Tag: aviation history
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“The Last Ride”: After 35 Years, Air Force One VC-25A, A Boeing 747, Appears To Make Its Final Flight
A Boeing 747 that has served as Air Force One for more than three decades appears to have completed its final presidential mission, marking the end of an era for one of the most recognizable planes in the world. The aircraft, a VC-25A based on the Boeing 747-200, landed early on Thursday after returning President…
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Today In 1948: The “Fire” That Never Existed – How A False Warning Filled A Cockpit With Gas And Doomed United Air Lines Flight 624 And 43 On Board
On June 17, 1948, one of the most unusual and tragic accidents in early commercial aviation history unfolded over Pennsylvania. United Air Lines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6 named Mainliner Utah, was approaching the final stages of a transcontinental journey when a warning of a fire in the aircraft’s cargo compartment triggered a chain of…
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Today In 1950: The Unbelievable Bahrain DC-4 Back To Back Tragedies – Two Air France Aircraft Crashed At The Same Spot Just 48 Hours Apart
On 14 June 1950, aviation history witnessed one of its most astonishing and tragic coincidences when an Air France Douglas DC-4 named Ciel de Gascogne crashed into the waters off Bahrain while approaching the airport. The tragedy became even more shocking because just two days earlier, another Air France Douglas DC-4, Ciel de Picardie, flying…
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Today In 1950: The DC-3 That Vanished For 27 Days Before Being Found On A Remote Colombian Mountaintop, Sealing The Fate Of 15 Onboard
On June 9, 1950, a Douglas DC-3-178 operated by New Tribes Mission disappeared during a flight from Kingston, Jamaica, to Maracaibo, Venezuela. The aircraft, registered N16030 and originally built in 1936, was carrying 15 people—12 passengers and a crew of three. Every person on board lost their lives in what became one of the most…
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Today In 1983: A Propeller Slashed Through Fuselage & Vanished Into The Pacific – Yet A Crippled Airliner With Jammed Controls Somehow Landed Safely
On June 8, 1983, one of the most extraordinary aviation survival stories ever recorded unfolded over the North Pacific. What began as a routine Reeve Aleutian Airways flight from Cold Bay, Alaska, to Seattle turned into a life-threatening emergency when an entire propeller separated from the aircraft in flight, tore through the fuselage, and left…
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After More Than 66 Years In The Air, The Industry’s Longest-Serving Flight Attendant Prepares To Retire
66 Years in the Skies: The Woman Who Outflew Generations of Aviation While most careers last a few decades, Joan Prince Crandall spent an incredible 66 years welcoming passengers aboard aircraft, witnessing aviation transform from the propeller era to today’s ultra-modern jets. The Seattle-based Delta Air Lines flight attendant has officially retired after becoming the…
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This Day 79 Years Ago: The United Flight That Never Left The Ground – America’s Deadliest Air Disaster Lasted Only Seconds
On May 29, 1947, what should have been a routine evening departure from New York’s LaGuardia Airport turned into one of the most horrifying disasters in early aviation history. United Air Lines Flight 521 crash claimed 43 lives after a Douglas DC-4 failed to take off, tore through an airport fence, crossed a busy highway,…
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“67 Years In The Skies”: Guinness Record Flight Attendant Bette Nash’s Unmatched Aviation Career Still Inspires The World
This May, aviation world is remembering Bette Nash — the legendary American flight attendant who passed away two years ago after spending nearly seven decades in the skies. Nash, who died at age 88 in May 2024, still holds a special place in airline history as the world’s longest-serving flight attendant and one of the…
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“64,397 Hours In The Sky” – That’s Seven Years Spent In The Air. The Incredible Story Of Guinness Record-Holding Pilot John Edward Long Jr.
There are pilots who fly for glory. There are pilots who fly for war. And then there are pilots like John Edward Long Jr. — a man who quietly spent so much time in the sky that he practically became part of it. Hidden among the names etched into the Wall of Honor at the…
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He’s 101 And Still Flying High World War II Veteran Oscar Masters Took Part In A Special Honor Flight
He’s 101 and still flying high this Memorial Day weekend. World War II veteran Oscar Masters took part in a special honor flight on Saturday at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Masters, an Arnold, Missouri resident, is still sharing stories from the skies decades after serving as a co-pilot in the Army Air Corps.…
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