1897 – Birth of John Joseph Seerley, Jr., American World War I flying ace who also served in World War II.
1916 – First flight of the Breguet 14, a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft; it is the first aircraft in mass production to use large amounts of metal rather than wood in its structure.
1943 – No. 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight RAF, nicknamed “the Rafwaffe” (shown above), is formed to evaluate captured enemy aircraft and demonstrate their characteristics to other Allied units.
1981 – Aeroflot is banned from flying to the U.S., after an earlier Aeroflot flight that overflew American military installations, straying from its supposed flight path.
2004 – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210, a Bombardier CRJ200, stalls and crashes near Baotou, China, shortly after takeoff because of frost contamination; all 53 on board and two people on the ground are killed.
2008 – Death of Alexander John “Al” Lilly, Canadian airliner pilot, chief test pilot of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command during World War II and vice president of Canadair; Lilly also was the first Canadian to break the sound barrier.
