2009 – The Centaur module of NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is purposely smashed into the surface of the Moon, creating a plume of dust which is collected by another spacecraft to test for the presence of water. Five weeks later, test results confirm the existence of water vapor on the Moon.
2009 – A Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya EADS CASA C-212-200 Aviocar (FAU-531/UN-146) a twin-engined turboprop transport aircraft, on a reconnaissance flight crashes near Fonds-Verrettes, Ouest Department, Haiti. The aircraft taking part in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti crashed into a mountainside near the remote village of Pays-Pourri killing the 11 crew.
2006 – The A/MH-6X manned/unmanned military light-turbine helicopter makes its first flight. It combines technologies of the A/MH-6 M Mission Enhanced Little Bird with Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator, a modified MD 530 F civil helicopter.
1999 – Completing a career during which she set scores of speed and altitude records, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird makes its final flight.
1991 – On Wednesday, four members of an Sikorsky SH-3H Sea King crew operating from the Norfolk, Virginia-based USS America were presumed lost after the aircraft crashed during a training mission near Bermuda, the Navy said Friday. The helicopter was assigned to the Anti-Submarine Squadron 11 at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, The crewmen were identified as: Lt. Richard D. Calderon, 26, of Jacksonville, Florida; Lt. Cmdr. Karl J. Wiegand, 35, of Orange Park, Florida; aviation anti-submarine warfare operator Karl J. Wicklund, 23, of Clear Lake, Minnesota; and aviation anti-submarine warfare operator Vincent W. Bostwick, 20, of Orange Park, Florida.
1969 – A USAF Boeing B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress, 57-0172, of the 329th Bomb Squadron, crashed about 1,000 feet beyond end of runway while doing touch-and-goes at Castle AFB, California. All six crew died in the 2345 hrs. accident as the Stratofortress exploded on impact.
1967 – Second (of five) Ling-Temco-Vought XC-142As, 62-5922, suffers major landing gear and fuselage damage during STOL landing at Edwards AFB, California, following a 28-minute functional check flight after incorporation of modified control system components. Crew uninjured. This was the 488th test flight of the XC-142 program, and it turns out to be the last one before the program is cancelled. Airframe not repaired.
1957 – Boeing DB-47B-35-BW Stratojet, 51-2177A, of the 447th Bomb Squadron, 321st Bomb Wing, taking part in a practice demonstration at Pinecastle Air Force Base suffers wing-failure during the annual Strategic Air Command Bombing Navigation and Reconnaissance Competition. The aircraft comes down north of downtown Orlando, killing pilot Colonel Michael N.W. McCoy, commander of the 321st Bombardment Wing, Group Captain John Woodroffe of the Royal Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Joyce, and Major Vernon Stuff. Pinecastle AFB is re-named McCoy Air Force Base in McCoy's honour on 7 May 1958. Details of the accident remained classified for five decades, presumably because they would reveal flaws in the aircraft, but an FOIA request resulted in the release that showed that the investigation laid the blame on pilot McCoy.
1949 – Douglas C-47A-90-DL Skytrain, 43-16062, c/n 20528, of the 6th Rescue Squadron, Air Rescue Service, MATS, based at Goose Bay, Labrador, fails to gain sufficient airspeed on takeoff from primitive Isachsen airstrip, abandoned Isachsen weather station, Ellef Ringnes Island, Northwest Territory, Canada, at 1800 hrs. Zulu, lifting off twice before landing gear/skis contacted rising terrain and collapsed. Cause was icing and overload conditions. Four crew and six passengers suffer only minor injuries. Airframe abandoned in place. It is still there.
1938 – Nationalist aircraft sink the Republican submarine C-6 at Barcelona, Spain.
1933 – Prototype MartinXB-10, 33-157, assigned to the 59th Service Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia, is lost when landing gear will not extend during routine flight, Lt. E.A. Hilary parachutes from bomber, which is destroyed with only 132 flight hours.
1930 – Erroll Boyd launches his flight across the Atlantic in the Maple Leaf. En route, he encounters rough weather; his plane suffers an electrical failure and a clogged fuel line. He becomes the first Canadian to fly the Atlantic when he lands the next day on the British island of Tresco.
1924 – In the United Kingdom, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force is established.
1919 – Continuing the cross-country contest, a DH-4B hits the side of a mountain W of Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing 1st Lt. Edwin V. Vales and badly injuring 2nd Lt. William C. Goldsborough. Lt. A. M. Roberts and his observer survive a close call when, in an effort to make up for lost time, Roberts chooses the direct route, over Lake Erie, between Buffalo and Cleveland. His engine fails, and he has to ditch in the lake. Luckily, a passing freighter sees the crash and picks up the two men.
1900 – French aeronaut Count Henri de La Vaulx sets a world record for non-stop long-distance balloon flight. He flies for over 35 hours after taking off from Paris, France.
1890 – Clement Ader flew 50 m in powered, uncontrolled flight in his aeroplane "Eole".
