List of disasters in Alaska by death toll

This list of disasters in Alaska by death toll includes major disasters (excluding acts of war) that occurred in Alaska.

100 or more deaths

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Comments
1,000+	1878-1880	St. Lawrence Island famine	Famine	St. Lawrence Island	^[1]
364	1918	SS Princess Sophia	Shipwreck	Vanderbilt Reef
200	1799	Hinchinbrook Entrance disaster	Maritime disaster	Hinchinbrook Entrance	Sixty bidarkas (native boats) were sunk in a violent storm.^[2]^[3]
115	1964	1964 Alaska earthquake	Earthquake and tsunami	South-central Alaska	There were 16 other fatalities outside of Alaska from the disaster.^[4]
111	1971	Alaska Airlines Flight 1866	Plane crash	Alexander Archipelago
110	1908	Sinking of the Star of Bengal	Shipwreck	off of Coronation Island
103	1799	Loss of the Phoenix	Shipwreck	Bering Sea
101	1963	Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 293	Plane crash	Clarence Strait

10 to 99 deaths

Fatalities	Year	Article	Type	Location	Comments
77	1890	Wreck of the Oneida	Shipwreck	Hennig Rock	^[5]
69-70	1978	Sinking of the MV Chandragupta	Shipwreck	Southwest of Kodiak Island	^[3]^[6]
56	1965	1965 Soviet fishing fleet disaster	Maritime disaster	Between St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands	Loss of the Boksetegorsk, Nahichevan, Sebezh, and Sevsk in one storm.^[3]
52	1952	1952 Mount Gannett C-124 crash	Plane crash	Mount Gannett
47	1970	Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26	Plane crash	Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
42	1901	Sinking of the SS Islander	Shipwreck	Lynn Canal
39	1968	Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55	Plane crash	Pedro Bay
39	1910	Mexican Gold Mine Disaster	Explosion	Douglas Island	^[7]
37	1967	Loss of the SS Panoceanic Faith	Shipwreck	Southwest of Kodiak Island	^[8]
34-49	1813	Sinking of the Neva	Shipwreck	near Kruzof Island	^[3]
34	1916	Sinking of the Onward Ho!	Shipwreck	off of Cape Fairweather	^[9]
34	1932	Wreck of the Nevada	Shipwreck	Amatignak Island	^[3]^[10]
32	1982	Loss of the Akebono Maru No. 28	Shipwreck	North of Adak Island	^[11]
32	1895	Loss of the Walter A. Earle	Shipwreck	Off of Cape St. Elias	^[3]
32	1964	Wreck of the San Patrick	Shipwreck	Ulak Island	^[12]
31-32	1913	Wreck of the SS State of California	Shipwreck	Gambier Bay	^[13]
30	1972	Loss of the Pacrover	Shipwreck	South of Kodiak	^[14]
30	1967	Sam Su disaster	Maritime disaster	SW of Adak Island	^[3]
30	1948	Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 4422	Plane crash	Mount Sanford
30	1903	Loss of the Discovery	Shipwreck	Near Lituya Bay	^[15]
26	1981	Loss of the Daito Maru No. 55	Shipwreck	NW of Adak	^[16]
25-40	1898	Clara Nevada disaster	Shipwreck	off Skagway
25	1894	Sinking of the SV James Allen	Shipwreck	Amlia Island	^[3]
25	1888	Wreck of the Ohio	Shipwreck	near Point Hope	^[17]
24	1995	1995 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident	Plane crash	near Elmendorf Air Force Base
24	1981	Fire onboard the Dae Rim	Ship fire	West of Attu Island	^[18]
18	1947	Pan Am Flight 923	Plane crash	Annette Island
18	1987	Ryan Air Flight 103	Plane crash	Homer	^[19]
18	1986	Disappearance of the Chil Bo San No. 1	Shipwreck	Bering Sea NW of Adak Island	Lost en route to Alaska from Hokkaido.^[20]
18	1976	Loss of the Carnelian-I	Shipwreck	South of Adak Island	^[3]
18	1898	Sinking of the Jessie	Shipwreck	Kuskokwim River	^[3]
18	1886	Sinking of the Flying Scud	Shipwreck	near Karluk	^[21]
17	1758	Wreck of the Sv. Kapiton	Shipwreck	near Kiska Island	^[22]
16	1946	Wreck of the Donbass	Shipwreck	South of Adak	^[23]
16	1897	Wreck of the Navarch	Shipwreck	Off Blossom Shoals
16	1858	Wreck of the Napoleon III	Shipwreck	St. Paul Island	^[3]
15	2001	Sinking of the Arctic Rose	Shipwreck	NW of St. Paul Island	^[24]
15	1955	1955 Eielson Air Force Base disaster	Plane crash	Eielson Air Force Base	15 killed on the ground.^[25]
15	1936	1936 Juneau landslide	Landslide	Juneau	^[26]
14	1966	Lane Hotel fire	Arson	Anchorage	^[27]
14	1984	Collision between the Kyowa Maru and the Anyo Maru	Ship collision	North of Atka	^[28]
14	1967	1967 US Navy Lockheed P-2 Neptune crash	Plane crash	Mount Fairweather	^[29]
14	1960	Pacific Northern Flight 201	Plane crash	Mount Gilbert	^[30]
14	1937	Jonesville Mine disaster	Explosion	Matanuska Valley near Sutton	^[31]
13	1977	AAI Flight 302	Plane crash	Iliamna	^[32]
12	1999	Sinking of the Anyo Maru No 1	Shipwreck	Bering Sea
12	1978	1978 Webber Airlines Grumman G-21A Goose crash	Plane crash	near Laboucher Bay	^[33]
12	1964	1964 US Navy Lockheed P-2 Neptune crash	Plane crash	Cape Newenham	^[34]
12	1939	Sinking of the Oduno	Shipwreck	off Noyes Island
12	1905	Loss of the Nellie Coleman	Shipwreck	off Cape Yakataga
11	1956	Crash of The Golden Heart	Plane crash	near Eielson Air Force Base	^[35]
10	2025	Bering Air Flight 445	Plane crash	Over Norton Sound
10	2013	2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 crash	Plane crash	Soldotna Airport
10	1981	St. Patrick Disaster	Maritime disaster	Near Marmot Bay	^[36]
10	1975	Wien Air Alaska Flight 99	Plane crash	Sevuokuk Mountain near Gambell Airport
10	1973	1973 US Navy Douglas DC-6 crash	Plane crash	Great Sitkin Island	^[37]
10	1961	1961 US Navy Martin P5M-2 Marlin crash	Plane crash	Montague Island	^[38]

Other notable disasters

Loss of the Aleutian Enterprise (9 killed)
North Pacific Airlines Flight 1802 (9 killed)
1989 RCAF Lockheed CC-130E Hercules crash (9 killed)
Tyee Airlines Flight 906 (8 killed)
Loss of the Eagle (8 killed)
1985 Savoonga disaster (8 killed)^[39]^[40]
Disappearance of the F/V Pacesetter (7 killed)
Sinking of the USLHT Armeria (7 killed)
2020 Alaska mid-air collision (7 killed)
Sinking of the Katmai (7 killed)
Loss of the Americus (7 killed)
Loss of the Altair (7 killed)
1967 Mount McKinley disaster (7 killed)
2019 Alaska mid-air collision (6 killed)
Loss of the Destination (6 killed)^[41]
Loss of the Western Sea (6 killed)
Sinking of the MV Selendang Ayu (6 killed)
1967 Fairbanks flood (6 killed)
Alaska Airlines Flight 779 (6 killed)
Loss of the Northwest Mariner (6 killed)
Loss of the Barbarossa (6 killed)
Wrangell landslide (6 killed)
2021 Knik Glacier helicopter crash (5 killed)
2018 K2 Aviation DHC-2 crash (5 killed)
2011 Pacific Alaska Shellfish Company skiff disaster (5 killed)
Sinking of the FV Big Valley (5 killed) ^[42]
Sinking of the Lin-J (5 killed)
Sinking of the Emerald Sea (5 killed)
Universe Explorer fire (5 killed)
Loss of the Lou Ann (5 killed)
Loss of the Nettie H (5 killed)
2010 Alaska DHC-3 crash (5 killed)
Sinking of the FV Alaska Ranger (5 killed)
Loss of the Fierce Competitor (5 killed)
1958 Lituya Bay earthquake and megatsunami (5 killed)
Scotch Cap Light disaster (5 killed)
1993 Parks Highway head-on collision (5 killed)
1981 Denali National Park tour bus crash (5 killed)

References

↑ Crowell & Oozevaseuk 2006, pp. 1–19
↑ "1799 – Sixty Native Alaskan Bidarka's lost in storm, Hinchinbrook Entrance, S.C. AK–200". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Alaska's Worst All Time Shipping Losses*". Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "1964 M9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake". Alaska Earthquake Center. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
↑ "Lewis MacDonald's Alaska Salmon Cannery Chronology, 1878–1950". Alaskan Historical Society. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "January 11, 1978, Forty Years Ago: Indira At Shah Panel". The Indian Express. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "The Mexican Mine Disaster at Juneau, Alaska - March 1910". ExploreNorth. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "SS Panoceanic Faith Foundering With Loss Of Life North Pacific Ocean, 9 October 1967" (PDF). US Coast Guard. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Raphael, Phil (7 July 2016). "Century-old sea tragedy to be commemorated in Richmond". Richmond News. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Blanchard, Wayne. "1932 — Sep 27, OR Steamer Nevada strands on rocks, Aleutian Island Amatignak, AK– 34". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1982". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "SEARCH IS RESUMED FOR FREIGHTER CREW". New York Times. 23 December 1964. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Blanchard, Lorna. "1913 — Aug 17, SF steamer State of California hits rock/sinks, Gambier Bay, Admiralty Isl. AK–31-32". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Ship With 30 Aboard In Distress Off Alaska". New York Times. 25 December 1972. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "South Central Alaska Shipwrecks ( D )". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "A Japanese fishing vessel sank in the stormy Bering..." UPI News. 13 March 1981. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Blanchard, Lorna. "1888 — Oct 3, whaling bark Ohio driven ashore in storm ~Point Hope, Chukchi Sea, AK-25". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1981". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Beechcraft 1900C in Homer: 18 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "South West Alaska Shipwrecks ( C )". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "1886 — Nov 14~ Kodiak schnr. Flying Scud lost, Cape Douglas to Kodiak, Gulf of AK-24-26". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Daily Event for September 6, 2010". MaritimeQuest. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "The Wreck of the Donbass". USS Sarsi. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 2001". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Past Fairbanks Disasters". Fairbanks North Slope Borough. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Canny, Anne (16 January 2024). "Juneau's deadliest landslide tore through downtown like a 'mighty grinder.' Now it's a fading memory". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Reamer, David (24 November 2024). "The story of Anchorage's deadly 1966 Lane Hotel fire and its curious legal aftermath". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1984". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Lockheed P-2H Neptune on Mt Fairweather: 14 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Lockheed L-749A-79-32 Constellation on Mt Gilbert: 14 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "COAL MINE EXPLOSIONS AT JONESVILLE,ALASKA". rootsweb. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 near Iliamna: 13 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Friday 25 August 1978". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Lockheed P2V-7S Neptune near Cape Newenham: 12 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Cold War Warriors Honored". The Connection. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "The Romance of the Sea Wears Thin- The St. Patrick Disaster, December 1981". Kodiak Maritime Museum. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Douglas R6D-1 on Great Sitkin Island: 10 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Crash of a Martin P5M-2S Marlin on Montague Island: 10 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1985". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
↑ Gadberry, Greg (27 July 1985). "7 members of family drown". Fairbanks Daily News Miner.
↑ Bernton, Hal. "No return: The final voyage of the crab boat Destination". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
↑ "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 2005". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[Crowell-Oozevaseuk_p.-1] Crowell & Oozevaseuk 2006, pp. 1–19

[2] "1799 – Sixty Native Alaskan Bidarka's lost in storm, Hinchinbrook Entrance, S.C. AK–200". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[BOEM-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Alaska's Worst All Time Shipping Losses*". Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[4] "1964 M9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake". Alaska Earthquake Center. Retrieved 5 July 2026.

[5] "Lewis MacDonald's Alaska Salmon Cannery Chronology, 1878–1950". Alaskan Historical Society. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[6] "January 11, 1978, Forty Years Ago: Indira At Shah Panel". The Indian Express. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[7] "The Mexican Mine Disaster at Juneau, Alaska - March 1910". ExploreNorth. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[8] "SS Panoceanic Faith Foundering With Loss Of Life North Pacific Ocean, 9 October 1967" (PDF). US Coast Guard. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[9] Raphael, Phil (7 July 2016). "Century-old sea tragedy to be commemorated in Richmond". Richmond News. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[10] Blanchard, Wayne. "1932 — Sep 27, OR Steamer Nevada strands on rocks, Aleutian Island Amatignak, AK– 34". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[11] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1982". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[12] "SEARCH IS RESUMED FOR FREIGHTER CREW". New York Times. 23 December 1964. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[13] Blanchard, Lorna. "1913 — Aug 17, SF steamer State of California hits rock/sinks, Gambier Bay, Admiralty Isl. AK–31-32". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[14] "Ship With 30 Aboard In Distress Off Alaska". New York Times. 25 December 1972. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[15] "South Central Alaska Shipwrecks ( D )". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[16] "A Japanese fishing vessel sank in the stormy Bering..." UPI News. 13 March 1981. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[17] Blanchard, Lorna. "1888 — Oct 3, whaling bark Ohio driven ashore in storm ~Point Hope, Chukchi Sea, AK-25". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[18] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1981". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[19] "Crash of a Beechcraft 1900C in Homer: 18 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[20] "South West Alaska Shipwrecks ( C )". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[21] "1886 — Nov 14~ Kodiak schnr. Flying Scud lost, Cape Douglas to Kodiak, Gulf of AK-24-26". usdeadlyevents.com. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[22] "Daily Event for September 6, 2010". MaritimeQuest. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[23] "The Wreck of the Donbass". USS Sarsi. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[24] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 2001". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[25] "Past Fairbanks Disasters". Fairbanks North Slope Borough. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[26] Canny, Anne (16 January 2024). "Juneau's deadliest landslide tore through downtown like a 'mighty grinder.' Now it's a fading memory". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[27] Reamer, David (24 November 2024). "The story of Anchorage's deadly 1966 Lane Hotel fire and its curious legal aftermath". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 5 July 2026.

[28] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1984". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[29] "Crash of a Lockheed P-2H Neptune on Mt Fairweather: 14 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[30] "Crash of a Lockheed L-749A-79-32 Constellation on Mt Gilbert: 14 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[31] "COAL MINE EXPLOSIONS AT JONESVILLE,ALASKA". rootsweb. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[32] "Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 near Iliamna: 13 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[33] "Friday 25 August 1978". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[34] "Crash of a Lockheed P2V-7S Neptune near Cape Newenham: 12 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[35] "Cold War Warriors Honored". The Connection. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[36] "The Romance of the Sea Wears Thin- The St. Patrick Disaster, December 1981". Kodiak Maritime Museum. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[37] "Crash of a Douglas R6D-1 on Great Sitkin Island: 10 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[38] "Crash of a Martin P5M-2S Marlin on Montague Island: 10 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archive. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[39] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 1985". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

[40] Gadberry, Greg (27 July 1985). "7 members of family drown". Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

[41] Bernton, Hal. "No return: The final voyage of the crab boat Destination". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 8 July 2026.

[42] "Alaska Commercial Fishing and other Maritime Losses of 2005". Alaska Shipwrecks. Retrieved 7 July 2026.

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