Portal:Aviation/Today in aviation

2005 – Launch: Venus Express, the first exploration mission of the European Space Agency, launched from Kazakhstan. It arrived on Venus the following April, and is funded to continue to send back data until December 2012.

2004 – A U.S. Navy McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet crashes 15 miles (24 km) east of Nellis AFB, Nevada, after in flight fire and becoming uncontrollable shortly after takeoff. Pilot ejects safely.

1999 – TAESA Flight 725, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, crashes near Uruapan, Mexico, killing all 18 on board.

1989 – A Navy LTV A-7E Corsair II jet fighter preparing to land at Dobbins Air Force Base crashes into an apartment complex in Smyrna, Ga., and bursts into flames. Two civilians were killed; four civilians injured. Among the dead, a pregnant 24-year-old woman. Her five-year-old daughter survived with burns over half her body.

1980 – Dan-Air registers the last commercial flight by a de Havilland Comet. The plane flew enthusiasts on a round-trip flight from London.

1967 – Launch of the Apollo 4 mission, an unmanned Saturn V, the largest launch vehicle ever to fly successfully.

1962 – An engine failure forced Jack McKay, a NASA research pilot, to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake, Nevada, in the second North American X-15, 56-6671 on flight 2-31-52. The aircraft's landing gear collapsed and the X-15 flipped over on its back. McKay was promptly rescued by an Air Force medical team standing by near the launch site, and eventually recovered to fly the X-15 again. But his injuries, more serious than at first thought, eventually forced his retirement from NASA. The aircraft was sent back to the manufacturer, where it underwent extensive repairs and modifications. It returned to Edwards AFB in February 1964 as the X-15A-2, with a longer fuselage and external fuel tanks.

1957 – A Convair RB-36H-10-CF Peacemaker, 51-5745, of the 71st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, is destroyed by an explosion and groundfire at Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, all crew members survive. This is the 32nd B-36 written-off in an accident of 385 built and will be the last operational loss before the type is retired.

1956 – Second prototype Martin XP6M-1 Seamaster, BuNo 138822, c/n XP-2, first flown 18 May 1956, crashes at 1536 hrs. near Odessa, Delaware due to faulty elevator jack. As seaplane noses up at ~21,000 feet (6,400 m) and fails to respond to control inputs, crew of 4 ejects, pilot Robert S. Turner, co-pilot William Cunningham, and two crew all parachuting to safety. Airframe breaks up after falling to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) before impact.

1950 – Flying an F9 F Panther, United States Navy Lieutenant Commander William T. Amen shoots down a MiG-15. It is the first victory by a U.S. Navy jet over another jet.

1950 – (9–20) U.S. Navy AD Skyraiders and F4U Corsairs from the aircraft carriers USS Valley Forge (CV-45) and USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) attempt to destroy railroad and highway bridges across the Yalu River. They destroy the highway bridge at Sinuiju and two bridges at Hysanjin and damage other bridges, although the railroad bridge at Sinuiju remains standing. Escorting F9 F Panthers shoot down three MiG-15 s. Nearly 600 sorties are flown, and no U.S. aircraft are lost.

1946 – First flight of the Lockheed R6V Constitution by Joe Towle and Tony LeVier.

1945 – Disregarding advice from Eric "Winkle" Brown of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), to treat the rudder of the Heinkel He 162 with suspicion due to a number of in-flight failures, RAF pilot, Flt. Lt. R.A. Marks, starts a low-level roll during the Farnborough Air Show, one of the fin and rudder assemblies breaks off, the aircraft crashes in Aldershot before the ejection seat could be employed, killing Marks.

1944 – First flight of the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter in Seattle. After the war it will be redesigned as an aerial tanker.

1942 – French high-level bombers attack U.S. landing beaches in North Africa and U.S. ships offshore, but do no damage SOC-3 floatplanes from the light cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42) experiment with the use of depth charges to destroy French tanks, with great success Six F4 F Wildcats from USS Ranger engage 11 Dewoitine D.520s, shooting down five and damaging four, and a lone Messerschmitt Bf 109 is shot down over the beach.

1932 – Wolfgang von Gronau and crew in a Dornier Wal completed the first flight around the world by a seaplane. Their flight took 111 days.

1904 – Wilbur Wright flies the Wright Flyer II a distance of 3 miles (5 km) near Dayton, Ohio, the first flight of longer than five seconds.

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