On This Day in Aviation History

On This Day in Aviation History

1894 – Birth of Adriano Bacula, World War I Italian pilot; he later became a test pilot for Savoia-Marchetti.

1913 – The 1st Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army Signal Corps is formed; it remains the U.S. military’s oldest flying unit (now known as the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron).

1928 – Wilmer Stultz, O. Le Boutilier, and Mabel Bol make the first non-stop flight in the Wright-Bellanca WB-2 “Columbia” between New York, New York, and Havana, Cuba.

1943 – First flight of the Gloster Meteor (F.3s shown), the first British jet fighter and the first operational jet of the Allies during World War II.

1980 – Death of Fred Parkinson Holliday, Australian World War I fighter ace who also served with Canada in World War II.

1991 – Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, crashes into a mountainside in Venezuela, killing all 45 aboard; the flight crew had inadvertently entered the wrong radial into their navigation system and went off course.

Updated: March 5, 2014 — 11:52 AM
Air Age Media ©
WordPress Image Lightbox Plugin