1950: Northwest Orient Flight 307 crashes just before landing at Minneapolis after trying to divert there due to bad weather in Rochester. Striking a cemetery flagpole, the Martin 202 continued for a few miles before crashing into a house, killing all 13 on-board.

1956: Dan Perkins, engineer at Britain’s Royal Aircraft Establishment, makes his first flight in an inflatable airplane in Bedfordshire, England. It takes 25 minutes to inflate it, using a large domestic vacuum cleaner.

1959: Aviator M. C. Garlow becomes the first to fly a million miles in a jet airplane. Frequent Flier Elite Status FTW.

1961: The # 2 North America X-15 becomes the fist manned aircraft to exceed Mach 4 when pilot Capt. Robert M. White reaches a speed of 2,905 mph which, at the altitude of 77,450 ft., is Mach 4.43.

1962: Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data).

1966: France withdraws from the military structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, although it remains a political member of the alliance.

1973: Comet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory.

1975: First flight of the Yakovlev Yak-42 SSSR-1974.

1989: Partial eclipse of the Sun in Hawaii, North West North America, Greenland.

1996: 1st surface photos of Pluto by Hubble Space Telescope.

2001: A Skymaster Airlines Boeing 707-331C (PT-MST) crashes in Sao Paulo, Brazil after a hard landing. The cargo flight had three crewmembers aboard, all of whom survived, although the aircraft was ultimately written-off.

2007: Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 crashes on landing at Adisucipto International Airport in Indonesia, killing 22 of the 138 on-board. The 737-497 (PK-GZC) touches down almost double the proper landing speed after the pilots forgot to lower the flaps. The Captain ignored both aircraft warnings and First Officer request to go-around. He was later charged with six counts of manslaughter, and found guilty of negligence.