World
Aviation in 1976
17 March
A Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 makes the first non-stop flight
from Tokyo to New York, covering the 6,300 mile journey in 11
hours 30 minutes.
24 March
A Boeing 747SP lands at Cape Town after setting a world
non-stop distance record for a civil aircraft of 10,290
miles.
1 April
Piper's 100,000th airplane, a PA31T Cheyenne II is rolled out
from the company's Lock Haven plant.
5 April
Movie Mogul, oil magnate and air pioneer Howard Hughes dies
from a stroke. Starting out as an amateur racing pilot, he
became an aircraft manufacturer, culminating in the huge
eight-engined flying boat 'Spruce Goose', as well becoming
Director of TWA airlines.
24 May
Filipino Troops storm a Philippines Airlines McDonnell
Douglas DC9 that was hijacked the day before by six
terrorists and flown to Zamboanga airport. Three hijackers
are killed, among ten deaths in the ensuing battle, and the
remaining three hijackers are captured.
22 June
The Soviet Union launches the Salyut space station into
orbit.
20 July
The Israeli Air Force unveils the IAI Kfir C2 fighter, a
modified version of the French Mirage III fighter.
20 July
The first photograph is taken on Mars. A 340° panorama is
transmitted by Viking I at Chryse Plaita on Mars to the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory at Pasadena in California.
1 July
Clive Canning arrives in the United Kingdom after a solo
flight from Australia in a home built Thorp T18 Tiger, making
the first Australia-England flight in an aircraft of amateur
construction.
4 July
Israeli commandos free over a hundred hostages from a
hijacked Air France Airbus A300, which had landed at Entebbe
airfield in Uganda 8 days previously. Three hostages, the
commando's leader and all seven hijackers are killed in a 35
minute gunfight.
The hostages, mostly Israeli
citizens or Jews, were about to be shot when three Israeli
Air Force Lockheed C130 Hercules aircraft landed at the
airstrip to deliver the commandos. The commandos took control
of the airfield, freed the hostages, killed the hijackers and
destroyed thirteen Soviet made MiG fighter aircraft of the
Ugandan Air Force.
28 July
Captain E.W. Joersz and Major G.T. Morgan Jr set a new world
speed record for an air breathing craft, of 3,529kph
(2,193mph) in a Lockheed SR71 Blackbird.
6 September
Soviet Lieutenant Viktor Belenko defects to Japan from the
USSR in a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG25 'Foxbat' fighter. Landing
unannounced at Hokkaido airport at 1357hrs, he then requests
asylum in the USA.
9 December
The 008 Escadrilla of the Arma Aéreade La Armada Española,
Spain's first AV8A Matador jump-jet squadron, becomes
operational.
22 December
The first fully automated landing of an Airbus A300 in
commercial service, is made by an A300B2 of Air Inter in bad
weather at Orly airport. |