On This Day in Aviation History

December 15, 2011
316 comments »

On This Day in Aviation History: December 15th

More articles by »
By: Phil Derner Jr.
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
1215_thumb1
2009 – The Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight.

Boeing 001 Heavy Experimental N787BA soars into the gray skies over Everett

Boeing 001 Heavy Experimental N787BA soars into the gray skies over Everett. Photo by Jeremy Lindgren

2006 – The F-35 Lightning II makes its maiden flight.

2005 – The F-22 Raptor enters service after 15 years of testing (including the YF-22 version).

1997 – A Tajikistan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes on approach to Sharejah, UAE, after descending below the authorized altitude. There was only one survivor of the 86 people on-board.

1996 – The merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing is announced.

1989 – KLM Flight 867, a 747-400 registered PH-BFC, flies through a cloud of volcanic ash spewed from Mount Redoubt while descending to Anchorage, Alaska. After falling 14,000 ft, the engines finally turned back on, allowing them to safely land.

1970 – Soviet space probe Venera 7 lands on Venus, marking the first successful soft landing on another planet.

1965 – Gemini 6A is launched from Cape Canaveral, manned by astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford. It would make the first space rendezvous with Gemini 7 shortly thereafter.

1959 – A new speed record of 1,526 mph (2,456 km/h) is set by Maj. J.W. Roberts flying a Convair F-106 Delta Dart.

1955 – The de Havilland Mosquito concludes its career with the Royal Air Force.



 

Tag cloud

 

Valentines Deals

• Book a Valentine’s Day Getaway! Save $15* with Promo Code VALENTINE15 Book Now! Offer expires February 14, 2013

• Stay 6+ nights at the Cove Atlantis and get $300 credit instantly! Offer ends Feb 4th! - Expires 2/4/13

$20 for $40 Worth of Valentine's Day Flowers and Gifts from FTD