February 21, 2003	Friday	Zul Hijjah 19, 1423

LONDON, Feb 20: The following lists the world’s ten worst ever aviation disasters ranked by number killed, excluding the September 11 attacks in the United States:

583 - Mar 27, 1977: Two Boeing 747 airliners, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plane and a Pan American jet, collide and burst into flames on the runway at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. 583 were killed out of a total of 644 on board both aircraft.

520 - Aug 12, 1985: A Japan Airlines Boeing 747 crashed into Mount Osutaka, near Tokyo, killing all but four of those on board.

350 - Jan 8, 1996: At least 350 people died when a Russian-built Antonov-32 cargo plane crashed into a crowded market in the centre of Kinshasa, capital of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo).

349 - Nov 12, 1996: A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 jumbo jet and a Kazakh Airlines cargo Ilyushin Il-76 collided in mid-air over India. There were 312 people aboard the Saudi plane and 27 passengers, including two children and 10 crew members, on the Ilyushin. This is the worst disaster involving two aircraft in flight.

346 - March 3, 1974: A Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed into a forest northeast of Paris shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport, killing all on board.

329 - June 23, 1985: An Air India Boeing 747 plunged into the sea off the Irish coast, apparently following an explosion. All on board were killed.

302 - Feb 19, 2003: A Russian-built Il-76 military transport plane carrying 302 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard including 18 aircrew smashed into a mountainside in southeastern Iran.

301 - Aug 19, 1980: A Saudi Arabian Airlines L-1011 Lockheed TriStar jet caught fire at Riyadh airport shortly before takeoff. All on board were killed.

290 - July 3, 1988: An Iran Air A-300 Airbus was shot down over the Gulf by the U.S. warship Vincennes which wrongly identified the airliner as an attacking fighter. All 290 people on board were killed.

273 - May 25, 1979: An American Airlines DC-10 crashed after takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. All 271 aboard and two men on the ground were killed.—Reuters