December 11984

The airliner NASA crashed on purpose

Milestone42 years ago

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16historical events

60occurrences in earlier years

1918–2025years covered

Fact of the day

NASA and the FAA crash a remotely piloted Boeing 720 with 75 dummies on board into the Mojave desert to test a fire-suppressing fuel. The aircraft drifted off line, a wing struck an obstacle and it burned in a fireball that took an hour to put out: the additive failed, but the test taught a great deal about seats, cabins and surviving a crash.

Also on this day · 15

1918Milestone TsAGI is founded

Nikolai Zhukovsky founds the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, TsAGI, in Moscow, the first aeronautical research centre of its kind in the world and the cradle of Tupolev and all Soviet aviation.

1927Airline Syndicato Condor, the future Cruzeiro do Sul, is born

Syndicato Condor, the Brazilian subsidiary of Germany’s Condor, is founded in Rio; in 1943 it became Serviços Aéreos Cruzeiro do Sul.

1932First flight The Heinkel He 70 Blitz flies

The He 70 Blitz takes off, Lufthansa’s fast single-engined airliner whose lines inspired designers across the world.

1941Milestone The Civil Air Patrol is born

The United States founds the Civil Air Patrol, the volunteer civilian pilots who would patrol the coasts during the war.

1961Airline Euravia, the future Britannia Airways, is born

Euravia is incorporated in London as an inclusive-tour charter airline starting out with second-hand Constellations. In 1964 it will be renamed Britannia Airways and for decades will be Britain’s biggest charter carrier.

1965Milestone The “Freedom Flights” begin

Daily flights between Varadero and Miami begin; over eight years they would carry some 300,000 Cubans to the United States.

1970First flight The Dassault Falcon 10 flies

The Dassault Falcon 10, a French business jet, makes its first flight.

1974Accident TWA 514 and the birth of GPWS

The 727 descends early on an ambiguous approach and strikes Mount Weather (92 lives lost). Out of the confusion in that chart came the mandatory ground proximity warning.

1976First flight The Ahrens AR 404 flies

The AR 404 takes off, the square-fuselage four-engined regional that never reached production.

1981Accident Inex-Adria Flight 1308 in Corsica

An Inex-Adria MD-81 chartered by Slovenian tourists strikes Mount San Pietro in Corsica; all 180 aboard are killed.

1993Accident Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 at Hibbing

An Express Airlines Jetstream 31 strikes two ridges on approach to Hibbing, Minnesota; all 18 aboard are killed.

2001Airline Afriqiyah begins flying

Libya’s Afriqiyah Airways begins operations with Boeing 737-400s.

2016Airline LaMia loses its licence

Bolivia suspends LaMia’s licence three days after the Chapecoense crash; the airline ceases to exist.

2017Milestone Rostov’s Platov Airport opens

Rostov-on-Don opens Platov Airport, the first built from scratch in post-Soviet Russia.

2024Airline The new Air Congo is born

The Democratic Republic of the Congo launches Air Congo, its new flag carrier with Ethiopian Airlines as partner.

This day in earlier years · 60

Occurrences recorded on December 1 in earlier years across the fleet we document; this year’s are in News. Each one opens the record of the aircraft involved.