On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Frank Granger Quigley, decorated Canadian World War I fighter ace.

1919 – British rigid airship R-34 takes off from Long Island, N.Y., for a trip back to Pulham, Norfolk, for the first Atlantic double-crossing (return flight).

1938 – Howard Hughes, along with Harry Connor, Tom Thurlow, Richard Stoddart and Ed Lund, begin a record-breaking round-the-world flight in a specially modified Lockheed Super Electra. They cut in half the time set by Wiley Post in 1933; their flying time is 71 hours, 11 mins., 10 secs.

1942 – First flight of the Douglas A-26 Invader (shown above).

1961 – Death of Francis May Simonds, American World War I fighter ace.

1991 – L’Express Airlines Flight 508, a Beech C99, crashes while attempting to land at Birmingham (Alabama) Municipal Airport (now Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport); 13 of the 15 occupants are killed. It is the deadliest commercial aviation accident in the state’s history.

Updated: July 10, 2013 — 10:42 AM
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