As of , a total of 65 Boeing 747 aircraft, or just above 4% of the total number of 747 built, have been involved in accidents and incidents resulting in a hull loss, meaning that the aircraft was either destroyed or damaged beyond economical repair since the type was first flown commercially in 1970. Of the 65 Boeing 747 aircraft losses, 32 resulted in no loss of life; in one, a hostage was murdered; and in one, a terrorist died.List of Boeing 747 hull losses retrieved February 17, 2013.

Some of the aircraft that were declared damaged beyond economical repair were older 747s that sustained relatively minor damage. If these planes had been newer, repairing them might have been economically viable. This is becoming less common with the 747's increasing obsolescence as a passenger aircraft.Page describing N4723U incident retrieved January 13, 2008.Page describing N808MC incident retrieved January 13, 2008.

Some 747s have been involved in accidents resulting in the highest death toll of any civil aviation accident, the highest death toll of any single airplane accident, and the highest death toll of a midair collision. As with most airliner accidents, the causes of these incidents involved a confluence of multiple factors that rarely could be ascribed to flaws with the 747's design or its flying characteristics.

1970s

Pan Am Flight 93 was the first hull loss of a 747 (747-121), the result of terrorism after it was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. On September 6, 1970, a new Pan Am aircraft flying from Amsterdam to New York City was hijacked and flown first to Beirut, then to Cairo. Shortly after the occupants were evacuated from the aircraft after arriving at Cairo, it was blown up.Page describing N752PA incident retrieved January 13, 2008. On July 30, 1971, Pan Am Flight 845, a Boeing 747-121, struck the approach lighting system at the departure end of runway 1R at San Francisco International Airport during takeoff, injuring 2 of the 218 occupants. The cause of the incident was determined to be the pilot's use of speeds for a closed runway and not re computing new takeoff reference speeds when they used another runway. On February 22, 1972, Lufthansa Flight 649, a Boeing 747-230B, was hijacked by five passengers who demanded US$5 million. After landing at Aden International Airport, the hijackers released all women and children among the passengers, as well as one female flight attendant. The next day, once the ransom were paid, they allowed all male passengers to leave. In the evening all remaining on board were released, and the hijackers surrendered. All 192 occupants survived. On July 2, 1972, Pan Am Flight 841, a Boeing 747-121, was hijacked by a 24-year-old South Vietnamese native named Nguyễn Thái Bình. After landing at Tan Son Nhut Airport, the captain and passengers overcame and killed the lone hijacker - the sole fatality of the 152 occupants, ending the hijack. Japan Airlines Flight 404, the second 747 hull loss was very similar to the first. The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, on July 20, 1973, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine working with the Japanese Red Army. It flew to Dubai, then Damascus, before ending its journey at Benghazi. The occupants were released and the aircraft was blown up. One of the hijackers died.Page describing JA8109 incident retrieved January 13, 2008. On November 25, 1973, KLM Flight 861, a Boeing 747-206B, was hijacked by three passengers claiming to be members of Arab Youth Organisation. After multiple stopovers, the hijackers surrendered in Dubai, and none of the 264 occupants died. Lufthansa Flight 540 was the first fatal crash of a 747. On 20 November 1974, stalled and crashed moments after takeoff from Nairobi, with 59 deaths and 98 survivors. The cause was an error by the flight engineer who did not turn on the pneumatic system which operates the leading edge slats. The crew then initiating a take-off with the leading edge slats retracted. This resulted in the aircraft becoming airborne in a partially stalled condition which the pilots did not identify in the short time available to recover in combination with the lack of a slat warning system.

On February 3, 1975, 144 people felt ill aboard a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747-246B. The plane performed an emergency landing at Copenhagen Airport. No one died, but 30 of the 364 occupants were hospitalized. Air France Flight 193, a 747-128 (N28888) operating the sector between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Tel Aviv to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, was destroyed by fire, June 12, 1975, on the ground at Bombay’s (now Mumbai’s) Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted take-off, with no fatalities. On May 9, 1976, Imperial Iranian Air Force Flight ULF48, a 747 freighter, crashed near Madrid due to the structural failure of its left wing in flight, killing the 17 people on board. The accident investigation determined that a lightning strike caused an explosion in a fuel tank in the wing, leading to flutter and the separation of the wing.Page describing the crash of IIAF 5-8104 retrieved January 13, 2008. On March 27, 1977, the deadliest aviation accident in history occurred when KLM Flight 4805 collided on the runway with Pan Am 1736 in heavy fog at Tenerife Airport, resulting in 583 fatalities. Both aircraft were 747s. The 61 survivors were all from the Pan Am 747. The Pan Am aircraft was the first 747 to enter commercial service."1977: Hundreds dead in Tenerife plane crash", "On This Day." BBC News. Retrieved: May 26, 2006. Air India Flight 855 crashed into the sea off the coast of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on New Year's Day, 1978. All 213 passengers and crew died. The cause was lack of situational awareness on the captain's part after executing a banked turn. On June 2, 1978, Japan Air Lines Flight 115, a Boeing 747SR-46, experienced a severe tailstrike when the pilots attempted to flare after a bounced landing at Itami Airport. Of the 394 people on board, 25 sustained injuries, 23 minor and 2 serious. Seven years later, the repaired pressure bulkhead failed and caused a crash on the same aircraft due to a faulty repair procedure. On August 9, 1978, Olympic Airways Flight 411, a Boeing 747-284B, flew dangerously low over downtown Athens, with the plane unable to ascend further and coming close to stalling due to engine failure. The plane returned to Ellinikon International Airport safely with no fatalities of the 418 occupants. The investigation concluded that the incident was caused by inadvertent shut off of the water injection pumps by the flight crew.

1980s On February 7, 1980, China Airlines Flight 009, a Boeing 747-209B, suffered a tail strike while landing at Kai Tak Airport. No one was injured. Due to improper repairs, 22 years later, it was involved in a fatal accident. On November 19, 1980, Korean Air Lines Flight 015, operating a flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, with a refueling stop at Anchorage, Alaska, was damaged beyond repair on landing. Of the 226 occupants, 15 passengers and crew died. On June 24, 1982, British Airways Flight 009, a Boeing 747-200B, experienced a quadruple-engine failure while passing through volcano ash. The crew had difficulty in seeing through the windscreen due to the St. Elmo's fire effect and the sand blasting of the windshield by ash. The crew managed to start one engine at and then another 2 engines, and then completed a 3 engine landing. They managed to land the airplane at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport with all 263 occupants. Investigation revealed that the blockage by volcanic ash was the major cause. On August 11, 1982, Pan Am Flight 830, a Boeing 747-121, was bombed while cruising at 36,000 feet, northwest of Hawaii. The plane landed safely, all but one of the 285 occupants survived. On August 4, 1983, Pan Am Flight 73, a 747-100, struck a Visual Approach Slope Indicator light installation and its concrete base when landing at Karachi International Airport, causing the nose gear to collapse backwards and to the left, resulting in total destruction of the VASI light installation and damage to the forward cargo hold, the floor of the first class section, and the stairway leading to the upper deck.Accident with Pan Am Flight 73 at Aviation Safety Network Retrieved July 16, 2016 (Not to be confused with a later hijacking in 1986 of a Pan Am Flight 73.) On September 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, a 747-200B from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, was shot down by the Soviet Air Force just west of Sakhalin Island while flying through prohibited airspace. All 269 passengers and crew were killed. On November 27, 1983, Avianca Flight 011, a 747-200M flying from Paris to Bogotá via Madrid, crashed into a mountainside due to a navigational error while maneuvering to land at Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing 181 of the 192 on board. On February 19, 1985, China Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747SP-09 with 274 passengers and crew on board, enroute from Taipei to Los Angeles suffered an engine failure on No. 4 engine while cruising at . Slowly decreasing airspeed resulted in a stall and loss of control and a plunge due to crew preoccupation with the malfunction and failure to monitor flight instruments and airspeed. Control was regained at . After an emergency was declared, the plane diverted to San Francisco International Airport with 24 injuries, 2 of which were serious. The captain's reliance on autopilot and distraction were blamed for the incident. On March 16, 1985, a UTA 747-300 (registration F-GDUA) was destroyed on the ground at Paris CDG when a fire was accidentally started while the aircraft's cabin was being cleaned. On June 23, 1985, Sikh extremists caused a bomb to explode on Air India Flight 182, a 747-200B en route from Montreal to New Delhi, the explosion brought down the aircraft off the southwest coast of Ireland, killing all 329 on board. Until the September 11 attacks of 2001, the Air India bombing was the single deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft. It remains the "worst mass murder in Canadian history." On August 12, 1985, Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crashed when the rear pressure bulkhead of a 747SR flying from Tokyo to Osaka failed at cruising altitude, severing the aircraft's vertical stabilizer. The pilots kept it in the air for 32 minutes, but it eventually struck Mount Takamagahara and crashed. Of the 524 people on board, only four passengers survived, making it the deadliest-ever single-aircraft accident. The accident was caused by Boeing improperly repairing the tail strike suffered by the same aircraft seven years earlier."Japan marks air crash anniversary", BBC News. Retrieved: August 12, 2005. On December 2, 1985, Air France Flight 091 overshot the runway during a landing at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, Brazil. No fatalities occurred, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Aviation Safety Network record. Retrieved July 17, 2016 On May 3, 1986, China Airlines Flight 334, a Boeing 747-2R7F, was hijacked by a former military U-2 pilot, and also the captain of the flight. Although conflicting stories were given, it is confirmed that the two crew members had fought against the hijacker. The plane landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, with all 3 survived. The incident has had a major impact on the relationship between Taiwan and China. Moreover, the same plane would be involved in a fatal plane crash five years later.