A bomb explodes in the forward cargo compartment of Middle East Airlines Flight 438, a Boeing 720-023B, at an altitude of 11,300 meters (37,100 feet) over Saudi Arabia. The airliner breaks up and crashes northwest of Al Qaysumah, killing all 81 people on board. Responsibility for the bombing has never been established.
January 3 – Aeroflot Flight 2003, a Tupolev Tu-124V (registration CCCP-45037) enters clouds immediately after takeoff from Vnukovo AirportinMoscow. Its artificial horizons fail, and the crew loses its spatial orientation, banking 95 degrees and diving the airliner into the ground 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) west of the airport at a rate of descent of 50 meters (160 feet) per second. The crash kills all 61 people on board and one person in a house on the ground.[2]
January 15 – A Taxi Aéreo El VenadoDouglas C-54A-5-DC Skymaster (registration HK-172) crashes into a cloud-covered mountain peak 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Chipaque, Colombia. The airliner strikes the mountain at an altitude of 3,540 meters (11,610 feet) and falls 800 meters (2,600 feet) into a canyon, killing all 13 people on board.[4]
January 20 – TAMEHawker Siddeley HS 748-246 Srs. 2A (registration HC-AUE/683), flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), loses altitude over mountainous terrain, strikes trees with its wing, and crashes into the side of a mountain near Loja, Ecuador, killing 34 of the 42 people on board.[5]
February 29 – A Colombian man hijacksanAerolineas Centrales de Colombia (ACES) Saunders ST-27 (registration HK-1286) shortly after it arrives at Medellin, Colombia, after a domestic flight from Turbo and forces it to fly to Chigorodó, Colombia, with 18 people on board. At Chigorodó, he allows eight passengers to disembark, then orders the airliner to return to Medellin, where police storm the plane during the evening and kill him.[9]
March 17 - A Japan Air LinesBoeing 747 makes the first non-stop flight from TokyotoNew York, taking 11½ hours for the 10,139-kilometer (6,300-mile) journey.
April 7 – Three men hijackaPhilippine Air LinesBAC One-Eleven during a domestic flight in the Philippines from Cagayan de OrotoMactan, demanding US$300,000 and the release of a large number of prisoners. The airliner diverts to Manila, where the hijackers receive the money and exchange all the passengers for a new set of hostages. Over the next six days, the hijackers force the plane to fly to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala LumpurinMalaysia and to Bangkok, Thailand. At Bangkok, Philippine Air Lines provides the hijackers with a Douglas DC-8. The hijackers transfer to the DC-8, bringing 12 Philippine Air Lines employees with them as hostages, and force it to fly to Karachi, Pakistan, and then on to Benghazi, Libya, where the hijackers release the hostages and request political asylum.[12]
April 14 – The right wing of the Avro 748-105 Srs. 1Ciudad de Corrientes (registration LV-HHB), operated by YPF, fails due to metal fatigue at an altitude of about 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) during a staff transfer flight for the company, followed by separation of the right tailplane. The rest of the plane corkscrews and crashes 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of Cutral Có, Argentina, killing all 34 people on board.[13]
April 24 – A 22-year-old male passenger board an AviancaBoeing 727-59 (registration HK-1400) draws a revolver and hijacks the airliner shortly after it takes off from Pereira, Colombia, for a domestic flight to Bogotá. The plane lands at Bogotá, and he surrenders to the authorities there that evening.[14]
April 30 – After a Turkish AirlinesDouglas DC-10-10 with 264 people on board takes off from Paris′sOrly Airport for a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, a Turkish migrant worker who had lost his job and was being expelled from France and sent home to Turkey hijacks the plane, demanding to be flown to MarseilleorLyon, France. The airliner returns to Orly Airport, where the hijacker surrenders two-and-a-half hours later.[15]
Carrying 98 passengers, the Pan American World AirwaysBoeing 747SP-21Clipper Liberty Bell (registration N533PA) makes an around-the-world flight during which it sets several world records. Departing John F. Kennedy International AirportinNew York City on May 1, it flies eastward nonstop to Indira Gandhi International AirportinNew Delhi, India, arriving on May 2 after flying 13,005.1 kilometers (8,081.0 miles) at an average speed of 869.63 kilometers per hour (540.363 miles per hour), a record average speed for a commercial aircraft flying the route. It then flies nonstop to Tokyo International AirportinTokyo, Japan, arriving on May 3 after covering 12,132.8 kilometers (7,539.0 miles) at an average speed of 421.20 kilometers per hour (261.722 miles per hour), a record average speed for a commercial aircraft flying the route. It then flies its final leg, returning to John F. Kennedy International Airport with a nonstop flight of 12,097.4 kilometers (7,517.0 miles) at an average speed of 912.50 kilometers per hour (567.001 miles per hour), a record speed for a commercial aircraft on that route. The flight takes 46 hours 1 second, of which 39 hours 25 minutes 53 seconds are in the air, and covers 37,235.4 kilometers (23,137.0 miles) at an average speed of 809.24 kilometers per hour (502.838 miles per hour), a record average speed for an aircraft on an eastward around-the-world flight.[16]
May 9 – An Imperial Iranian Air ForceBoeing 747-131F cargo plane operating as Flight 48 is struck by lightning near Madrid, Spain, causing the fuel tank in its left wing to explode and the wing to separate. The aircraft crashes in farmland, killing all 17 people on board.[18]
May 11 – British Airways Flight 888, a Boeing 747-100 was on the finals at the old Kuala Lumpur Airport when it flew below the normal flight path, hitting trees 2.2 nautical miles before the runway threshold. On landing, inspection of the aircraft revealed damage on the main landing gear; strike marks on the fuselage and engine intakes; and evidence of debris ingestion on the two left-side engines.[19]
May 15 – Flying at its cruising altitude of 5,700 meters (18,700 feet) during a domestic flight in the Soviet Union from VinnitsatoMoscow, Aeroflot Flight 1802, an Antonov An-24V (registration CCCP-46534), experiences a sudden, sharp rudder deflection. It goes into a spin and crashes 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) southeast of Chernigov in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, killing all 52 people on board.[20]
May 21–23 – Six Muslim rebels hijack Philippine Air Lines Flight 116, a BAC One-Eleven 527FK (registration RP-C1161), during a domestic flight in the Philippines from Davao CitytoManila with 81 other people on board. They force it to fly to Zamboanga AirportinZamboanga City, where they demand $375,000 and a plane to fly them to Libya. When Filipino security forces storm the plane on May 23, a gun battle breaks out and the hijackers detonate hand grenades. Three hijackers and 10 passengers die, and the three surviving hijackers are arrested and later sentenced to death.[21]
June 4 – Air Manila International Flight 702, a Lockheed L-188A Electra (registration RP-C1061), crashes on takeoff from Naval Air Station AganaonGuam, striking an automobile as it slides across a highway. The crash kills all 45 people on board the plane and the driver of the car and seriously injures a woman and her son, who are burned and struck by debris while standing outside their residence.[23]
July 4 – In Operation Entebbe, three Israeli Air ForceC-130 Hercules aircraft carrying about 100 Israeli commandos land at Entebbe International AirportatEntebbe, Uganda, to rescue the 106 passengers of Air FranceFlight 139 still being held hostage in a transit hall there by Palestinian and West Germanhijackers. The Israelis kill seven hijackers and between 33 and 45 Ugandan soldiers, destroy 11 Ugandan Air ForceMiG-17 fighters on the ground, and rescue 102 of the hostages; one Israeli commando is killed, three hostages die during an Israeli exchange of gunfire with the hijackers, and in retaliation for the raid Ugandan government forces murder the final hostage, who is being held at a hospital.
August 15 – SAETA Flight 232, a Vickers Viscount 785D, crashes into Ecuador′s highest mountain, the stratovolcanoChimborazo, at an altitude of 5,400 meters (17,700 feet), killing all 59 people on board. Its wreckage and the bodies of its crew and passengers will not be discovered until October 17, 2002.
August 23 – Three armed passengers hijackanEgyptairBoeing 737-266 with 101 people on board during a domestic flight in Egypt from CairotoLuxor. They demand to be flown to Libya, but the plane is nearing Luxor at the time of the hijacking and the pilot tells them that it must land there because it does not have enough fuel to fly to Libya. After the airliner lands at Luxor, the hijackers demand the releaseof five prisoners who had plotted the assassinations of dissident Libyan and Yemeni political leaders. Late in the afternoon, Egyptian Army commandos storm the plane at Luxor and arrest the hijackers.[28]
September 14 – A U.S. Navy Grumman F-14 Tomcat rolls off the deck of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and sinks in international waters. A major salvage operation is launched to retrieve the fighter lest it fall into Soviet hands.
September 19 – During a night approach to a landing at Antalya AirportinAntalya, Turkey, with the captain out of the cockpit, the first officerofTurkish AirlinesBoeing 727-2F2Antalya, operating as Flight 452, mistakes a long straight highway filled with truck traffic north of Isparta for the runway at Antalya, which is 97 km (60 mi) away to the south-southeast. The captain reenters the cockpit and attempts an emergency climb from an altitude of 150 m (490 ft), but the plane crashes into a hill, killing all 154 people on board. It remains the deadliest aviation accident on Turkish soil.
September 26
The pilot and sole occupant of a stolen Aeroflot Antonov An-2 crashes the aircraft into an apartment complex where his ex-wife lives in Novosibirsk in the Soviet Union's Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, killing himself and 11 people on the ground. His ex-wife survives.[42]
October 1 – Don TaylorofCalifornia successfully completes a circumnavigation of the world eastbound in his Thorp T-18, arriving at his starting point in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in the United States two months after his departure on August 1. He becomes the first person to fly around the world in a home-built aircraft.
October 12 – A fire breaks out in the area of the No. 2 engine of Indian Airlines Flight 171, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VIN (registration VT-DWN), when the engine fails after takeoff from Santacruz AirportinBombay, India. As the crew attempts to return to the airport, the fire causes a loss of hydraulic pressure, and the crew loses control of the airliner. The Caravelle dives into the ground 1,000 feet (300 meters) short of the runway from an altitude of 300 feet (91 meters), killing all 95 people on board. It is the second-deadliest aviation accident in Indian history at the time.[45]
October 13 – After its fatigued crew selects insufficient thrust for takeoff from El Trompillo AirportinSanta Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, a Lloyd Aéreo BolivianoBoeing 707-131F cargo aircraft (registration N730JP) has an extra-long takeoff roll and then reaches an altitude of only 6 meters (20 feet) before striking trees and crashing into a football (soccer) field 560 meters (1,840 feet) beyond the runway. The crash kills the entire crew of three and 88 people on the ground. It remains the deadliest plane crash in Bolivian history.[46]
October 25 – After the No. 1 engine of a Taxi Aéreo El VenadoDouglas C-47-DL Skytrain (registration HK-149) fails shortly after takeoff from El Yopal AirportinYopal, Colombia, its crew attempts to return to the airport, but the airliner noses down, crashes, and burns 6.5 kilometers (4.0 miles) from the airport, killing all 36 people on board.[49]
November 23 – On approach to Kozani National Airport "Filippos"inKozani, Greece, Olympic Airways Flight 830, the NAMC YS-11A-500Isle of Milos (registration SX-BBR), crashes into a cloud-covered mountain 19 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of the airport at an altitude of 1,300 meters (4,300 feet), killing all 50 people on board. It is the second-deadliest accident involving a YS-11 and at the time it is the second-deadliest aviation accident in Greek history.[53]
November 28 – After an artificial horizon failure in bad weather causes its crew to lose spatial awareness and bank too steeply shortly after takeoff from Sheremetyevo AirportinMoscow, an AeroflotTupolev Tu-104B (registration CCCP-42471) crashes 29 kilometers (18 miles) from the airport, killing all 72 people on board.[54]
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 95.
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 58.
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978, ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 65.
