slide-2-emmerdale-plane-crashEmmerdale is extremely well known for the number of disasters and dramatic stunts it has featured over the years. The most notable disasters are listed below.

  • 1986 – Pat Sugden died when she crashed her car down a hill, after swerving to avoid a flock of sheep
  • 1988 – Crossgill fire
  • 1993 – Plane crash in Emmerdale
  • 1994 – Shirley Turner is shot dead in the aftermath of the Home Farm raid by the ex-husband of Viv Windsor, Reg Dawson
  • 1995 – Luke McAllister died after his car crashed into a tree and exploded into flames
  • 1996 – Dave Glover died in a fire after attending the wedding of Biff and Linda Glover
  • 1997 – At the engagement party of Steve Marchant and Kim Tate, Lord Alex Oakwell took Linda Fowler for a late-night drive and crashed while trying to snort cocaine. He removed Linda from the passenger seat as she was starting to wake up and moved her to the drivers seat, and fled the scene of the accident, leaving Linda there to dieemmerdale-fire-63
  • 1999 – Graham Clark threw Rachel Hughes off a cliff, killing her
  • 2000 – A van and minibus collide in the village. Van driver Pete Collins dies at the scene; minibus passenger Butch Dingle dies in hospital from his injuries the next day
  • 2000 – Long-serving character Sarah Sugden died in a barn fire that was started deliberately by her adopted son Andy. Sarah’s lover Richie Carter was also trapped in the barn but was rescued by Sarah’s husband Jack
  • 2001 – Miss Jean Strickland, the headmistress, was struck and killed by a stolen car driven by student Marc Reynolds on his way home from a night out with friends
  • 2002 – The church was burnt down by schizophrenic Zoe Tate
  • 2004 – A large storm hit Emmerdale, leaving parts of the village in ruins, with collapsed power lines and trees. The Woolpack was damaged by its chimney collapsing through the roof into the bar area, and also out the front, crushing Tricia Dingle and resulting in her dying in hospital a few days later; Ashley Thomas and Louise Appleton became stuck on the road as a result of the terrible weather. The disaster took place on the tenth anniversary of the plane crash
  • 2005 – Shelly Williams fell off a boat in Scotland, and was never found
  • 2005 – Zoe Tate and Callum Rennie destroyed Home Farm in a gas explosion for revenge on the Kings before leaving Emmerdale
  • 2005 – Max King died instantly when the Land Rover he was in went off the road and through a brick wall and exploded, although driver Robert Sugden escaped the car unharmed and gave a false story about the accident to avoid being arrested; and the police believed his version of events, as there were no witnesses to contradict his story
  • 2006 – The vicarage burnt down after a stray spark ignited spilt vodka, with Debbie Dingle trapped inside
  • 2006 – Kings River showhome collapsed after several explosions caused by a gas leak. The collapse claimed threes lives: Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown were killed in the explosion, and Dawn Woods later died in hospital from internal injuries
  • 2006 – Tom King was murdered on Christmas Day when son Carl hit him over the head with a horse statue and pushed him out of a window
  • 2007 – A tampered van driven by Billy Hopwood crashed into a lake and sank with him and Victoria Sugden inside, but they both survived
  • 2007- DCI Grace Barraclough was killed instantly when she was run over by a lorry, while on the way to the police station to report Carl for killing his dad, Tom King
  • 2007 – Victoria Sugden threatened her father Jack and adoptive brother Andy in their home that if they didn’t confess to who killed her mum Sarah, then she would set alight the family home with them all trapped inside. After they calmed her down, the fuel ignited accidentally when the boiler started up and set the house on fire. The house was gutted but the family survived
  • 2008 – Val’s Interiors, owned and run by Eric Pollard, was burnt down by Sam Dingle and Eli Dingle, after Sam mistakenly thought Eric wanted the factory burnt down for the insurance money, as Eric had previously confided in Sam that he was in serious debt
  • 2008 – Matthew King was killed after he crashed a van into a wall after trying to run over his brother Carl. The two had been brawling viciously inside Home Farm previous to this, as Carl had ruined Matthew’s wedding to Anna De Souza earlier that day
  • 2008 – Victoria Sugden fell through the ice on the frozen lake at Home Farm, finding the body of Shane Doyle. She was rescued by Daz Eden and survived.
  • 2009 – A vintage car driven by Rodney Blackstock hurtled through the village after the handbrake was not securely fastened. It careered into the Farm Shop trapping Douglas Potts, Leyla Harding and Ryan Lamb inside and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.