Here's a look at recent aircraft tragedies, mishaps and close calls

At least three people were killed when a private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood Thursday morning, adding to the long list of aviation disasters this year.

About 100 people had to be evacuated after the plane struck at least one home and jet fuel caught fire throughout the neighborhood. The Federal Aviation Administration said six people were aboard the plane. It wasn't clear how many died, although music agency Sound Talent Group said its co-founder and two other employees died in the crash.

Many people are concerned about aviation safety after all the aircraft collisions and near-misses.

Disasters have ranged from the midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C., in January to an airliner clipping another in February while taxiing at the Seattle airport. In March, an American Airlines plane caught fire after landing in Denver, sending 12 people to the hospital. A sightseeing helicopter broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey last month, killing six people.

Federal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, and statistics support that. But the cascade of headlines about all the things that have gone wrong is drawing increasing attention.

Here is a look at some of the recent tragedies and mishaps:

— The New York helicopter that crashed on April 10 departed a downtown heliport. The flight lasted less than 18 minutes. Radar data shows the helicopter flew north along the Manhattan skyline, then south toward the Statue of Liberty. The victims in this crash included a family from Spain who was celebrating the ninth birthday of one of their children.

— Three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed April 11 in Boca Raton, Florida, near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks.

— Two small planes collided midair near an Arizona airport in mid-February, killing two people who were on one of the aircraft. Following the collision, one plane landed uneventfully, but the other hit the ground near a runway and caught fire. The crash happened at Marana Regional Airport near Tucson.

— A small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska in early February, killing all 10 people on board. The crash was one of the deadliest in the state in 25 years. Radar data indicated that the plane rapidly lost elevation and speed. The U.S. Coast Guard was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft.

— A medical transport plane that had just taken off plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in late January, killing all six people on board and two people on the ground. About two dozen people were also hurt. The National Transportation Safety Board said its cockpit voice recorder likely hadn't been functioning for years. The crew made no distress calls to air traffic control.

— The collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above the nation's capital killed everyone aboard both aircraft in late January. It was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.

— A jetliner operated by Jeju Air skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames in late December in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of that country’s worst aviation disasters.

— The American Airlines plane that caught fire at Denver International Airport in March had been diverted there because the crew reported engine vibrations. While taxiing to the gate, an engine caught fire, prompting slides to be deployed so passengers could evacuate quickly. The people taken to hospitals had minor injuries.

— A single-engine plane carrying five people crashed and burst into flames that same month in the parking lot of a retirement community near a small airport near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Everyone on board survived. Three people were taken to an area burn center.

— A Delta Air Lines jet flipped over while landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport in February. All 80 people on board survived, but some people received minor injuries. Witnesses and video from the scene showed the plane landing so hard that its right wing was sheared off. Investigators said when trying to determine the cause, they would consider the weather conditions and the possibility of human error.

— Earlier this month, two commercial planes had to abort their landings at Reagan National Airport near Washington because of an Army Black Hawk helicopter flying near the Pentagon. The Army suspended all its helicopter flights in the area after this incident. It was a Black Hawk priority air transport from the same unit known as the PAT25 that collided with the passenger jet in midair in January.

— In April, on the same day as the fatal New York helicopter crash, a wing tip of an American Airlines plane struck another plane from the same airline on a taxiway of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. There were no reported injuries. Multiple members of Congress were aboard one of the flights.

— A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at a busy New Jersey airport in March after a bird strike caused an engine fire that could be seen in the morning sky. The plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport. There were no reported injuries.

— Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight about to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway in late February. Video showed the plane approaching the runway before it abruptly pulled up as a business jet taxied onto the runway without authorization, federal officials said.

— In early February, a Japan Airlines plane was taxiing on the tarmac of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when it apparently clipped the tail of a parked Delta plane. There were no injuries reported.

— In early January, passengers panicked when a man aboard a JetBlue plane taxiing for takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport opened an exit door over a wing, triggering an emergency slide to inflate. Other passengers quickly restrained the man and the plane didn't take off.

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In a story published May 22, 2025, about recent aircraft tragedies, The Associated Press erroneously reported the date of a small plane crash in Boca Raton, Florida. The crash happened April 11, not May 16.

Police help rescue dogs from a home after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood earlier, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)