1905 – Inaugural flight of the first Italian airship “Italia.”
1912 – Death of Julia Clark, third woman to receive a pilot’s license from the Aero Club of America (though British) and first female pilot to die in an air crash in the U.S.
1922 – To mark the centennial of Brazil’s independence, Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral land their Fairey III-D MkII seaplane, specifically fitted with an artificial horizon for aeronautical use, in Rio de Janeiro after a 5,209-mile flight; it is the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic.
1943 – Birth of Elbert Leander “Burt” Rutan, American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong and energy-efficient aircraft.
1986 – Last flight ever by a Boeing B-47E Stratojet (shown above), restored to flight status for a one-time-only ferry move from Naval Weapons Center China Lake, Calif., to Castle Air Force Base, east of San Francisco, for museum display.
1998 – Russian Chief of Army Aviation Maj.-Gen. Boris Vorobyov, is killed when the Kamov Ka-50 attack helicopter he’s flying crashes in Torzhok, home of a military flight training center. Reportedly, blades of the Ka-50’s coaxial rotors overlapped during sharp manuvering, causing the crash.
