2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587

The plane carried 246 passengers and nine crew members plus five unticketed infants sitting on parents laps.

The Airbus A-300 jet, which left John F. Kennedy International Airport bound for a destination in the Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after takeoff, with the impact setting several houses ablaze and killing a number of people on the ground.

It was later confirmed that this was not another terrorist attack. (See September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack) The cause of the crash is still unknown; however, failure of the vertical stabilizer is suspected.