Almost all Stinger-type surface-to-air missiles carry small warheads and are heat-seekers. That means they home in on the engines, which are typically mounted on the wings or near the tail of an airliner. There have been hits on airliners where only a single engine was damaged and the plane landed safely. Unfortunately, there have been quite a few other cases were the plane's hydraulics or fuel systems were damaged, forcing a crash. A lot of it depends on the particular plane and the skill of the crew.

From Crash Database (custom search on "missile" with obviously large SAMs like the Ukranian disaster last year and the one shot down by the U.S.S. Vincennes deleted. The missiles used in those incidents were way too large to easily smuggle or operate by a terrorist group. I also deleted cases where missiles were launched from fighters.)

Results are displayed by date in descending order (most recent to least recent).

Date: 10/10/1998
Location: Kindu, Congo
Airline: Congo Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 727-100
Registration: 9Q-CSG
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 41:41
Details: The aircraft crashed into the jungle after the rear engine was hit by a missile fired by Tutsi rebel forces shortly after the plane took off from Kindu Airport bound for Kinshasa.

NOTE: A 727-100 would be particularily vulnerable. It has 3 turbojet engines in the tail, making for an attractive heat source. A lot of critical systems are concentrated in a small area, making this plane pretty vulnerable. The "good" news, if you can call it that, is that there aren't very many 727s in US service anymore.

Date: 09/22/1993
Location: Sukhumi, Georgia
Airline: Transair Georgia
Aircraft: Tupolev TU-154B
Registration: SSSR-85163
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 106:132
Details: The aircraft was hit by a missile then crash landed on the runway. Terrorist act by Abkhazian rebels.

Date: 01/28/1992
Location: Stepanakert, Azerbaijan
Airline: Aeroflot
Aircraft: Mil MI-8 (helicopter)
Registration: UNK
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 47:47
Details: Exploded and crashed after being hit by a surface-to-air missile. Highest death toll in a commercial helicopter crash in aviation history.

NOTE:Helicopters in general are more vulnerable than fixed wing aircraft, especially those like the MI-8 where the engine exhausts are located near the main rotor. Stingers could break a MI-24 Hind in half (I've seen the video) and that's a much stronger helicopter than a MI-8.

Date: 02/22/1991
Location: Cazombo, Angola
Airline: Fuerza Area Angolaise
Aircraft: UNK
Registration: UNK
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 47:47
Details: Shot down by surface-to-air missile.

Date: 06/12/1990
Location: Kabul, Afganistan
Airline: Aeroflot
Aircraft: Ilyushin Il-76MD
Registration: SSSR-86905
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 10:10
Details: The plane crashed after attemting to make an emergency landing after being struck by a Stinger missile.

Date: 06/28/1989
Location: Borana, Somalia
Airline: Somali Airlines
Aircraft: Fokker F-27 Friendship 600RF
Registration: 6O-SAZ
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 30:30
Details: Crashed after takeoff. Shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

Date: 04/27/1988
Location: Tchamulate, Angola
Airline: Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria
Aircraft: Antonov AN-26
Registration: UNK
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 29:29
Details: Shot down with a surface-to-air missile.

Date: 06/11/1987
Location: Khost, Afghanistan
Airline: Bakhtar Afghan Airlines
Aircraft: Antonov AN-26
Registration: YA-BAL
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 53:53
Details: Shot down by rebels with a surface-to-air missile.

Date: 08/16/1986
Location: Malakal, Sudan
Airline: Sudan Airways
Aircraft: Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M
Registration: ST-ADY
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 60:60
Details: Shot down by rebels with surface-to-air missiles shortly after takeoff.

Date: 09/04/1985
Location: Kandahar, Afghanistan
Airline: Ariana Afghan Airlines
Aircraft: Antonov AN-26
Registration: YA-BAM
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 52:52
Details: Shot down by rebels with a ground-to-air missile while flying at 13,000 feet.

NOTE: It appears high-wing twin-engine turboprop airliners like the F-27 and An-26 may be more vulnerable to these missiles, or it could be that they're operated in areas where this sort of thing is more likely to happen. Few if any F-27s and An-26s are in the US airline inventory but there are a lot of small commuter airliners that could be vulnerable.

Date: 11/08/1983
Location: Lubango, Huila, Angola
Airline: TAAG Angola Airlines
Aircraft: Boeing 737-200
Registration: D2-TBN
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 130:130
Details: The airliner crashed immediately after takeoff. Shot down by rebels with a surface to air missile.

NOTE: This one concerns me the most. The 737 is the most widely used airliner in the world. I'm pretty sure the -200 model uses turbofan engines that have a lower heat signature that turbojets.

Date: 02/12/1979
Location: Kariba, Rhodesia
Airline: Air Rhodesia
Aircraft: Vickers Viscount 748D
Registration: VP-YND
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 59:59
Details: Shot down by rebels with 2 surface-to-air missiles, a few minutes after taking off from Kariba.

Date: 09/03/1978
Location: Kariba, Rhodesia
Airline: Air Rhodesia
Aircraft: Vickers Viscount 782D
Registration: VP-WAS
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 48:56
Details: Shot down with a missile by rebels. Ten survivors murdered by guerrillas after the crash.

NOTE:The Viscount is another old twin-engine turboprop design. I don't like the trend here.

Date: 03/12/1975
Location: Pleiku, South Vietnam
Airline: Air Vietnam
Aircraft: Douglas DC-4
Registration: XV-NUJ
Fatalities/No. Aboard: 26:26
Details: Shot down by a hand-held surface-to-air missile by North Vietnamese forces 25 miles SW of Pleiku.