2012 – An airstrike, suspected of being by an American unmanned aerial vehicle, destroys a Toyota Land Cruiser outside Rada'a in southern Yemen, killing three al-Qaeda members in the vehicle and prompting dozens of al-Qaeda members to protest.[4]
2004 – An American Special ForcesMC-130H Hercules (c/n 382-5054, 16th SOW, 15th SOS) is written off while landing on Q-West airfield near Mosul, Iraq, though no one was hurt. The pilot was unaware a large pit had been dug in the runway.[5]
1994 – Turkish Airlines Flight 278, a Boeing 737-4Y0, crashes during its final approach to land at Van Ferit Melen Airport in eastern Turkey in driving snow. Five of the seven crew and 52 of the 69 passengers are killed.
1991 – China Airlines Flight 358, a Boeing 747-200F, suffers double engine separation and crashes into a hill near Wanli, Taipei, Taiwan, killing all 5 crew on board.
1982 – An Indian Air Force helicopter crashed near Gantok, five killed.
1980 – A U.S. Navy pilot ejects from stricken Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk, BuNo. 154626, 'JH', of VC-10, on flight from NAS Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after engine failure and fire, spends 30 hours in the water before rescue shortly after midnight on Wednesday, 31 December, from the Atlantic ~45 miles (72 km) S of Bahamian island of Mayaguana by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. Two Skyhawks departed Gitmo on routine training mission at 1500 hrs. on Monday, second pilot sees pilot Cmdr. Frank Riordan successfully eject from burning fighter with a good canopy ~240 miles NE of Guantanamo. Observer aboard U.S. Navy P-3 Orion out of NAS Jacksonville, Florida, spots strobelight on pilot's life jacket on Tuesday night, 28 December. Riordan recovered in good condition "except for a slight case of exposure", said a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami, Florida.
1978 – Freddie To makes the first flight of a solar-powered aircraft, the Solar One (airplane)|Solar One
1975 - At 6:33 p.m. EST, a bomb with the equivalent force of 25 sticks of dynamite exploded in the main terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, New York, killing 11 and injuring 75. The victims included travelers, limousine drivers, and airline employees.
1974 – A Tarom Antonov AN-24 (registered YR-AMD) flying from Bucharest to Sibiu, crashes into the side of the Lotrului Mountains, killing all 28 passengers and 5 crew members. The crash is blamed on the crew incorrectly executing the approach, which led to the aircraft drifting off course by 20 km in turbulent conditions.
1972 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401, a Lockheed Tristar, crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 103 of 176 people on board; the crew is distracted by a faulty gear-down light, resulting in controlled flight into terrain; this is the first crash of a widebody aircraft and the first loss of a Lockheed Tristar.
1951 – Continental Charters Flight 44-2, a Curtiss-Wright C-46, crashes into a ridge near Napoli, New York while en route to Buffalo, New York; 3 crew members and 23 passengers die
1949 – Entered Service: Lockheed F-94 Starfire with the United States Air Force
1944 – F/L RJ Audet, flying a Supermarine Spitfire of No. 411 (Fighter) Squadron near Rheine, Germany, destroyed five enemy fighters in his first combat.
1943 – 1st Lt Robert L. Duke is killed in the crash of Curtiss A-25A-20-CS Shrike, 42-79823, near Spencer, Tennessee, this date. He was assigned as Assistant A-3 of Eglin Field. Eglin Auxiliary Field 3 is later named Duke Field in his honor.
1940 – 29-30 – The Luftwaffe makes a devastating attack on London, making extensive use of incendiary weapons.
1938 – (29-31) A German Arado Ar 79 training and touring aircraft sets an international long-distance record for an aircraft of its class, flying 6,303 kilometres (3,917 mi) from Benghazi, Libya, to Gaya, India, nonstop at an average speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).
1937 – A Spanish Nationalist counteroffensive against Republican forces during the Battle of Teruel begins with the support of German aircraft of the Condor Legion. The Condor Legion has had to redeploy in order to support the counteroffensive, and its personnel are becoming weary of the constant changes of front required by Nationalist military operations.
1936 – Compañía Aeronáutica Uruguaya S. A. (CAUSA) founded by the Uruguayan banker Luis J. Supervielle and Coronel Tydeo Larre Borges. Its initial fleet is two Junkers Ju 52 floatplanes, which begin service between Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1933 – The Imperial Airways Avro Ten Apollo (G-ABLU) strikes a radio mast and crashes at Ruysselede, Belgium, killing all 10 people on board. King Albert I of Belgium will award Camille van Hove, who is hospitalized with serious burns suffered while trying to rescue victims from the airliner’s wreckage, the Civic Cross (1st Class).
1927 – Georg Wulf, co-founded of Focke-Wulf is killed in the crash of the Focke-Wulf Fw 19
1921 – Edward Stinson and Lloyd Bertaud set a world endurance record of 26 hours, 18 min and 35 seconds flying a BMW-engined Junkers-Larsen over Roosevelt Field.
1916 – Imperial German Navy Zeppelin LZ84L 38, damaged beyond repair in a forced landing (due to heavy snowfall) during an attempted raid on Reval and Saint Petersburg.
