Pan Am Airbus A310 N805PA

1991 – After declaring bankruptcy the previous August, Pan Am finally ends operations after 63 years of service. Final service is Flight 423, From Bridgetown, Barbados to Miami, operated by Clipper Goodwill, a Boeing 727-200 (reg: N368PA).

1984 – Kuwait Airways Flight 221, flying from Kuwait City to Karachi, Pakistan, is hijacked by four Lebanese men and diverted to Tehran. Four hostages are killed and dumped on the tarmac, and the remaining passengers, especially Americans, are tortured every 5 minutes. Iranians eventually raid the aircraft and rescue all, but the hijackers were later released.

1983 – In response to the attack on US bases in Beirut, US Navy A-6 Intruders attack targets in Libya.

1977 – Malaysian Airlines Flight 653, a Boeing 737-2HC registered 9M-MBD, crashes at Tanjung Kupang Johor in Malaysia, killing all 100 on-board. The aircraft had been hijacked and the cause of the crash itself is still unknown. The aircraft went down in a swamp, nearly straight-down, and there was not one recognizable body found.

1974 – Martinair Flight 138, a DC-8-55 registered PH-MBH, flying from Indonesia to Sri Lanka, crashes while on approach to Colombo-Bandaranaike Airport. The aircraft hit Anjimalai Mountain after descending below the minimum safe altitude, killing all 191 on-board.

1965 – Eastern Airlines Flight 853 (Lockheed Super Constellation registered N6218C) and TWA Flight 42 (Boeing 707 registered N748TW) collide over Carmel, NY. Only 4 people died, all of which were among 54 on-board the Constellation after it ditched into a wooded area in Danbury, CT. The TWA aircraft was able to continue on to land on runway 31L at JFK.

1965 – Gemini 7 launched.

1961 - The National Air and Space Museum receives the Douglas C-54 transport “Sacred Cow” used by US Presidents Roosevelt and Truman.

1955 – Glenn L. Martin, founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company, dies at the age of 69.