Photo by Mike Primamore
1969 – The Concorde 001 test flight breaks the sound barrier for the first time.
1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956, a DC-9 (registered N9101), crashes into terrain in Oregon killing all 18 on-board. This accident was the first loss of a DC-9, this particular aircraft having been purchased by West Coast Airlines only 15 days prior to the accident. It is still unknown why the aircraft had descended below its granted flight level.
1958 – Having been established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, NASA was born to replace NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics).
1947 – The F-86 Sabre flies for the first time.
1947 – Los Angeles Airways commences the world’s first regular airmail service by helicopter, using Sikorsky S-51 machines.
1942 – First flight of the United States’ first jet, the Bell XP-59 “Aircomet”, takes place.
1861 – The United States Army Balloon Corps, consisting of five balloons and fifty men, is formed.
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