On This Day in Aviation History

2011-12-13

On This Day in Aviation History: December 13th

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Written by: Phil Derner Jr.
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1995 – Banat Air Flight 166, an Antonov An-24 registered YR-AMR, crashes on takeoff from Verona, Italy, killing all 49 people on board. The crash would be attributed to the aircraft being as much as three tons overweight.

1994 – American Eagle Flight 3379, a British Aerospace Jetstream 31, crashes five miles short of the runway in Raleigh-Durham, killing 15 of the 20 on-board. The nighttime crash would be blamed on an engine failure and poor response by the crew.

Maj. George Davis

Maj. George Davis

1977 – A National Jet DC-3 aircraft that chartered for the University of Evansville basketball team crashes near Evansville, killing 29.

1972 – Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt perform the final extravehicular activity of the Apollo program, on Apollo 17. No one from Earth has set foot on the Moon since, as of December 2011.

1962 – Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a Delta B rocket. Less than a year later, it would broadcast the first transpacific television broadcast from the U.S. to Japan.

1951 – Major George Davis of the 334th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, flying an F-86 Sabre, shoots down four MiG-15s over North Korea in a single day.

1918 – Aboard a Handley Page V-1500 four-engined bomber, Maj. A.S.C. MacLaren and Capt. Robert Halley set off for the first ever flight from England to India.

1913 – German balloonist Hugo Kaulen remains afloat for 87 hours, a record that would hold until 1935.

1872 – Paul Haenlein tests the first gas engine-propelled airship in BrĂ¼nn, Germany, reaching a speed of just under 12 mph (19 km/h)



About the Author

Phil Derner Jr.
Phil Derner founded NYCAviation in 2003. A lifetime aviation enthusiast that grew up across the water from La Guardia Airport, Phil has aviation experience as a Loadmaster, Operations Controller and Flight Dispatcher. He owns and operates NYCAviation and performs duties as an aviation expert through writing, consulting, public speaking and media appearances. You can reach him by email or follow him on Twitter.




 
 

 

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