1963 in aviation explained
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1963.
Events
January
February
March
April
- Air Djibouti is founded. It will begin flight operations in April 1964.
- April 13
- April 22 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission v. Continental Airlines that Continental Airlines unlawfully discriminated against African-American pilot Marlon Green when it rejected him for employment in 1957 and hired five less-qualified white applicants. The ruling paves the way for the hiring of ethnic minority members as commercial airline pilots in the United States. Continental eventually hires Green in 1965.
- April 27-May 20 - U.S. Marine Corps transport helicopters are heavily involved in airlifting South Vietnamese troops during Operation Bach Phuong XI, a South Vietnamese offensive against Viet Cong forces near Do Xa, South Vietnam.[12]
- April 27 - The U.S. Marine Corps loses its first aircraft to enemy action in Vietnam, a UH-34D transport helicopter shot down by Viet Cong ground fire near Do Xa, South Vietnam.[12]
May
June
- June 3 - Northwest Airlines Flight 293, a Douglas DC-7C, crashes in the Pacific Ocean west-southwest of Annette Island, Alaska, off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, killing all 101 people on board.
- June 5 - President John F. Kennedy announces during a speech at the United States Air Force Academy that the United States Government would team with private industry to quickly develop "the prototype of a commercially successful supersonic transport superior to that being built in any other country," a reference to the British-French Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 (NATO reporting name "Charger"). His statement gives rise to the Boeing 2707 ("SST") project.[14]
- June 7 - Middle East Airlines merges with Air Liban, giving Air France a 30 percent ownership stake in the merged airline, which becomes known as Middle East Airlines–Air Liban.
- June 8 - The National Museum of Naval Aviation opens at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.[15]
- June 14 - Flying a Dassault Mirage IIIR, French aviator Jacqueline Auriol sets a women's world speed record of 1266.78mph. It is her fifth women's world speed record since 1951 and her final one.[16]
- June 21 - After his F-8 Crusader fighter catches fire during in-flight refueling from a U.S. Air Force KC-97 Stratofreighter tanker aircraft over the Pacific Ocean during a flight from California to Hawaii, United States Marine Corps First Lieutenant Cliff Judkins ejects. His main parachute fails to open, and he falls 15000abbr=offNaNabbr=off into the ocean. Although he suffers several serious injuries, he survives and is rescued.[17]
- June 23 - Piloted by United States Air Force Major Robert A. Rushworth, a North American X-15-3 reaches the threshold of space, achieving an altitude of 285000abbr=offNaNabbr=off.[18]
July
- July 2 - Mohawk Airlines Flight 121, a Martin 4-0-4, crashes on takeoff into a heavy thunderstorm at Rochester, New York, in the United States, killing seven of the 43 people on board and injuring all 36 survivors.
- July 3
- July 19 - Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106010m (347,800feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km (62.1 statute miles, 54 nautical miles), this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
- July 20 - The U.S. Air Force C-47 Skytrain Extol Pink evacuates wounded Vietnamese at night under heavy fire. Its six-man crew receives the MacKay Trophy for the flight.[19]
- July 27 - United Arab Airlines Flight 869, a de Havilland Comet 4C, crashes into the Arabian Sea on approach to Bombay-Santa Cruz Airport in Bombay, India, in heavy rain and turbulence, killing all 63 people on board. Among the dead are 26 Boy Scouts from the Philippines on their way to the 11th World Scout Jamboree in Greece.
August
September
- September 1 - Sued over its name for trademark violation by the West German airline Lufthansa - which had purchased the rights to the name of the defunct pre-1945 airline Deutsche Luft Hansa in August 1954 - and as a result unable to join the International Air Transport Association, the East German national airline Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH) is liquidated. Its staff, fleet, and route network are transferred to Interflug, which takes over as East Germany's national airline.
- September 4 - Shortly after takeoff from Zurich-Kloten Airport in Kloten near Zürich, Switzerland, Swissair Flight 306, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III, catches fire, leading to hydraulic failure and a loss of control. The plane crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all 80 people on board. Among the dead are 43 people - one-fifth of the population - of the village of Humlikon, Switzerland, traveling together to visit a farm test site at Geneva.
- September 14 - The Tokyo Convention – officially the "Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft" – is concluded in Tokyo, Japan. It establishes that at least one state, specifically the one in which the aircraft is registered, will take jurisdiction over the suspect in the event of an in-flight criminal offense that jeopardizes the safety of an aircraft or people on an aircraft during international air navigation or an intention to commit such an offense, and it provides for situations in which other states may also have jurisdiction. It also recognizes certain powers and immunities of the pilot in command, who on international flights may restrain any person or persons he or she has reasonable cause to believe is committing or is about to commit an offense liable to interfere with the safety of persons or property on board the aircraft or who is jeopardizing good order and discipline aboard the aircraft, the first time this has been recognized in international aviation law. The convention will go into force on December 4, 1969.
October
- In an exercise named Operation Big Lift, the United States Air Force airlifts an entire armored division of 15,000 troops to Europe within five days.
- October 1 - The French airlines Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux (TAI) and Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) merge to form the new airline Union de Transports Aériens (UTA).
- October 2 - Second British Short SC.1 VTOL research aircraft, XG905, flying from Belfast Harbour Airport, crashes due to a control malfunction, killing the test pilot, J. R. Green.[22]
- October 16 - In Operation Greased Lightning, an unmodified B-58 Hustler bomber of the U.S. Air Force's 305th Bombardment Wing named Greased Lightning sets a new speed record by flying nonstop from Tokyo to London nonstop, passing over via Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, and covering the 14850km (9,230miles); 8,028-nautical mile) distance in 8 hours, 35 minutes, 20.4 seconds, at an average speed of 938mph, despite having to slow five times for aerial refueling. The B-58 flies at Mach 2 for most of the flight – maintaining an average cruise speed over a five-hour period of 2276km/h at an altitude of 16160abbr=offNaNabbr=off – throttling back to subsonic speeds only for the last hour after losing an afterburner; the reduction in speed in the flight's late stages results in an average speed for the entire trip of about Mach 1.5. In addition to the Tokyo-London speed record, the flight also sets speed records for the leg from Tokyo to Anchorage, Alaska, which the B-58 covers in 3 hours, 9 minutes, 42 seconds at an average speed of 1093.4mph, and for the leg from Anchorage to London, which it covers in 5 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds at an average speed of 826.9mph., the Tokyo-Anchorage leg of the flight remains the longest supersonic flight in history.[23] [24] [25] [26] [27] The flight is the last record-setting attempt by a B-58, which has set 19 recognized speed and altitude world records, the most in history by any combat aircraft.[23]
- October 22 - During its flight development program, the BAC One-Eleven airliner prototype, G-ASHG, crashes, killing the entire crew of seven, including test pilot M. J. Lithgow. The investigation of the accident reveals that it resulted from a deep stall caused by the aircraft assuming an unexpected and dangerously high angle of attack, and remedial measures will be of great use worldwide in designing aircraft that have a T-tail and rear-mounted engine configuration.[28]
- October 28 - Belfast Aldergrove opens as the principal airport for Northern Ireland, civilian facilities transferring from Nutts Corner.
November
- November 8 - Finnair aircraft OH-LCA, Aero Flight 217, crashes before landing at Mariehamn Airport in Åland
- November 22 - In the aftermath of the assassination earlier in the day of President John F. Kennedy, the Vice President, Lyndon B. Johnson, is sworn in as his successor aboard the Air Force One aircraft SAM 26000, a Boeing VC-137C Stratoliner, on the ground at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas, the only U.S. president to be sworn in aboard an aircraft. As he is sworn in, the aircraft is starting its engines for a flight to carry Kennedy's body and Johnson to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
- November 28 - Six hijackers armed with machine guns take over an Avensa airliner – either a Convair CV-340 or Convair CV-440 – with 17 people on board during a domestic flight in Venezuela from Ciudad Bolívar to Caracas and force it to circle over Ciudad Bolívar while they drop propaganda leaflets urging Venezuelans not to vote in the upcoming national elections. They then force the airliner's crew to fly them to Port of Spain on Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago, where they surrender to the authorities.[29]
- November 29 - Five minutes after takeoff from Montreal/Dorval Airport in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 831, a Douglas DC-8-54CF, crashes near Ste-Thérèse-de-Blainville, Quebec, killing all 118 people on board. Among the dead is Donald Turnbull, the son of inventor Wallace Rupert Turnbull. It is the deadliest aviation accident ever to occur in Canada at the time.
December
- Aero Trasporti Italiani (ATI) is founded as a subsidiary of Alitalia to take over secondary domestic routes in Italy operated by the Alitalia subsidiary Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM). ATI will begin flight operations in June 1964.
- December 8 - Lightning strikes the Pan American World Airways Boeing 707-121 Clipper Tradewind, operating as Flight 214, igniting fuel vapor and causing an explosion which blows part of the left wing off the aircraft. The plane crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board. As a result of the tragedy, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration orders the installation of lightning discharge wicks or static dischargers on all commercial jets flying inside U.S. airspace.
- December 9 - By royal decree of King Hussein, Alia – the future Royal Jordanian – is established as the flag carrier of Jordan.
- December 15 - Alia – the future Royal Jordanian – begins flight operations, offering service between Amman, Jordan, and Kuwait City, Kuwait, Beirut, Lebanon, and Cairo, Egypt, using a fleet of two Handley Page Dart Heralds and a Douglas DC-7.
First flights
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
December
Entered service
February
August
September
November
Retirements
- SUMPAC (Southampton University Man-Powered Aircraft)
Deadliest crash
The deadliest crash of this year was Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 831, a Douglas DC-8 which crashed shortly after taking off from Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 29 November, killing all 118 people on board.
References
- Book: Taylor, John W. R. . John W. R. Taylor . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1963–64 . 1963 . The McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc. . New York.
- Book: Taylor, John W. R.. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1964–65 . 1964 . Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd. . London .
Notes and References
- Scheina, Robert L., Latin America: A Naval History 1810-1987, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987,, p. 197.
- Chinnery, Philip D., Vietnam: The Helicopter War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,, p. 17.
- Chinnery, Philip D., Vietnam: The Helicopter War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,, p. 13.
- Web site: Dubert, Robert, "Go to Cuba! GO TO HAVANA!," Reflections, Fall 2013, p. 1. . 2017-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160623225040/http://www.nwahistory.org/assets/13_fall_newsletter_a.pdf . 2016-06-23 . dead .
- http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19630201-0 Aviation Safety Network Accident Description
- https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19630201-1 Safety Network Accident Description
- Sturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990,, p. 216.
- Chinnery, Philip D., Vietnam: The Helicopter War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,, p. 14.
- "Today in History," The Washington Post Express, March 5, 2014, p. 22.
- Chinnery, Philip D., Vietnam: The Helicopter War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,, p. 19.
- Associated Press. "Record Balloon Flight Made By Americans". Gadsden Times, April 14, 1963, p. 1. Retrieved on May 29, 2013.
- Chinnery, Philip D., Vietnam: The Helicopter War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,, p. 20.
- Hammel, Eric, Six Days in June: How Israel Won the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992,, p. 129.
- Bedwell, Don, "Extremes: Supersonic Gamble", Aviation History, May 2012, p. 14.
- Goodspeed, Hill, "Where Naval Aviation History is Manifest," Naval History, June 2011, p. 33.
- Handleman, Philip, "Discovering Purpose in the Sky," Aviation History, July 2017, p. 13.
- Wilkinson, Stephan, "Amazing But True Stories," Aviation History, May 2014, pp. 30–31.
- Guttman, Jon, Review of North American -15 by Peter E. Davies, Aviation History, November 2017, p. 66.
- http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/af/100_years_of_flight.pdf Haulman, Daniel L., One Hundred Years of Flight: USAF Chronology of Significant Air and Space Events, 1903-2002, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press, 2003, no ISBN, p. 93.
- Hallion, Richard P., "Across the Hypersonic Divide," Aviation History, July 2012, p. 40.
- Anonymous, "Milestones: X-15 Reaches the Edge of Space," Aviation History, October 2017, p. 10.
- Web site: Test Flying Memorial site of British test pilots and engineers who died while test-flying (1946-1970 page) . Testflyingmemorial.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090618144718/http://www.testflyingmemorial.com/1946-70.htm . 2009-06-18 .
- Web site: The B-58′s Record Flights . 2017-04-04 . 2015-01-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150102153742/http://www.456fis.org/B-58_RECORDS.htm . dead.
- QUALA MATOCHA. "Former Hillje man holds longest supersonic flight record after 50 years" El Campo Leader News, October 23, 2013. Accessed: December 15, 2013.
- Wayne Thomis, Aviation editor, Chicago Tribune. November 24, 1963.
- Haynes, Leland R. "B-58 Hustler records & 15,000 miles non-stop in the SR-71." wvi.com (SR-71 Blackbirds), 1996. Retrieved: 12 December 2014.
- https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/b-58a-20-cf/ This Day in Aviation: 16 October 1963
- Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,, p. 91.
- https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19631128-0 Aviation Safety Network Hijacking Description
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 312.
- Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 289.
- David, Donald, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Nobles Books, 1997,, p. 110.
- Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,, p. 56.