Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will begin production of the FQ-42A following the award of a U.S. Air Force contract for its uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket has been selected for a rapid-response mission to help extend the operational life of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. RAPID-RESPONSE SPACE
The Do228 NXT marked another milestone at ILA Berlin 2026 with an official water salute following its public debut and successful flight test programme. MILESTONE AT ILA BERLIN Official recognition The Do228 NXT turboprop aircraft received its official water salute at ILA Berlin 2026, marking
Baltic Ground Services has begun providing ground handling and fueling services for Arkia Israeli Airlines’ direct Vilnius–Tel Aviv flights, expanding its operations at Vilnius Airport. Baltic Ground Services has commenced ground handling and into-plane fueling services for Arkia Israeli Airlines’ direct flights between Vilnius and Tel
Boeing has launched an advanced engineer training programme in Lagos to strengthen aviation safety, technical capability and workforce development in Nigeria. Sixteen engineers from United Nigeria Airlines and ValueJet will receive Boeing 737 Next-Generation systems training in Lagos as part of a wider aviation capacity-building initiative.
Airbus is strengthening digital sovereignty through European partnerships, sovereign AI, cybersecurity and secure digital infrastructure. Airbus is expanding its digital sovereignty strategy through European partnerships, secure infrastructure and investment in sovereign technologies to strengthen resilience and innovation. DIGITAL RESILIENCE Supporting technological autonomy Airbus is
SITA has appointed Frank Jaffé as Senior Vice President of SITA Global Services to lead worldwide operational support for more than 2,500 aviation customers across
The inaugural African Air Transport Convention and Expo has opened in Lomé, bringing together African leaders and aviation stakeholders to advance SAATM implementation, regional connectivity
Diamond Aircraft Aviation Southern Africa is exhibiting at AERO South Africa 2026, showcasing a range of Jet A-1-powered and fuel-efficient aircraft designed for both flight
2021 – First flight of the Boeing 737 MAX 10
2009 – An Indian Air Force Mikoyan MiG-21 Bison from the Chabua Air Force Station, Assam, India, crashes due to a technical fault while on a routine training flight, the pilot successfully ejecting from the aircraft.
2007 – Eagle Airways Flight 2300 was a flight from Timaru to Wellington that made a belly landing in Woodbourne Airport, Blenheim due to a hydraulic failure. All 17 people on board survived.
2004 – Airblue flies its first flight, a private airline in Pakistan
1983 – Launch: Space shuttle Challenger STS-7 at 11:33:00 UTC. Mission highlights: First US woman in space, Sally Ride; Multiple comsat deployments; First deployment and retrieval of a satellite SPAS.
1981 – First flight of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
1972 – General Dynamics F-111A, 67-0082, c/n A1-127, crashes near Eglin AFB, Florida, shortly after takeoff. Lost control after an external fuel fire and explosion.
1971 – Southwest Airlines is founded
1965 – Lockheed NF-104A Starfighter, 56-0756, c/n 183-1044, assigned to Air Force Systems Command Test Pilot School, Edwards AFB, California, suffers rocket oxidizer explosion this date, blowing off a portion of the tail; the pilot landed safely. The plane was repaired and flown again.
1951 – An infamous day in the history of RAF Biggin Hill when three Gloster Meteors and their pilots were killed in accidents, all three crashing in an area of about 100 yards. The first, a Mk.8 piloted by Flight Lieutenant Gordon McDonald of 41 Squadron, crashed shortly after take off, corkscrewing as pieces of structure fell from the aircraft. The aircraft hit a bungalow, killing the pilot. The jet wash of his flight leader was named as a possible cause. Within seconds of this accident, two Mk.4 Meteors of 600 Sqn, piloted by Sergeant Kenneth Clarkson and Squadron Leader Phillip Sandeman, both circling over the wreckage and preparing to land, collided at 2,000 feet (610 m) above the scene. Although Sandeman
managed to bail out, he was killed when his parachute failed to open. Clarkson was killed in his aircraft. A week after this incident, another Meteor overshot the runway, narrowly missing passing cars. After these incidents, several residents stated they would be “selling up,” and there were calls for traffic lights to be installed on Bromley Road for use during takeoffs and landings. Princess Elizabeth, soon to be Queen Elizabeth II, was visiting the base on this day.
1939 – Pan American Airways begin the first direct transatlantic seaplane service. It flies from New York to Southampton, England, by way of Botwood, Newfoundland, and Foynes, Ireland.
1937 – First flight of the de Havilland Don
1937 – June 18–20, Valery Chkalov, G. F. Baidukov, and A. V. Belyakov flew from Moscow to Vancouver, Washington, USA via the North Pole.
1935 – The Seversky SEV-2XP is heavily damaged (perhaps intentionally) while en route to Wright Field, Ohio, for the 1935 U.S. Army Air Corps competition for a new single-seat fighter. The two-seat design is reworked into a single-seater with a retractable undercarriage when the Air Corps delays the competition until April 1936.
1932 – First flight of the Dewoitine D.500
1928 – A Latham 47 flying boat carrying Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen and five others on a flight to search for survivors of the Italian airship Italia disappears. Their bodies are never found.
1926 – First flight of the Blackburn Iris
1922 – The first soaring flight of one hour in a slope lift (using hill currents) is made by Arthur Martens in a Vampyr sailplane designed by Wolfgang Klemmperer at the Wasserkuppe, Rhön, Germany.
1920 – The first aircraft were taken on strength by the Canadian Air Force. They were four Avro 504 K’s, registered G-CYAA to G-CYAD.
1877 – Samuel Archer King makes a two-hour airmail flight of 26 miles between Nashville and Gallatin, Tennessee, in the balloon Buffalo.
1861 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe transmits the first telegraphic message ever sent from a balloon during a test at the Columbia Armory, Washington, D. C.
