1956, a US Army helicopter completes a flight across the United States, becoming the first rotary aircraft to do so.
1970, two USAF Sikorsky HH-53C helicopters land in Da Nang, South Vietnam, completing the first non-stop trans-Pacific crossing by helicopter. Originating at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the choppers are refueled along the way by C-130 tankers.
1983, a Canadair Challenger 601 flies 4,364.2 miles from Calgary to London, setting a new distance record for a business jet.
2001, Air Transat Flight 236, an Airbus A330-200 flying from Toronto to Lisbon, runs out of fuel and loses power in both engines over the Atlantic Ocean due to a fuel leak. The crew manages to glide the crippled plane to a safe landing in the Azores.
2004, in separate incidents, Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303, a Tupolev TU-134A (RA-65080), and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047 (RA-85556), a Tupolev TU-154B, both explode while in flight south of Moscow. The Russian government blams Chechen suicide bombers for the disasters, which kill a total of 89 people on both aircraft.
2009, American Airlines retires its last Airbus A300 from scheduled service.
