1989: UTA flight 772, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft (registered N54629), crashes in the Sahara Desert in Niger after a bomb explodes while enroute to Paris, killing all 170 on board. The bomb would eventually be blamed on Libyan terrorists.
An engine from UTA Flight 772 sits in the desert after a bomb exploded in its cargo hold.
1988: Israel launches its first satellite, for secret military reconnaissance.
1976: Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom jets are dispatched to investigate a UFO over Tehran. Both planes lose all instrumentation and communication capabilities before turning away from the bright light. The cause is never discovered.
1976: A Turkish Airlines Boeing 727 (registered TC-JBH) crashes into a mountain while on apprach to Antalya, Turkey. It was later learned that the pilots had been referencing the approach charts for a different airport.
1962: The Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy makes its maiden flight.
1921: The first airline in Latin America begins service: SCADTA launches flights between Barranquilla and Girandot using float-equipped Junkers F.13s.
1907: The first piloted helicopter flight takes place, reaching an impressive altitude of two feet above Douai, France while being steadied by several men.
1902: The Wright Brothers take their third glider on its first test flight.
1783: In a demonstration for King Louis XVI, a sheep, duck, and rooster fly up to 1,700 feet in a hot air balloon and return to the ground safely.
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