1938: Northwest Airlines Flight 2 crashed near Bozeman, Montana, killing all 10 aboard. The Lockheed 14H Super Electra (registered NC-117388) crashed after the horizontal and vertical stabilizers separated from the aircraft, probably due to excessive turbulence. It was also determined that Lockheed’s initial vibration tests on the aircraft were not performed properly, and all Super Electras were grounded until a fix was made.
1942: The US Army announces the delivery of its first troop-transport gliders.
1946: The unofficial altitude record for a helicopter is made at 21,000ft in a Sikorsky R5.
1946: The US Army's Signal Corps successfully bounces the first radar waves off the Moon.
1954: BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH-106 Comet registered G-ALYP, crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing all 35 on-board. The aircraft suffered explosive decompression while flying from Rome, Italy to London, England due to premature metal fatigue.
1962: A B-52 Stratofortress sets a new distance record of 12,532 miles on a flight from Okinawa to Madrid.
1967: SR-71 (950), lost during wet runway brake testing at Edwards AFB. Pilot Art Petersonsurvived. The CIA informs the Department of Defense the A-12s would gradually be placed in storage with the process to be completed by the end of January 1967. This was later changed to allow some operational missions of the A-12 over Southeast Asia. (Q)
1969: Launch of Venera 6 atmospheric probe to Venus. Venera 6 arrived at Venus on May 17, 1969. Along with Venera 5, atmospheric data was returned indicating an atmosphere composed of 93-97% carbon dioxide, 2-5% nitrogen, and less than 4% oxygen. The probe returned data down to within 11 kilometers of surface and was then lost - crushed by the pressure on Venus.
1982: The Gulfstream III Spirit of America sets a round-the-world record for an executive jet of 43 hours, 39 minutes and 6 seconds in Teterboro, New Jersey.
1984: A Balkan Bulgarian Tupolev Tu-134 (registered LZ-TUR) crashes while flying from Berlin to Sofia, Bulgaria. The aircraft struck power lines after descending below the decision altitude.
1990: First flight of the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F.
1992: TWA files for bankruptcy for the first time. They would file a second time just a few years later.
1997: 1st Comet of 1997 Discovered: Comet 1997 A1.
1998: Soyuz 27 carrying 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station, launched.
2000: Crossair Flight 498 crashes in Niederhasil, Switzerland, killing all 10 aboard. The Saab 340 (registered HB-AKK) lost control about 10 minutes after departure for reasons unknown, though it is speculated that cellphone interference may have been involved.
2011: AirAsia Flight 5218, operated by Airbus A320-216 9M-AHH, sustained substantial damage in a runway excursion accident at Kuching Airport, Malaysia. All 123 passengers and six crew members survived. The Flight from Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport to Kuching Airport. The flight landed on Kuching's runway 25 in heavy rain around but skidded to the right and went off the side of the runway. It came to rest in the grass with the nose gear dug in or collapsed.
