2002 – Luxair Flight 9642, a Fokker 50 (registered LX-LGB) crashes on approach to Luxembourg-Findel Airport, killing 20 of the 22 on board. After executing a go-around, the aircraft’s propeller blades were accidentally switched into the reverse position, causing them to fall 6 miles short of the runway.
2002 – National Airlines, a Las Vegas-based discount carrier, ceases operations. Launched in 1999 with the backing of casino operators seeking to boost tourism from the east coast, National linked 10 cities to Las Vegas using as many as 19 Boeing 757-200 jets. Already struggling with fuel costs, the post-9/11 economic downturn was the final nail in National’s coffin. Flight 354, LAS-DFW, was the airline’s final scheduled flight. It is not to be confused with the much larger outfit called National Airlines which folded in the 1980s, or the all-cargo National Airlines which continues operations.
1986 – A Boeing 234LR Chinook helicopter operated by British International Helicopters crashes on approach to Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands killing 45 people. The helicopter experienced a forward transmission failure, causing the twin rotor-blades to collide, sending the aircraft to nosedive 150 feet into the sea.
1980 – First flight of the Solar Challenger.
1967 – TWA Flight 159, a Boeing 707, overruns the runway at Greater Cincinnati Airport and catches fire; all on board escape the aircraft, but a passenger dies four days later.
1945 – The first jet landing on an aircraft carrier unintentionally takes place by a Ryan FR-1, piloted by U.S. Navy Ensign Jake West. After the radial engine of an FR-1 failed on final approach to the escort carrier Wake Island, the pilot managed to start the jet engine and land, barely catching the last arrestor wire before hitting the ship’s crash barrier.
1935 – England’s Hawker Hurricane single-seat fighter plane makes its first flight.
1915 – The first catapult launch of an airplane from a moving ship is made from the USS North Carolina in Pensacola, Florida.
