Military pilots aren’t the only ones in danger whilst cruising the upper reaches of the atmosphere.  Passenger jets can be equally vulnerable with tragic results.  These are the stories of two aircraft that sadly flew on to their destruction, with nobody controlling, carrying their unfortunate passengers to their death.

Payne Stewart.

The accident Learjet.

The Learjet’s flight path.

A Helios B737.

The flight path of Helios Flight 522.

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Alan Lebeda, Supergolfdude, NTSB and AAIASB.