Great Moments in Travel History – August 2014
An American Airlines 757 in special one world livery
Boeing began production of the 757 on August 31, 1978. The aircraft has a two-crew member glass cockpit, turbofan engines, and a supercritical wing design. A total of 1,049 of the aircraft have been ordered and delivered.
On August 19, 1980, all 301 souls aboard Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 163 perished in a fire. Although the Lockheed L-1011 performed a safe and successful emergency landing following a blaze in the rear cargo hold, the aircraft was not promptly evacuated, and everyone onboard died in the fire.
The deadliest single-aircraft accident in history occurred on August 12, 1985, when Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed into Mount Takamagahara en route from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Osaka. Of the 524 people on board the Boeing 747SR, there were only 4 survivors.
On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, killing 156 people, including two on the ground. Of the 155 souls aboard the flight, the only survivor was a four-year-old child.
The second deadliest air show incident in history, the Ramstein air show disaster, took place in West Germany, on August 28, 1988. Sixty-seven spectators and three pilots died when aircraft of the Italian Air Force display team collided during their performance.
On August 1, 1997, the Boeing Company merged with McDonnell Douglas Corp., keeping the Boeing name.
Two hundred and twenty eight out of the 256 people on Korean Air Flight 801 died on August 6, 1997, when the Boeing 747 crashed during heavy rain at Guam International Airport.
On August 2, 1999, the Boeing 757-300 made its first flight. The aircraft is the largest single-aisle twinjet ever built.
The 767-400ER rolled out of the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington on August 26, 1999. The aircraft is the first Boeing wide-body jet resulting from two fuselage stretches.
On August 5, 2003, a suicide car bomber detonated himself outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Jakarta in South Jakarta, Indonesia. Twelve people were killed in the attack, and an additional 150 were injured.
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed on August 16, 2005 in northwest Venezuela. All 152 passengers and eight crewmembers aboard the flight from Panama City, Panama to Fort-de-France, Martinique, died in the incident.
On August 8, 2006, Boeing rolled out the new 737-900ER airplane at its Renton, Washington facility. Lion Air was the aircraft’s launch customer.
Boeing began major assembly on the first 747-8 Freighter on August 9, 2008. The aircraft made its maiden flight on February 8, 2010.
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed after takeoff from Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, on August 20, 2008, resulting in the death of 154 people. The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 disaster was the first fatal accident in the 25-year history of Spanair.
On August 27, 2012, Hertz Global Holdings announced that it would acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. The deal was valued at roughly $2.3 billion.
Ritz-Carlton opened its first hotel in Austria when it unveiled the Ritz-Carlton, Vienna, on August 27, 2012.
On August 22, 2013, ANA Holdings, the parent company of All Nippon Airways, purchased Pan Am International Flight Academy for $139.5 million.
(Photos: Accura Media Group)
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