1983: A TAAG Angolan Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashes shortly after takeoff from Lubango Mukanka Airport in Angola, killing all 126 passengers and four crew on board. Government officials claimed mechanical problems took the plane down, but rebels claim that they shot it down with a surface-to-air missile.
A cluster of P-80 Shooting Stars parked at Langley Air Force Base. (Photo by US Air Force)
1950: A US Air Force Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star flown by Lt. Russell J. Brown shoots down two North Korean MiG-15s in history’s first jet-on-jet dogfight.
1881: Happy birthday to Robert Estnault-Pelterie, the inventor of ailerons. He’s also credited with coining the word “astronautics.”
1836: A coal gas-fired balloon piloted by Charles Green lands in Weilburg, Germany, a day and 448 miles (722 km) after having departed London.
