1996 in aviation

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This is a list of aviation-related events from 1996:

[edit] Events

[edit] February

• February 6 - Turkish charter company Birgenair Flight 301 crashes in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic after takeoff. 189 people died.
• the T-6 Texan II is selected as the new primary trainer for the United States armed forces.
• Hildegarde Ferrera becomes the oldest person to parachute out of a plane, at 99 years old.

[edit] March

• March 15 - The Fokker aircraft manufacturer is declared bankrupt.
• March 21 - Tupolev and NASA begin joint research into civil supersonic transports using a refurbished Tupolev Tu-144

[edit] April

• April 12 - Seven year old pilot Jessica Dubroff dies during attempt to set record as the youngest person to fly across the United States.

[edit] May

• May 11 - Valujet Flight 592 crashes in the Florida Everglades.

[edit] June

• June 9 - the Swedish Air Force opens a new pilot training centre at Såtenäs

[edit] July

• July 13 - A Garuda Indonesia Airways DC-10 crashes on take-off from Fukuoka Airport, Japan, killing 3.

• July 17 - TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 with 230 people aboard, explodes off the coast of New York.

[edit] August

• August 29 - Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashes into a mountain on Spitsbergen killing 141 people.

[edit] October

• October 8 - three B-2 Spirits destroy 16 targets with 16 smart bombs at the Nellis AFB range.

[edit] November

• November 12 - A Saudi Airlines Boeing 747 collides with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin IL-76, killing 349 people.
• November 23 - Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crashes in Comoros after it got hijacked on air, killing 125 people.

[edit] December

• December 15 - the merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing is announced
• December 24 - The 1996 New Hampshire Learjet crash which led to a 3-year search for the missing aircraft, and legislation requiring stricter ELT standards.

[edit] First flights

• Boeing Bird of Prey

[edit] January

• January 4 - RAH-66 Comanche

[edit] February

• February 29 - Cessna Citation Excel

[edit] March

• March 16 - MiG/MAPO MiG-AT
• March 21 - Tupolev TU-214
• March 29 - RQ-3 Dark Star

[edit] April

• April 4 - Extra 400
• April 5 - Lockheed C-130J
• April 25 - Yakovlev Yak/AEM-130

[edit] May

• May 1 - NASA ERAST ALTUS II
• May 22 - Airbus A319

[edit] June

• June 19 - Scaled Composites Boomerang

[edit] August

• August 6 - Kawasaki OH-1

[edit] September

• September 30 - Aero L-59 Super Albatros

[edit] October

• Kawada Robocopter
• October 29 - PZL SW-4 helicopter

[edit] November

• November 29 - Tupolev TU-144LL

[edit] Entered service

[edit] June

• Saab JAS-39A Gripen

[edit] Retirements

[edit] May

• May 30 - Mirage IV-P Bombers of the Armée de l'Air are retired.

[edit] July

• July 27 - the final General Dynamics F-111F attack aircraft are withdrawn from USAF service; on its retirement, the aircraft finally receives an official popular name: "Aardvark."

[edit] October

• October 17 - The last airworthy Vickers Vanguard, G-APEP, makes the type's last flight.

[edit] December

• December 19 - The US Navy retires it's Grumman A-6 Intruders.