945, Bermuda Triangle - disappeared)
Flight SQ006 Passenger List (31 Oct 2000, Taipei, Taiwan - 83 killed)
Japan Airlines Flight 123 (12 Aug 1985, Mt. Osutaka, Japan - 520 killed)
Korean Air Flight 007 (1 Sep 1983, Sakhalin Island, Russia - 269 killed)
Luxair flight 9642 (6 Nov 2002, Niederanven, Luxembourg - 20 killed)
Munich Air Disaster (6 Feb 1958, Munich, Germany - 23 killed)
Pan Am flight 103 (21 Dec 1988, Lockerbie, Scotland, United Kingdom - 259 killed)
Swissair Flight 111 (2 Sep 1998, North Atlantic Ocean - 229 killed)
TAME Airlines Flight 120 (28 Jan 2002, Cumbal Volcano, Colombia - 92 killed)
Tenerife Airport Disaster (27 Mar 1977, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain - 583 killed)
TWA Flight 800 (17 Jul 1996, East Moriches, New York, United States - 230 killed)
United Airlines Flight 93 (11 Sep 2001, Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States - 45 killed)
United Airlines Flight 175 (11 Sep 2001, New York City, New York, United States - 65 killed)
United Airlines Flight 553 (8 Dec 1972, Chicago, Illinois, United States - 43 killed)
USAir Flight 427 (8 Sep 1994, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, United States - 132 killed)
Venezuelan airliner crash (Asbury Park) (20 Jun 1956, Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States - 74 killed)

Related nodes:
Airplane disaster movie
airport accident, one slightly bruised ego one slightly damaged head
Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act

Sources:
http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm
http://www.airdisaster.com/