This is a list of aviation-related events from 1996:

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

First flights

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Entered service

February

April

June

Retirements

May

July

October

December

Deadliest crash

1996 remains one of the deadliest years in aviation history. This includes the deadliest accident of the year, the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision of 12 November, over Charkhi Dadri, India, in which all 349 people were killed aboard both aircraft involved. This crash is the world's deadliest mid-air collision, and was also the deadliest of the 1990s decade. The deadliest single-aircraft crash was the relatively little-known 1996 Air Africa crash, when on 8 January an overloaded Antonov An-32 overran the runway at Kinshasa, Zaire; two of the six people aboard were killed, however an estimated 300 people were killed in a busy street market which lay in the aircraft's path. Otherwise, the distinction belongs to one of the most well-known and studied aviation accidents of all time: TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Long Island, New York on 17 July, killing all 230 people on board. In addition, many notable accidents including several with over 50 fatalities were recorded during this year.