Photo by Brian Futterman

2004 – China Eastern Flight 5210, a CRJ-200 registered B-3072, crashed into a park shortly after takeoff from Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, killing all 53 on-board and 2 on the ground. The aircraft had been parked overnight and had accumulated frost on the wings…which were not de-iced before departure. The aircraft stalled after being airborne for less than a minute and cam back down to Earth.

1989 – A British Airways Boeing 747 narrowly misses crashing into the Penta hotel near Heathrow Airport by less than 100 feet after the First Officer and Flight Engineer became ill form food poisoning, placing almost all landing duties on the Captain. The Captain faced criminal charges and was demoted. Years later, he would commit suicide.

1981 – Aeroflot received a ban from to the US after a flight of theirs strayed form its flight plan and over some New England military installations.

1917 – A Zeppelin LZ59 begins a 4,198-mile journey through Africa in 96 hours.

1783 – The first untethered human flight takes place when Jean Francois Pilatre de Rozier flies as high as 500 feet and travels 5 miles over Paris in a Montgolfier hot-air balloon.