1937 – First flight of the Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, an American heavy fighter and the first such airplane built by Bell Aircraft Corp.
1961 – Birth of Christopher J. Ferguson, U.S. Navy fighter and test pilot as well as NASA astronaut.
1967 – The U. S. Navy’s first dedicated search-and-rescue squadron, Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 7 (HC-7), is commissioned at Atsugi, Japan; it operates UH-2 Seasprite helicopters (shown). Previously, all Navy search-and-rescue had been performed by helicopter antisubmarine squadrons. HC-7 will make its first rescue on Oct. 3 in Haiphong Harbor, North Vietnam.
1975 – The fourth production Concorde, British Airways’ G-BOAC, makes two return flights from London to Gander, Newfoundland, becoming the first aircraft to make four Atlantic crossings in a single day.
1977 – Death of Mario Fucini, Italian World War I flying ace.
2006 – Iran Air Tours Flight 945, a Tupolev Tu-154, crashes while attempting to land in Mashad, Iran, killing 28 of 154 on board.
