1908: Orville Wright makes his 1st flight at Fort Meyer, Virginia, circling the field one-and-one-half times. During the next two weeks, he conducts a series of 14 long, high, and impressive flights, many of which set new records and are witnessed by government officials.

1924: Regular airmail service in Canada begins with flights between Ontario and Quebec.

1955: British Squadron Leader J.S. Fifield in England makes the 1st successful demonstration of the use of an ejection seat from a moving aircraft while still on the ground. He ejects from a modified Gloster Meteor 7 that is traveling 120-mph.

1959: The CIA terminates project GUSTO and asks Lockheed to develop a U-2 follow-on aircraft under the CIA code name OXCART. The CIA authorizes Lockheed to proceed with antiradar studies, aerodynamic structural tests and Engineering designs.

1970: Air France places the first orders for the Airbus A300.

1971: The Concorde makes its first transatlantic crossing.

1981: McDonnell Douglas delivers the 1,000th DC-9 produced; it was ordered by Swissair.

1981: First flight of the BAe 146 G-SSSH. Read more...

1989: Varig Boeing 737 crashes in Brazil killing 53 passengers. The pilots had not noticed an autopilot malfunction because they were listening to a football match. Read more...

2010: UPS Flight 6, operated by Boeing 747-44AF N571UP crashed shortly after take-off from Dubai International Airport, killing both crew and destroying the aircraft. N571UP was operating an international cargo flight to Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany. Read more...