On 16 July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when the Piper Saratoga light aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in hazy conditions. His wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, were on board and also killed. The NTSB concluded that the crash was caused by spatial disorientation resulting in pilot error.

On 8 January 1989, British Midland Flight 92 crashes onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, UK. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport. Of the 126 people aboard, 47 died and 74, including seven members of the flight crew, sustained serious injuries.