November 14
2016
2016 Kaikōura earthquake
In the early minutes of 14 November 2016, a Mw 7.8 earthquake that began near Culverden shook much of New Zealand, triggering cascading ruptures along a tangled network of faults, lifting long stretches of coastline, and isolating the town of Kaikōura. The disaster left two people dead, damaged critical transport links, upended coastal ecosystems and industries, and changed how scientists and planners understand multi‑fault earthquakes and coastal risk. Read more
2001
2001 Kunlun earthquake
On November 14, 2001, a powerful earthquake beneath the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains sent a clean, continuous scar across the roof of the Tibetan Plateau. Measuring about Mw 7.8 and producing a surface rupture that ran some 400–450 kilometers, the quake tore open remote highlands, toppled utility poles and corrals, blocked streams with landslides and left pastoral communities to reckon with a landscape suddenly rearranged. Read more
1992
Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 crash
On November 14, 1992, Vietnam Airlines Flight 474, a Tupolev Tu-134 on a routine domestic run, descended into low clouds above the central Vietnamese coastline and struck mountainous terrain during its approach. The accident — widely classified as a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) — destroyed the aircraft and caused heavy loss of life, and it became one of a string of accidents that pushed Vietnam’s civil aviation system toward upgraded procedures, training, and avionics. Read more
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1990
Alitalia Flight 404
On November 14, 1990, Alitalia Flight 404, a scheduled passenger service from Rome to Zürich–Kloten, descended through low clouds and instrument conditions on final approach. Misleading or unreliable altitude and navigation indications led the crew to continue below published minima without visual reference; the aircraft struck wooded terrain short of the runway, killing all on board. The Swiss investigation attributed the accident to a combination of instrument unreliability and continued descent below safe altitude and recommended changes to procedures, training, and equipment redundancy.
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1973
Athens Polytechnic uprising
In the days between November 14 and 17, 1973, students and citizens occupied the National Technical University of Athens, broadcasting calls for democracy from an improvised radio and erecting barricades along Patission Street. The occupation ended in the early hours of November 17 when military forces moved in; the precise details of the breach and the number of fatalities remain disputed. The event became a decisive symbol in the collapse of Greece’s military junta and a defining moment in the country’s return to democracy.
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1970
Southern Airways Flight 932 — the Marshall University plane crash
On the evening of November 14, 1970, a chartered Southern Airways Martin 4‑0‑4 carrying the Marshall University football team, coaches, administrators and supporters crashed on approach to Tri‑State Airport near Huntington, West Virginia. In low clouds and fog the aircraft descended below published minima, struck trees on a wooded hillside several miles short of the runway, and burned. All 75 people on board were killed. The crash devastated a university and a town, led to a federal investigation that blamed controlled flight into terrain due to descent below minima, and became a touchstone in Marshall University's recovery and remembrance.
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1940
Coventry Blitz
On the night of November 14, 1940, the industrial city of Coventry endured one of the most destructive single air raids of the Blitz. A concentrated mix of high explosives and incendiaries tore through a city where factories and homes sat cheek by jowl; the medieval St Michael’s Cathedral was left a blackened shell. The raid and the weeks that followed reshaped civil defence, wartime production practices, and Coventry’s postwar identity as both ruin and memorial.
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