Note Flight numbers are often taken out of use after a crash or a serious incident . For example , following the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 , the airline changed the flight number for subsequent flights following the same route to 229 . Also , American Airlines Flight 77 , which regularly flew from Dulles International Airport in Washington , DC , to Los Angeles International Airport , was changed to Flight 149 after the September 11 attacks . On the other hand , other considerations may lead an airline not to change a flight number ; for instance , the aforementioned " flagship " American Airlines Flight 1 retains its designation despite a major accident in 1962 . There are at least four instances of flight numbers that have suffered two serious accidents : Flight 253 of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana ( both in 1956 , the first in June , and the second in November ) , Flight 869 of United Arab Airlines ( the first in 1962 and the second in 1963 ) , Flight 800 of TWA ( the first in 1964 and the second in 1996 ) , and Flight 383 of American Airlines ( the first in 1965 and the second in 2016 ) . The most recent flight number change due to an accident was from Aeroflot Flight 1492 to Aeroflot Flight 1316
second in 1963
United Arab Airlines Flight 869 (1963)
Flight number