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On This Day: January 21

Aviation events for January 21

1921: The first triple-triplane aircraft, and the first passenger-carrying aircraft designed to carry more than 100 people that actually got off the ground, is launched at Lake Maggiore, Italy. The flight attempt ends in failure when the 55,000 lb. flying boat nosedives into the lake.
 
1943: Pan Am flight 1104, a Martin M-130 Flying Boat ("Philippine Clipper", reg. NC-14715), crashes in Ukiah, California, killing all 19 on-board. The aircraft, flying in very poor weather, descended for improved visibility, causing it to crash into a mountain after drifting off-course. The 10 passengers on the aircraft were all naval officers enroute to San Francisco.
 
1951: The United States Air Force F-84 Thunderjet makes its first kill, when F-84 pilot Lieutenant Colonel William E. Bertram shoots down a MiG-15 during the Korean War.
 
1951: Westinghouse J-40 jet engine (7,500 pounds dry thrust) completed 150-hour Navy qualification test.
 
1952: The Saab 210 experimental delta-winged research aircraft makes its first flight in Sweden.
 
1968: A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying four nuclear weapons crashes in the sea near Thule Air Base in Greenland.
 
1972: First flight of the Lockheed S-3A Viking 157992.
 
1976: First passenger services by a supersonic airliner are begun, as British Airways and Air France Concorde supersonic transports take off simultaneously for Bahrain and Rio de Janeiro.
 
1979: Neptune becomes outermost planet (Pluto moves closer). Unless a new planet is discovered, Neptune will remain outermost planet since on August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally downgraded Pluto from an official planet to a dwarf planet.
 
1980: An Iran Air Boeing 727-086 (EP-IRD), crashes into a mountain while on approach to Tehran in very snow conditions. There were no survivors among the 128 aboard.
 
1985: Galaxy Airlines Flight 203, a Lockheed L-188 Electra (reg N5532) crashes just after takeoff from Reno, Nevada. The small air-start door on the right wing had not not secured properly by ground crews, causing a vibration felt by the crew. The pilots then eased back on the engines to try to isolate the noise, which resulted in a stall as they tried to continue climbing. There was only one survivor among the 70 people on the aircraft.
 
1990: Last SR-71 (962) left Kadena AFB. Tail art was a tombstone which read: "DET 1 RIP 1968-1990"
 
2004: NASA’s Mars Exploration Robot-A (MER-A) Spirit ceases communication from the red-planet because of a flash memory issue. The problem would be fixed two days later remotely from Earth.
 
2010: Cargolux Flight 7933, operated by Boeing 747-400 LX-OCV struck a vehicle on landing at Luxembourg International Airport. The van suffered major damage and the aircraft sustained a damaged tyre. Three investigations have been launched into the incident.
 
 
 

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