Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Jetstar will remove its 7kg carry-on weight limit from 2 February 2027, replacing it with a size-based model in which every fare includes one underseat
Undeclared lithium item detections at OR Tambo International Airport baggage screening have fallen by more than half since January, from around 2,000 rejections to about
Vietnam’s Sun PhuQuoc Airways has begun building its own pilot pipeline, placing an initial intake of 13 cadets into A320 Type Rating training with BAA
KlasJet’s Chief Commercial Officer for VIP Operations says the European charter season started slowly because the 2026 World Cup was staged in North America, pushing
Avion Express Brasil has achieved IATA Operational Safety Audit certification, confirming that its operational management and control systems meet international standards. The accreditation completes a
Bay Area flight school Pacific States Aviation has added a Tecnam P2006T MkII Premium Edition to its fleet, its first twin-engine aircraft and the newest
The FAA’s proposed rule would insert a new 14 CFR 400.3 disapplying specified provisions of 13 federal laws — including NEPA in full and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act — from launch site, reentry site, experimental permit and
IATA’s June air cargo data shows African carriers with the fastest year-to-date demand growth of any world region at 11.1%, more than double the global average of 4.9%. Over the same period African capacity contracted by 0.7%, and in June
ICAO’s 2025 Safety Report documents commercial aviation’s safest year by accident rate on record, with fatal accidents falling 60% year-on-year to just four — but total fatalities rose from 296 to 387, with a single accident accounting for 260 deaths,
1985 – Japan Airlines Flight 123, a Boeing 747, crashes into Mount Osutaka after catastrophic failure of the tailplane severs all hydraulic lines and renders the aircraft uncontrollable. 520 of 524 people on board are killed. To date, it is the worst single-aircraft disaster in history.
1979 12-17 – Ben Abruzzo and crew make the first transatlantic crossing by balloon, taking 5 days 17 hours to travel from Presque Island, Maine USA to Évreux, France in the Double Eagle II
1978 – First flight of the Pilatus PC-7
1976 – First flight of the Aermacchi MB-339
1966 – First flight of the Learjet 25
1965 – First flight of the Fuji FA-200 Aero Subaru
1964 – While involved in Soviet Air Force testing, Kamov Ka-22, OI-03, was destroyed. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled turn to the right, and in efforts to correct the Ka-22 pitched into a steep dive. The order was given to abandon the aircraft, and three of the crew survived, but Col S. G. Brovtsev, who was flying, and technician A. F. Rogov, were killed.
1962 – One day after launching Andrian Nikolayev into orbit, the Soviet Union also sent up cosmonaut Pavel Popovich; both men landed safely Aug. 15.
1960 – The first balloon satellite _ the Echo I _ was launched by the United States from Cape Canaveral.
1952 – 1952 Transportes Aéreos Nacional Douglas C-47 mid-air explosion: A Douglas C-47 A explodes in mid-air on a domestic flight in Brazil; all 24 on board die.
1947 – In the BSAA Star Dust accident, a British South American Airways Avro 691 Lancastrian Mk.III named Star Dust disappears over the Andes after transmitting an enigmatic coded message (“STENDEC”); the fate of the plane remained a mystery until the crash site was located in 2000; five crew members and six passengers are killed. (This incident occurred 2 August 1947.)
1946 – President Harry Truman signs a bill authorizing an appropriation of $50,000 to establish a National Air Museum in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C. The small museum eventually becomes the National Air and Space Museum – The most visited museum in the world.
1942 – The first American aircraft – A U. S. Navy PBY Catalina amphibian – Lands on Guadalcanal’s Henderson Field. Aircraft based there will become known as the “Cactus Air Force. ”
1941 – Two Wellingtons of No. 115 Sqn carried out the first operational trial of Bomber Commands new navigational device Gee. The trials were a complete success, and the equipment ordered into full production.
1935 – First flight of the de Havilland Dragonfly
1927 – The Royal Air Force holds a fly-off between four competing flying boat designs, the Supermarine Southampton, Blackburn Iris, Short Singapore, and Saunders-Roe Valkyrie.
1913 – First flight of the Bristol T.B.8
1908 – Controlled by Thomas Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss, the Signal Corps’ Dirigible Balloon No.1, known as SC-I, the first Army dirigible, begins flight trials at Fort Myer near Washington, D. C.
1888 – The first gas-powered aircraft flies. Built by the German experimenter, Wolfert, the powered airship (dirigible) fitted with a 2 hp Daimler benzene engine running two propellers, flies for 2 ½ miles from Seelberg to Kornwestheim, Germany.
