On This Day in Aviation History: November 17th
Tags: BAC, British European Airways, London Heathrow (LHR), Louis Paulhan, Lunokhod 1, Sir Alan Cobham, Vickers Viscount 802
1968 – A customized version of the BAC One-Eleven, the 1-11 510ED, enters service with British European Airways.
1962 – President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport.
President John F. Kennedy and his predecessor President Dwight D. Eishenhower at the dedication of Dulles International Airport, named after Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Dulles.
1957 – A British European Airways Vickers Viscount 802 (G-AOHP) carrying cargo to Copenhagen, crashes when three of its four engines fail after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport. The plane’s only occupants, the two pilots, escape unharmed, but the plane is damaged beyond repair. Ice buildup on the cowlings, an inoperable anti-ice system and subsequent ingestion of the ice into the engines are blamed for the crash.
1927 – British aviation pioneer Sir Alan Cobham takes off from England in a Short Singapore flying boat to take an aerial survey of Africa.
1906 – London’s Daily Mail newspaper offers a £10,000 prize for the first aviator to fly from London to Manchester in less than 24 hours with no more than two stops. The prize is won by Louis Paulhan of France nearly four years later.
