What's the difference between those terms in relation to a road or air accident?
crash
verb
- (Aeronautics) to cause (an aircraft) to hit land or water violently resulting in severe damage or (of an aircraft) to hit land or water in this way
- (Automotive Engineering) to cause (a car, etc.) to collide with another car or other object or (of two or more cars) to be involved in a collision
noun
a collision, as between vehicles
(Aeronautics) a sudden descent of an aircraft as a result of which it hits land or water CED
wreck
noun An automobile or railroad collision or accident: witnessed a wreck on the highway.
verb To cause the destruction of in a collision: wrecked the car by hitting a tree. American Heritage® Dictionary
Please, compare the following examples:
His parents died in a car/plane crash.
His parents died in a car/plane wreck.
-and-
I crashed the car by hitting a tree.
I wrecked the car by hitting a tree.
-and-
The helicopter/truck crashed into their home.
The helicopter/truck wrecked into their home.
-and-
He witnessed a terrible crash on the highway.
He witnessed a terrible wreck on the highway.
Best Answer
You normally wouldn't use "crackup" for a plane, nor would you ever use "cracked" in this sense. And "crackup" is informal and implies a less severe wreck, so it normally would not be used to describe an incident resulting in death.
"Crash" and "wreck" are almost interchangeable in this sense, though, eg, "wreck" is more idiomatic for an incident involving a train.
(The subtle difference between "crash" and "wreck" is that saying you "saw" a "crash" tends to imply you actually saw the incident occur, while seeing a "wreck" does not so much.)