Few crashes have been attributed to design flaws of the 747 . The Tenerife airport disaster resulted from pilot error and communications failure , while the Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611 crashes stemmed from improper aircraft repair . United Airlines Flight 811 , which suffered an explosive decompression mid-flight on February 24 , 1989 , led the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB ) to issue a recommendation that the Boeing 747-100 and 747-200 cargo doors similar to those on the Flight 811 aircraft be modified to those featured on the Boeing 747-400 . Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet fighter aircraft in 1983 after it had strayed into Soviet territory , causing U.S. President Ronald Reagan to authorize the then-strictly military global positioning system ( GPS ) for civilian use
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Boeing 747