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On This Day: February 4

Aviation events for February 4

1902: First balloon flight in Antarctica when Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton ascend to 244 meters in a tethered hydrogen balloon to take the first Antarctic aerial photographs.
 
1902: Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902-1974), one of the most famous aviators in history, is born in Detroit, Michigan.
 
1920: Pioneers Pierre van Ryneveld and Quentin Brand fly out of Cairo in a Vickers Vimy, crossing Africa by air from North to South. They arrived in Cape Town on March 20th.
 
1945: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt touches down at Yalta, the Crimean resort, in his presidential airplane Sacred Cow for a crucial summit with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The leaders are meeting to discuss terms for German surrender and the shape of post-war Europe.
 
1949: In the US, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gives authorization for the full use of ground control approach (GCA) landing aids. These will be used only in conditions of poor visibility caused by fog or bad weather and comprise a ground radar system.
 
1958: The world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the CVAN-65 USS Enterprise is laid down at the Newport News shipyard.
 
1961: Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure.
 
1964: A-12 (924 ) sustained flight at Mach 3+ and altitude. Pilot James Easthem reached Mach3.3 at 83,000 feet for just over 10 minutes. Aircraft heated to 800 F. Wiring insulation was burned and theaircraft was almost lost. All A-12s grounded for 6 weeks while Lockheed replaced all wiring in all the A-12s. (Q)
 
1966: All Nippon Airways Flight 60, operated by Boeing 727 JA8302 was landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport when it crashed into Tokyo Bay, with the loss of all 133 passengers and crew.
 
1967: U.S. launches Lunar Orbiter 3.
 
1971: Apollo 14 - USA Lunar Manned Lander (January 31 to February 8, 1971) Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, Stuart A. Roosa. Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon on February 5, 1971, in the Fra Mauro highlands, located at 3°40' S and longitude 17°28' E. They collected 42.9 kilograms of lunar samples and used a hand-held cart to transport rocks and equipment.
 
1977: Kenya Airways begins service from Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi.
 
1986: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 300, a 747-200 (AP-AYW) lands on its belly at Islamabad Airport because the crew forgot to lower the gear. All of the 264 aboard escaped unharmed. After Boeing repaired the aircraft, PIA flew her for another 19 years. Incidentally, New York-based startup Baltia Airlines took delivery of this airframe in 2010.
 
1988: Air Hong Kong commences operations.
 
1993: Russian space agency tests a 82' wide space mirror.
 
2015: Crash of TransAsia Airways flight GE235 in Taipei, Taiwan, an ATR 72. At least eleven dead.
 
 
 

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