1989 in aviation
Encyclopedia
This is a list of aviation
-related events from 1989:
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
-related events from 1989:
January
- January 4 – United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
F-14 TomcatF-14 TomcatThe Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
s shoot down two Libyan Air ForceLibyan Air ForceThe Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the 2011 Libyan civil war, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in...
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is considered to belong to the Soviet third generation jet fighter category, along with similarly aged Soviet fighters such as the MiG-25 "Foxbat"...
s. - January 8 – A British MidlandBmi (airline)British Midland Airways Limited , is an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport, and a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa...
Boeing 737-400Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
operating as Flight 092Kegworth air disasterThe Kegworth Air Disaster occurred on 8 January 1989, when British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737–400, crashed onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, in England. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport...
crashes on the M1 motorwayM1 motorwayThe M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
near KegworthKegworthKegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
, killing 47 people.
February
- February 8 – A misunderstanding between the crew of a Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
and Air traffic controlAir traffic controlAir traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
leads to a crash on Pico AltoPico AltoPico Alto is the highest mountain in the Brazilian state of Ceará, reaching . It is located in the city of Guaramiranga, and is part of the Serra de Baturité....
mountain on the AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the... - February 24 – A cargo door failure causes a piece of fuselage to detach from United Airlines Flight 811United Airlines Flight 811United Airlines Flight 811 experienced a cargo door failure in flight on Friday, February 24, 1989, after its stopover at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii...
, a Boeing 747-122Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
, over the Pacific OceanPacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
near HonoluluHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Nine people are sucked from the plane by explosive decompressionExplosive decompressionUncontrolled decompression refers to an unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin and typically results from human error, material fatigue, engineering failure or impact causing a pressure vessel to vent into its lower-pressure surroundings or fail to pressurize...
to their deaths; at least some of the nine are killed instantly when they are sucked into the number 3 engine. Another 38 people are injured. The plane lands safely at Honolulu International AirportHonolulu International AirportHonolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising.It is located in the Honolulu...
.
March
- March 22 - An Antonov An-225 Mriya sets a total of 106 world and class records during a 3 hour 30 minute flight. Its total weight at take-off is 508,200 kg (1,129,370 lb).
April
- April 12 - a British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
loses a large piece of its rudder on a flight between ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
and Sydney - April 21 - Lockheed SR-71A, 61-7974, Item 2025, outbound on operational sortie from Kadena Air BaseKadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...
, Okinawa, suffers engine explosion, total hydraulic failure. Pilot Maj. Dan E. House and RSO Capt. Blair L. Bozek both eject safely. This was the final Blackbird loss before the type was withdrawn from service.
May
- May 13 – An Antonov An-225 Mriya carries the BuranShuttle BuranThe Buran spacecraft , GRAU index 11F35 K1 was a Russian orbital vehicle analogous in function and design to the US Space Shuttle and developed by Chief Designer Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy of Energia rocket corporation...
orbiter for the first time.
June
- June 7 - a Suriname DC-8 Super 62 crashes near Paramaribo Airport, SurinameSurinameSuriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, killing 168. - June 8 - a Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
Mikoyan MiG-29Mikoyan MiG-29The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
suffers a birdstrike during a display at the Paris Air ShowParis Air ShowThe Paris Air Show is the world's oldest and largest air show. Established in 1909, it is currently held every odd year at Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France...
. Pilot Anatoli Kvochur manages to prevent the plane from injuring anyone, and saves himself by ejecting at only 400 feet.
July
- July 4 - Crash1989 Belgian MiG-23 crashThe 1989 Belgian MiG-23 crash involved the crash of an unmanned Soviet MiG-23M "Flogger-B" into a house in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 4 July 1989, killing an 18-year-old man.-Overview:...
of an unmanned MiG-23 in KortrijkKortrijkKortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
, Belgium. The pilot had believed he was experiencing an engine failure shortly after take-off from the Soviet airbase near Kolobzreg, Poland and had ejected, while the aircraft continued on autopilot for 900 km, until running out of fuel. One 18-year-old man on the ground was killed in the crash. - July 16 - European air traffic is halted due to industrial action by French air traffic controllers.
- July 19 - United Airlines Flight 232United Airlines Flight 232United Airlines Flight 232 was a scheduled flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, with continuing service to Philadelphia International Airport...
, a Douglas DC-10, suffers decompression in and catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine, knocking out all its flight controlsFlight controlsAircraft flight control surfaces allow a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude.Development of an effective set of flight controls was a critical advance in the development of aircraft...
. In what is considered a prime example of successful crew resource managementCrew Resource ManagementCrew resource management or Cockpit resource management is a procedure and training system in systems where human error can have devastating effects. Used primarily for improving air safety, CRM focuses on interpersonal communication, leadership, and decision making in the cockpit...
, the planes crew manages to use engine throttles to fly the plane to Sioux CitySioux City, IowaSioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, where it crashes on landing. Although 111 of the people on board die, the crew is credited with saving the other 185 by coaxing the aircraft to Sioux City..
August
- August 5 - PiedmontPiedmont Airlines (1948-1989)Piedmont Airlines was a major airline in the United States which operated from 1948 until its operations were merged into USAir in 1989. Its headquarters were located at One Piedmont Plaza in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a building which is now part of Wake Forest University.As of April 1989,...
is merged into USAirUS AirwaysUS Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
. - August 18 - a QantasQantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
, the Spirit of Australia, flies non-stop from London to Sydney, setting a world record for a four engine jet, after having flown 11,000 miles in 20 hours. - August 21 - Rare BearRare BearRare Bear is a highly-modified Grumman F8F Bearcat that dominated the Reno Air Races for decades.-History:The Bearcat that became Rare Bear was a severely damaged wreck when discovered by Lyle Shelton in 1969. It had been abandoned next to a runway in Valparaiso, Indiana after it crashed there,...
sets a new piston-powered speed record of 528.33 mph - August 22 - Alexander YakovlevAlexander Sergeyevich YakovlevAlexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev was a Soviet aeronautical engineer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau. -Biography:...
dies, aged 84
September
- September 3 – Listening to a football match, the pilots of Varig Flight 254Varig Flight 254Varig Flight 254 was a Boeing 737-241, c/n 21006/398, registration PP-VMK, on a scheduled passenger flight from São Paulo, Brazil to Belém, Pará, Brazil, with several intermediate stopovers, on 3 September 1989. Prior to take off from Marabá, Pará, towards the final destination, the crew entered an...
, a Boeing 737-241Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
with 54 people on board, enter an incorrect heading into the flight computer before taking off from MarabáMarabáMaraba is a city in the state of Pará, Brazil. The reference location is the meeting point between two great rivers, forming a sort of "y" in the city as seen from above...
, Brazil, for BelémBelémBelém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
, Brazil. By the time they discover their error, they have too little fuel to reach an airport, they belly-landBelly landingA belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device...
the airliner in a remote area of the Amazon jungle near São José do XinguSão José do XinguSão José do Xingu is a town and municipality in the state of Mato Grosso in the Central-West Region of Brazil.-Plane crash:On 3 September 1989, a Varig Boeing 737-241 registration PP-VMK operating flight 254 flying from São Paulo-Guarulhos to Belém-Val de Cães with intermediate stops, crashed near...
, Brazil, killing 13 passengers. Thirty-four of the 41 survivors are injured, many seriously; they are not rescued for two days. - September 8 – Partnair Flight 394Partnair Flight 394Partnair Flight 394 was a chartered flight which crashed on 8 September 1989 off the coast of Denmark 18 km north of Hirtshals. All 50 passengers and 5 crew members on board the aircraft perished, making it the deadliest civilian aviation accident involving an all-Norwegian airline company. It...
, a charter flight, crashes into the sea off the coast of DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, killing 55 people. - September 19 – A bomb explodes in the cargo hold of UTA Flight 772UTA Flight 772UTA Flight 772 of the French airline Union des Transports Aériens was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, via N'Djamena in Chad, to Paris CDG airport in France....
, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30McDonnell Douglas DC-10The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
, over the Sahara Desert. The DC-10 breaks up in mid-air and crashes near BilmaBilmaBilma is an oasis town in north east Niger with a population of around 2,500 people. It lies protected from the desert dunes under the Kaouar Cliffs and is the largest town along the Kaouar escarpment...
and TénéréTénéréThe Ténéré is a desert region in the south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger into western Chad, occupying an area of over...
in NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, killing all 170 people on board. Responsibility for the bombing is never determined. - September 20 – USAir Flight 5050USAir Flight 5050USAir Flight 5050 was an "extra section" passenger flight to replace the regularly scheduled but cancelled flight 1846, from New York's La Guardia Airport to Charlotte International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 20, 1989. Michael Martin was a new Boeing 737 captain, logging...
, a Boeing 737-401Boeing 737 ClassicThe Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...
with 63 people on board, aborts its takeoff in low visibility on a wet runway at LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and slides off the end of the runway into Bowery BayBowery BayBowery Bay is a bay off the East River in the New York City. It is located near the Steinway neighborhood of Queens and is bordered on the west by the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant and on the south and east by LaGuardia Airport....
, killing two people and injuring 21.
October
- October 26 – China Airlines Flight 204China Airlines Flight 204China Airlines Flight CI204, a Boeing 737 crashed into a mountain after take off from Hualien Airport, Taiwan on 26 October 1989. The crash killed all 54 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.-Aircraft:...
, a Boeing 737-209, crashes into a mountain after takeoff from Hualien AirportHualien AirportHualien Airport is a commercial airport located in a 11.5 hectare civilian area of a military airbase in Hualien, Taiwan. It primary serves domestic flights although it can handle international charter flights as well...
on TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, killing all 54 people on board.
November
- November 8 – A KC-10A Extender tanker aircraft refuels a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bomber in the air. It is the first aerial refuelingAerial refuelingAerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
of a B-2. - November 12 – California Polytechnic State UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
flies the first human-powered helicopter - November 21 – A British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
narrowly misses crashing into the Penta hotel near Heathrow Airport - November 27 – Five miniutes after takeoff from El Dorado International AirportEl Dorado International AirportEl Dorado International Airport is an international airport located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the largest Latin America airport in terms of cargo movements with 593,946 tons and the third in terms of passenger traffic, only behind São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport and Mexico City's...
in BogotáBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. a bomb planted by the Medellin drug cartelMedellín CartelThe Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
in an attempt to assassinate Colombian presidential candidate César Gaviria Trujillo explodes aboard Avianca Flight 203Avianca Flight 203Avianca Airlines Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on November 27, 1989....
, a Boeing 727Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
, while it is over SoachaSoachaSoacha is the city of Colombia on the southern edge of Bogotá, the country's capital. It has an important industrial zone and is home to mostly working class families.-Demographics:...
, Colombia. All 107 people on board die in the resulting crash, as do three people on the ground. Gaviria is not on the plane.
December
- December 15 – All four engines of KLM Flight 867KLM Flight 867On 15 December 1989, KLM Flight 867 en route to Narita International Airport, Tokyo from Amsterdam was descending into Anchorage International Airport, Alaska when all four engines failed...
, a Boeing 747-406MBoeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
with 245 people on board, shut down when the plane flies through a cloud of volcanic ashVolcanic ashVolcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
from Mount RedoubtMount Redoubt (Alaska)Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chigmit Mountains , the mountain is just west of Cook Inlet, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough about 180 km southwest of Anchorage...
during descent to a landing at Anchorage International Airport in AnchorageAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. After descending more than 14,000 feet (4,267 m) without power, the crew manages to restart the engines and land the plane safely. - December 20 – The United States invasion of PanamaUnited States invasion of PanamaThe United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...
, Operation Just Cause, begins with over 300 U.S. military aircraft participating. The U.S. Air Forces F-117A Nighthawk stealthStealth aircraftStealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to avoid detection by employing a combination of features to interfere with radar as well as reduce visibility in the infrared, visual, audio, and radio frequency spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during...
fighter and the U.S. Armys AH-64 ApacheAH-64 ApacheThe Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
attack helicopterAttack helicopterAn attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles...
make their combat debuts. One of the first U.S. operations is an air assault by the 1st Battalion (Airborne) of the U.S. Armys 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment which secures Fort AmadorFort AmadorFort Amador and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases protecting the Pacific end of the Panama Canal at the Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant consisted of a series of islands lying just offshore, some connected to Amador via a...
. - December 24 – Major combat operations in Operation Just Cause conclude.
January
- January 2 - Tupolev Tu-204Tupolev Tu-204The Tupolev Tu-204 is a twin-engined medium-range jet airliner capable of carrying 210 passengers, designed by Tupolev and produced by Aviastar SP and Kazan Aircraft Production Association. First introduced in 1989, it is considered to be broadly equivalent to the Boeing 757 and has competitive...
CCCP-64001 - January 11 - AASI Jetcruzer 450 N5369M
Entered service
- February 9 - Boeing 747-400Boeing 747-400The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
with Northwest AirlinesNorthwest AirlinesNorthwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world... - October 27 - ATR-72 with KarairKarairKarair was an airline from Finland. Initially having offered scheduled passenger flights, the company became a subsidiary of Finnair, mainly operating on holiday charter routes.-History:...