Discover

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

Contents

Events

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

October

November

December

First flights

January

February

March

April

May

June

August

September

October

November

Entered service

June

Retirements

May

July

October

December

Events

February

★ the T-6 Texan II is selected as the new primary trainer for the United States armed forces.

★ Nicholas Piantanida is killed whilst attempting to break the world balloon altitude record.

★ Hildegarde Ferrera becomes the oldest person to parachute out of a plane, at 99 years old.

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

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.

May

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

June

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

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.

August

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

October

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

November

★ November 12 - A Saudi Airlines Boeing 747 collides with a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin IL-76, killing 351 people.

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.

First flights

★ Boeing Bird of Prey

January

★ January 4 - RAH-66 Comanche

February

★ February 29 - Cessna Citation Excel

March

★ March 16 - MiG/MAPO MiG-AT

★ March 21 - Tupolev TU-214

★ March 29 - RQ-3 Dark Star

April

★ April 4 - Extra 400

★ April 5 - Lockheed C-130J

★ April 25 - Yakovlev Yak/AEM-130

May

★ May 1 - NASA ERAST ALTUS II

★ May 22 - Airbus A319

June

★ June 19 - Scaled Composites Boomerang

August

★ August 6 - Kawasaki OH-1

September

★ September 30 - Aero L-59 Super Albatros

October

★ Kawada Robocopter

★ October 29 - PZL SW-4 helicopter

November

★ November 29 - Tupolev TU-144LL

Entered service

June

★ Saab JAS-39A Gripen

Retirements

May

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

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."

October

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

December

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