Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Baltic Ground Services has expanded its fueling partnership with Freebird Airlines, adding support at Ostrava Airport while continuing operations across key Baltic airports ahead of
Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation M2 Gen3 has completed its first flight, marking a major milestone as the next-generation light jet advances towards FAA certification and
Airbus has completed the first flight of the A350-1000ULR for Qantas Project Sunrise, marking the start of certification testing for future non-stop Sydney–London operations. TOULOUSE, FRANCE – Airbus has completed the first flight of the A350-1000ULR, the ultra-long-range variant being developed for Qantas Airways’ Project Sunrise
GE Aerospace has completed ground testing of a megawatt-class hybrid electric engine system, advancing development of future hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for commercial aviation. CINCINNATI, USA – GE Aerospace has completed ground testing of a megawatt-class hybrid electric engine system developed through NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration
The African Development Bank Group has secured support for its Integrated Aviation Transformation Program, including a US$10 million contribution from Japan to help modernise aviation and strengthen connectivity across Africa. BRAZZAVILLE, REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Governors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), development partners,
Freebird Airlines has joined BARIG as a new member, strengthening the association’s representation of airlines operating in Germany and expanding industry collaboration across the European aviation sector. FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – The Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (BARIG) has welcomed Türkiye-based Freebird Airlines as
Honeywell has launched enhanced capabilities for Safety Suite 2.0, providing real-time visibility, forecasting tools and improved safety management features for industrial operations. CHARLOTTE, USA –
AFRIDEX 2026 will introduce large-scale outdoor displays and live operational demonstrations, creating a defence exhibition platform focused on capability development, technology and industry collaboration across
ATEQ GROUP has launched its new South African website, www.ateqsa.co.za, providing local access to aviation testing and maintenance support information. Local platform launched to support
2012 – On approach to a landing at Lagos, Nigeria, the crew of Dana Air Flight 992, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, reports engine trouble and declares an emergency. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft crashes into a furniture works and printing press building in the Iju-Ishaga neighborhood of Lagos, killing all 153 people aboard and ten people on the ground. Additional people on the ground are injured. This is the second-deadliest plane crash in Nigeria and the deadliest-ever involving an MD-83.
2007 – Paramount Airlines helicopter crash: A Mil Mi-8 helicopter operated by Paramount Airlines crashed near Lungi International Airport in Sierra Leone, killing approximately 20 to 22 people.
1977 – During an aerial demonstration at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Fairchild-Republic chief test pilot Howard W. “Sam” Nelson fails to recover from a loop in Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, 75-0294, c/n A10-0043, ’97’, from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, tail strikes runway with airframe in nose-high attitude, aircraft tumbles and disintegrates. Pilot dies en route to hospital.
1975 – First flight of the Mitsubishi F-1 59-5107
1973 – The first production Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic airliner (pictured) broke-up during a demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show, killing 14.
1966 – Gemini 9 launched; 7th US 2-man flight (Astronauts Stafford & Cernan aboard).
1965 – Gemini 4 launched; 2nd US 2-man flight (Astronauts McDivitt & White aboard). Astronaut Edward White became the first American to “walk” in space, during the flight.
1962 – Air France Flight 007, a chartered Boeing 707, skids and burns after the pilot rejects takeoff, killing many of Atlanta, Georgia ‘s civic and cultural leaders; two flight attendants are the only survivors, as 130 die in the worst one-aircraft accident to that date.
1959 – First class graduates from Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
1959 – RAF de Havilland DH-106 Comet 2R, XK663, is destroyed in a hangar fire at RAF Watton. No fatalities.
1959 – Second prototype North American XA3J-1 Vigilante, BuNo 154158, c/n NA247-2, crashes at Columbus, Ohio when hydraulic and electrical failures cause loss of control.
1954 – Cape Canaveral, Florida Missile Test Range, supports the first attempted recovery of a winged missile that flew a programmed pattern and then returned to the Cape for refurbishing and reuse. A Northrop N-69A Snark missile, GM-3394, was successfully guided for landing on the Cape Canaveral Skid Strip, but the missile’s rear skid was not locked and the vehicle crashed and exploded upon contact.
1949 – First flight of the Lockheed XF-90.
1949 – Sole Sukhoi Su-15 (Aircraft P) twin-engined jet all-weather interceptor develops severe vibration during 39th test flight, breaks up in mid-air forcing pilot S. N. Anokhin to eject. Project abandoned, second prototype never finished.
1943 – A Boeing B-17F-55-DL Flying Fortress, 42-3399, “Scharazad”, of the Plummer Provisional Group, 318th Bomb Squadron, flying to Grand Island, Nebraska from Pendleton Army Air Base in Oregon crashes on Bomber Mountain in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. 10 crew members were killed. Wreckage finally discovered on 12 August 1945.
1936 – The British Air Ministry awarded a contract to Hawker for 600 Hurricane Mk. 1 fighters, the first of a new breed of high-speed, eight-gun interceptors for the RAF. This was the biggest peacetime order placed in Britain to date.
1932 – First flight of the RWD 6
1925 – Goodyear airship “Pilgrim” makes first flight (first with enclosed cabin).
1923 – First flight of the Vickers Venture
1918 – One Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI, a four-engined German biplane strategic bomber, modified as a float-equipped seaplane for the Marine-Fliegerabteilung (Imperial German Naval Air Service), with the designation Type L, serial 1432, using Maybach engines, first flown on 5 September 1917, crashes during testing on this date.
