Great Moments in Travel History – September 2014
On September 1, 1983, a Soviet fighter plane shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after it crossed into Soviet airspace. All 269 souls onboard the Boeing 747-230B lost their lives.
On September 15, 1988, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 crashed on takeoff after suffering multiple bird strikes. Thirty-five of the ninety-eight passengers onboard the Boeing 737 died in the crash.
On September 10, 1993, Boeing rolled out its 1,000th 747. It was delivered to Singapore Airlines one month later.
The first flight of the Airbus Beluga took place on September 13, 1994. At first, the aircraft was officially called the Super Transporter, but the more popular name ‘Beluga’ was eventually adopted because of the plane’s distinctive shape and design. It is used mainly for transport of Airbus components ready for final assembly across Europe, and is also used to transport space station components, large and delicate artwork, and entire helicopters.
On September 2, 1998, all 229 people onboard Swissair Flight 111 died when the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on its way from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. The crash has the highest death toll of any incident involving a McDonnell Douglass MD-11 aircraft.
The September 11 attacks took place on a Tuesday morning in 2001. American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were flown into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, City, while American Airlines Flight 77 was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in the attacks, making it the deadliest aviation incident to take place on American soil.
On September 28, 2004, final assembly on the first Boeing 777-200LR began. The aircraft holds the record for longest non-stop flight by a commercial airliner.
The Boeing 737-900ER made it first flight from the Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Washington on September 1, 2006. The aircraft can carry up to 180 passengers in a two-class layout, and is certified for upwards of 220 passengers in a one-class configuration.
United Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on September 22, 2012. The carrier became the first North American airline to take delivery of the high-tech but problem-plagued aircraft.
(Photos: Accura Media Group)