January 1: Caribbean Airlines commences operations.
January 1: Adam Air Flight 574, a Boeing 737, disappears in Indonesian airspace with 102 people on board.
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January 9: An AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 (ER-26068) operating into Balad Air Base in Iraq crashes a mile and a half short of the runway, with one survivor among the 35 people aboard. Though visibility was poor and it was already their second landing attempt, some eyewitnesses report seeing the aircraft being shot down by a missile.
February 21: Adam Air Flight 172, a Boeing 737-300 (PK-KKV), experiences a hard landing that results in a bent and cracked fuselage in Surabaya, Indonesia. This led to the grounding of all Adam Air 737s, especially after the fatal crash of Flight 574 the previous month. All aboard survived with minor injuries.
March 4: US Airways and America West combine their reservations computer systems.
March 6: ANA announces orders for 4 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
March 7: 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.
March 12: Continental Airlines increases their Boeing 787 order from 20 to 25, adding five of the 787-9 series.
March 17: UTAir Flight 471 crashes short of the runway in Amara, Russia, while trying to land in poor weather. The Tupolev Tu-134 (RA-65021) hits the ground 1000ft short and rolls onto its back in flames, resulting in the deaths of 6 passengers among the 57 on-board. Poor planning and handling of the foggy conditions brings charges of negligence onto the pilots for which the Captain and First Officer received 6 and 2 years respectively.
March 19: Airbus A380 makes first flights to the United States, with one touching down in New York at John F. Kennedy International Airport and another in California at Los Angeles International Airport.
March 27: The last Airbus A300 leaves the Airbus assembly line.
March 30: Sudan Airways Flight 111, an Airbus A300 flying from Tripoli, Libya to Khartoum, Sudan, is hijacked by a man demanding to go to South Africa. He enters the cockpit an hour and a half into the flight while holding a knife and is convinced to allow the plane to land in Khartoum anyway for fuel. After several hours of negotiations, he surrenders, and all 284 on the aircraft leave safely.
April 27: Eos Airlines ceased all operations due to the airline filing bankruptcy.
May 5: Eos Airlines begins flights from London Stansted to Newark Liberty International Airport with their 48-seat, all-business class Boeing 757-200 aircraft.
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May 5: Kenya Airways Flight 507, a Boeing 737-800 (5Y-KYA) scheduled to fly to Nairobi, Kenya, crashes just after takeoff from Douala, Cameroon. All 114 occupants are killed after the pilot departs without clearance and then does not realize the aircraft is banking hard to the right in time for correction due to improper auto-pilot inputs. The aircraft strikes a forested swamp a few miles to the south of the airport, where a reporter would find one year later that aircraft wreckage and human remains are still present.
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June 14: Brigadier General (Ret) Robin Olds passes away at Steamboat Springs. A fighter pilot in three wars, that last flying combat commander. Architect of Operation Bolo.
July 8: Boeing 787 Rollout (7/8/2007) in Everett, Washington's Boeing Everett Factory.
July 17: AeroRepública flight 7330, an Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft, overshot the runway at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Santa Marta, went down an embankment, and ended up with the front end of the aircraft in the ocean. There were no fatalities.
July 17: TAM flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes while landing at Sao Paolo, Brazil.
August 4: NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft launches from Cape Canaveral, enroute to a landing on Mars which would take place on May 25th, 2008.
August 4: A a suitcase containing US$800,000 in undeclared cash is discovered while being x-rayed at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, sparking an international rift between Argentina and Venezuela known as “Maletinazo,” or “the suitcase incident.”
August 29: Airmen at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota load six nuclear-tipped AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles onto a B-52H bomber for transport to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana without ensuring that the nuclear warheads had been replaced with training warheads. The nukes shoot the breeze without proper handling or security precautions in place for a full 36 hours before anyone notices. The Pentagon would classify it as a “Bent Spear” event, four USAF commanders would lose their jobs and many other airmen would be disciplined.
September 16: One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 crashes on landing in Phuket International Airport after a failed go-around during extreme windshear conditions, breaking into two pieces on an embankment next to the runway. The crash of the MD-82 (registered HS-OMG) killed 90 of the 130 onboard. Investigators blame the crash on pilot error, as the pilot decided to land even though the control tower warned them about the difficult time the previous aircraft had.
September 25: America West Airlines merges operations with US Air.
October 25: The Airbus A380 enters service with Singapore Airlines.
October 25: The Airbus A380 enters service with Singapore Airlines.
November 6: China’s first lunar satellite Chang’e1 enters lunar orbit.
November 9: An Iberia Airlines A340-600 (EC-JOH) was badly damaged after sliding off the runway at Ecuador’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport. The landing gear collapsed and two engines broke off. All 333 passengers and crew were evacuated via inflatable slides, and there were no serious injuries. The aircraft was scrapped.
