November 41909

The day pigs flew

Milestone117 years ago

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16historical events

60occurrences in earlier years

1909–2025years covered

Fact of the day

To prove, as a joke, that pigs can fly, John Moore-Brabazon straps a wicker basket with a piglet to a strut of his Short biplane and takes off in Kent: the first farm animal to fly in an aeroplane and, so the story goes, aviation’s first live cargo. That same year he had become the first Briton to fly in England.

Also on this day · 15

1910Record Willows crosses the Channel by airship

Welshman Ernest Willows flies his small airship «City of Cardiff» from London to France: the first crossing of the English Channel by airship, and the first from England.

1927Record Hawthorne Gray dies at 13,000 metres

Captain Hawthorne Gray rises by balloon to over 13,000 metres above Illinois and dies when his oxygen runs out; the record was not ratified because he did not land alive.

1932First flight The Beech Staggerwing flies

The Beech Staggerwing, an American executive biplane built by Beechcraft, makes its first flight.

1933Airline VASP is born

Viação Aérea São Paulo, VASP, is founded, the São Paulo airline that would fly for 72 years.

1934First flight The Junkers Ju 86 flies

The Ju 86 takes off, the twin that Lufthansa and Swissair used as an airliner and the Luftwaffe as a bomber.

1942First flight The Latécoère 631 flies

The Laté 631 takes off, the six-engined flying boat that Air France put on the Caribbean route after the war.

1957Accident The Romanian delegation’s Il-14 crashes at Vnukovo

The Il-14 carrying the leadership of the Romanian Workers’ Party to Moscow crashes on approach to Vnukovo; foreign minister Grigore Preoteasa dies.

1966Milestone The Trident lands blind with passengers aboard

A BEA Trident with passengers aboard makes the first fully automatic landing on a scheduled flight in near-zero visibility at Heathrow, thanks to the Smiths Autoland system. No other aircraft could operate that day.

1967Accident Iberia 062 in Sussex

A Caravelle flying from Málaga to London strikes Blackdown hill: all 37 people on board die, among them actress June Thorburn.

1974Milestone The Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle is born

Spain launches the air shuttle between Barcelona and Madrid: flights so frequent you could travel without a reservation, boarding the next aircraft. For decades it was one of the busiest routes in Europe.

1993Accident China Airlines 605 in Hong Kong harbour

A 747-400 with 396 people on board slides off the Kai Tak runway in a typhoon and ends up in Victoria Harbour; there are only minor injuries.

2010Accident Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes in Cuba

An Aero Caribbean ATR 72 on the Santiago de Cuba–Havana route crashes in Sancti Spíritus; all 68 aboard are killed.

2010Accident Qantas Flight 32: the A380 that lost an engine

A Trent 900 engine on a Qantas A380 bursts after takeoff from Singapore; the crew land the damaged aircraft with all 469 aboard unhurt.

2015Accident An An-12 crashes on Juba

An An-12 freighter crashes after takeoff from Juba, South Sudan, onto an inhabited area; at least 37 people die.

2025Accident UPS Flight 2976 crashes on takeoff at Louisville

A UPS MD-11 freighter loses an engine on takeoff from Louisville and falls on several buildings; 15 people die.

This day in earlier years · 60

Occurrences recorded on November 4 in earlier years across the fleet we document; this year’s are in News. Each one opens the record of the aircraft involved.