1958 In Aviation
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This is a list of aviation-related events from 1958:


Events

* For the first time, the total of transatlantic passengers carried by air this year exceeds the total carried by sea. * Gulfstream Aerospace is founded in
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
, Georgia, in the United States. * The
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...
acquires its first
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
by purchasing HMS ''Warrior'' from the United Kingdom. * The Brazilian Navy acquires aircraft of its own for the first time since the 1941 creation of the
Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
, purchasing two Bell 47-J and three Westland Widgeon helicopters.


January

* January 1 **During a revolt against Venezuelan President Marcos Pérez Jiménez, rebel Venezuelan Air Force de Havilland Venom, de Havilland Vampire, and F-86 Sabre aircraft attack Miraflores Palace, the defense ministry, and other military targets in the
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
area. **As a cost-saving measure, the United States Air Force inactivates the Eighteenth Air Force and reassigns its forces to the Twelfth Air Force. * January 14 – Qantas becomes the first foreign airline permitted to fly across the United States. * January 26 – British European Airways (BEA) takes over all operation of Cyprus Airways routes, although Cyprus Airways continues to operate under its own name. *January 31 – While a U.S. Air Force Boeing B-47 Stratojet makes a simulated takeoff in Morocco, a wheel casting failure causes its
tail assembly The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
to strike the runway. One of the bomber's fuel tanks ruptures, and a fire breaks out that damages an armed
nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
aboard the aircraft, releasing some radioactive material into the environment.


February

* February 1 – United Airlines sets a record commercial Honolulu, Hawaii-to- Los Angeles, California, flight time of 6 hours 21 minutes.Aviation Hawaii: 1950–1959 Chronology of Aviation in Hawaii
/ref> * February 5 – Two United States Air Force aircraft – a B-47B Stratojet and an F-86 Sabrecollide in mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Georgia in the United States. The F-86 crashes after its pilot ejects, but the B-47B remains airborne, jettisons a
Mark 15 Mark 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter records the narrative of Jesus' passion, including his trial before Pontius Pilate and then his crucifixion, death and entombment ...
hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
into
Wassaw Sound Wassaw Sound is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Georgia, United States near Savannah at the mouth of the Wilmington River. American Civil War naval battle It was the location of an American Civil War naval battle between the CSS Atlan ...
off Tybee Island, Georgia, and makes an emergency landing at Hunter Army Airfield in
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
, Georgia. The bomb has not been recovered. * February 6 – The British European Airways Airspeed Ambassador G-ALZU ''Lord Burghley'', operating as Flight 609, crashes on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in West Germany, killing 23, including eight
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
ers. * February 11 –
Mohawk Airlines Mohawk Airlines was a regional passenger airline operating in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, mainly in New York and Pennsylvania, from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972. At its height, it employe ...
hires
Ruth Carol Taylor Ruth Carol Taylor (born December 27, 1931) is the first African-American flight attendant in the United States. Her first flight was aboard a Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to New York City. Early life Born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a ...
as the first African American
flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
in history. Six months later, Mohawk will fire her for getting married, a common airline industry practice at the time. * February 13 – A British
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
White Paper makes Britain's nuclear weapons programme public knowledge. * February 16 – Eight hijackers commandeer a Korean National Airlines
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
with 34 people on board during a domestic flight in South Korea from Busan to Seoul and force it to fly to Pyongyang, North Korea. * February 25 – United Airlines sets a record commercial Honolulu, Hawaii-to- San Francisco, California, flight time of 5 hours 43 minutes. * February 27 – The Silver City Airways Bristol 170 Freighter ''G-AICS'', travelling from Ronaldsway Airport,
Ballasalla Ballasalla () is a village in the parish of Malew in the south-east of the Isle of Man. The village is situated close to the Isle of Man Airport and north-east of the town of Castletown. History Ballasalla grew up around nearby Rushen Abbey. ...
, on the Isle of Man to
Ringway Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...
in Manchester, England, crashes into Winter Hill, Rivington Moor, Lancashire, in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
in bad weather, killing 35 of the 42 people on board and injuring all seven survivors.


March

*
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
s Republic of Vietnam Air Force takes delivery of its first helicopters. * Misrair, the future
EgyptAir Egyptair (Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-A ...
, renames itself United Arab Airlines. Egypt's and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
's merger on 1 February to form the United Arab Republic prompts the name change. * March 11 – A crewman aboard a United States Air Force B-47E Stratojet flying as part of a formation of four B-47s from Hunter Air Force Base in
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
, Georgia, to England to conduct a mock bombing attack in
Operation Snow Flurry Operation Snow Flurry was an operation by the United States Air Force that consisted of B-47 Stratojet bombers flying from South Carolina to England to perform mock bomb drops. Data would be received on the ground from the planes, and this would la ...
accidentally releases a 7,600-pound (3,447-kilogram) Mark 6 nuclear bomb at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,572 meters). The bomb smashes the closed bomb bay doors open and strikes the ground in
Mars Bluff Mars Bluff is an unincorporated community in Florence County, South Carolina, United States that bears the distinction of having been inadvertently bombed with a nuclear weapon by the United States Air Force. History Originally known as Marr ...
, South Carolina. Its high-explosive detonator explodes on impact, creating a crater 70 feet (21.3 meters) wide and 30 feet (9.1 meters) deep. The bomb's core is not in the weapon, so no nuclear explosion occurs. * March 16 – Air Inter commences operations. * March 22 – ''Lucky Liz'', the private twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar of American theater and film producer Mike Todd, flying grossly overloaded in fog, snow, and thunderstorms, crashes in the Zuni Mountains near Grants, New Mexico, when one of its engines fails in icing conditions. All four people aboard the plane die, including Todd and his biographer, the American sportswriter, screenwriter, and author
Art Cohn Art Cohn (April 5, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American sportswriter, screenwriter and author. Cohn and Hollywood producer Mike Todd died in a plane crash in New Mexico in 1958. Career Sportswriter Cohn was born in New York City. Early in h ...
. Todd's wife, American actress
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
, is not aboard because she had stayed home with a bout of bronchitis.planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1950s
/ref>


April

* The Handley Page Victor strategic bomber begins to enter squadron service with the Royal Air Force. * April 6 – Vickers Viscount ''N7437'', operating as
Capital Airlines Flight 67 Capital Airlines Flight 67 was a domestic scheduled U.S. passenger flight operated by Capital Airlines (United States), Capital Airlines which plane crash, crashed on Final approach (aeronautics), final approach to Freeland, Michigan, during a sev ...
, stalls and crashes into
Saginaw Bay Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area. It is located in part ...
near Freeland, Michigan, while on approach to Freeland-Tri City Airport in Saginaw, Michigan. All 47 people aboard die. The cause is attributed to
ice accretion In aviation, icing conditions are atmospheric conditions that can lead to the formation of water ice on an aircraft. Ice accretion and accumulation can affect the external surfaces of an aircraft – in which case it is referred to as ''airfram ...
on the
horizontal stabilizer A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplan ...
. * April 9 – A Cubana de Aviación Vickers Viscount with 13 people on board is
hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
during a domestic flight in Cuba from Havana to Santa Clara and forced to fly to Mérida, Mexico. * April 10 – A rebellious Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) captain attempts to hijack a ROKAF
Curtiss C-46 Commando The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a twin-engine transport aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company pub ...
with seven people on board during a domestic flight in South Korea from
Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
to Seoul and force it to fly him to North Korea. A struggle ensures in which the hijacker shoots one of the crew members to death, but he is subdued and the plane diverts to a landing at Pyongtaek, South Korea. * April 13 – The three crew members of a Cubana de Aviación
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
with 12 passengers on board making a domestic flight in Cuba from Havana to Santa Clara illegally fly the airliner to Miami, Florida, instead to seek refuge in the United States. * April 21 – United Airlines Flight 736, a Douglas DC-7 bound for Denver, Colorado, collides at with a U.S. Air Force
F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
fighter on a training mission near Las Vegas, Nevada. All 47 persons aboard the airliner and both F-100 crew members are killed. * April 28 ** A B-26 Invader bomber flown by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency employee William H. Beale in support of Indonesian Permesta rebels bombs the harbor at Balikpapan, Borneo, Indonesia, sinking the British oil tanker and hitting the British oil tanker with a 500-pound (227-kg) bomb that bounces overboard without exploding. In June, the Indonesian and British governments both will claim that Indonesian rebels flew the bomber, concealing the CIA's involvement. **
Aerlínte Éireann Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
, a division of Aer Lingus, makes the first transatlantic flight by an Irish airline, using a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation for a flight from Shannon to New York City.


May

* May 7 – U.S. Air Force
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Howard C. Johnson of the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron sets a new world record for altitude, flying a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to 27,813 meters (91,249 feet).Angelucci, Enzo, ''The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present'', New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 283. * May 16 – U.S. Air Force
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Walter W. Irwin sets a new world airspeed record of 1,404 mph (2,259 km/h) in an F-104 Starfighter, the first record over 2,000 km/h (1,242 mph). * May 17 – Four F3H Demons and four F8U Crusaders make a non-stop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. * May 18 ** Indonesian forces shoot down a B-26 Invader bomber flown by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency employee
Allen Pope Allen Lawrence Pope (born October 20, 1928) is an American retired military and paramilitary aviator. He rose to international attention as the subject of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Indonesia after the B-26 Invader aircraf ...
in support of Indonesian Permesta rebels and capture Pope. In June, the Indonesian and British governments both will claim that Indonesian rebels flew the bomber, concealing the CIA's involvement. ** In a zero-length launch (ZEL) experiment, a U.S. Air Force North American F-100D Super Sabre becomes airborne with no runway or take-off roll at all, using its own engine in afterburner and boosted by a 130,000-pound- (58,967-kg)-thrust Astrodyne rocket. * May 20 – Vickers Viscount N7410 of
Capital Airlines Capital Airlines may refer to: * Beijing Capital Airlines, an airline based in China formerly named Deer Air * Capital Airlines (United States), a now-defunct 20th-century American airline * Capital Airlines (Nigeria), a now-defunct airline based i ...
collides in mid-air with a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star of the
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
. All eleven on board the Viscount are killed when it crashes at Brunswick, Maryland, as is one of the two crew members of the T-33. * May 22–23 – Flying a Douglas F4D-1 Skyray, United States Marine Corps
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
N. LeFaivre breaks five world climb-to-height records, including 15,000 meters (49,221 feet) in 2 minutes 36 seconds. * May 25 – A Dan-Air Avro 685 York C.1 cargo aircraft suffers an in-flight engine fire and crashes during a forced landing near
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
, Haryana, India, killing four members of the five-person crew. * May 26 – The Short SC.1 experimental VTOL aircraft makes its first (tethered) vertical flight, in the United Kingdom.


June

* June 2 – Shortly after takeoff from
Guadalajara Airport Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla) or simply Guadalajara International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara) , is the main airport ...
in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico, for a flight to Mexico City, Aeronaves de México Flight 111, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (registration XA-MEV), crashes into La Latilla Mountain, 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Guadalajara Airport, killing all 45 people on board in what at the time is the deadliest aviation accident in Mexican history. Two prominent American scientists – oceanographer Townsend Cromwell and
fisheries scientist Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, ...
Bell M. Shimada – are among the dead. The post-accident investigation will find that the airliner's crew did not follow the established climb-out procedure for the airport after taking off. * June 9 –
London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...
opens after two years of extensive reconstruction. It is the first multimodal airport in the world, with direct rail connections from the main terminal to London and
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
. * June 26 – A Grumman TF-1 Trader of U.S. Navy Air Transport Squadron 21 (VR-21) carries a Westinghouse J34
jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
from San Diego, California, on a 300-mile (483-km) flight to the anti-submarine warfare carrier , then at sea in the Pacific Ocean. It is the first delivery of an aircraft engine via carrier onboard delivery. * June 28 – The 22-year operational career of the Avro Anson comes to an end with a six-plane formation fly-past over their base by the Southern Communications Squadron at Bovington, Hampshire, in the United Kingdom.Donald, David, ed., ''The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft'', New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997, , p. 81.


July

* Royal Air Maroc initiates a number of long-haul routes using four Lockheed L-749 Constellations leased from Air France. The arrival of the Constellations allows the airline to withdraw its Douglas DC-4s from long-haul service. * July 1 – Royal Nepal Airlines is founded. Initially, its fleet consists of a single
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
. * July 3 – The "Telecopter," a Bell Model 47 rented by television station
KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...
in Los Angeles, California, and outfitted with a television camera, makes the worlds first flight by a television news helicopter. Its inventor, John D. Silva, is aboard. When the television station reports that it is receiving no video, Silva exits the helicopters
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
to climb onto its landing skid while it hovers at 1,500 feet (457 m) so that he can investigate the microwave transmitter bolted to its side, where he discovers that a vacuum tube has failed due to vibration and hot weather. After Silva fixes the problem overnight, the Telecopter makes its first successful news flight the following day. * July 15–16 – Aircraft from the United States Navy aircraft carrier cover United States Army and U.S. Marine Corps landings in Lebanon in Operation Blue Bat, the American intervention in the
1958 Lebanon crisis The 1958 Lebanon crisis (also known as the Lebanese Civil War of 1958) was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included a United States military intervention. The intervention lasted for aro ...
. Air support begins with a flight by 50 ''Essex'' jets over Beirut on July 15. * July 29 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act, disestablishing the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) and creating the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA), both effective October 1, 1958.


August

* Pacific Southwest Airlines inaugurates service to
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. * August 9 –
Central African Airways Flight 890 Central African Airways Flight 890, a Vickers Viscount 745D, crashed during a scheduled passenger flight from Wadi Halfa, Sudan, to Benghazi, Libya, about nine kilometers southeast of Benina International Airport in Libya. A total of forty-se ...
, a Vickers Viscount airliner, crashes near Benina International Airport outside
Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...
, Libya, killing 36 of the 54 people on board. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Libyan history at the time. * August 14 – The KLM Lockheed Super Constellation ''Hugo de Groot'' (''PH-LKM'') crashes in the Atlantic Ocean 180 km (112 mi) west of Shannon Airport, Ireland, perhaps due to mechanical failure, killing all 99 on board. Six members of Egypt's national fencing team are among the dead. * August 23 **The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with People's Republic of China artillery shelling the Nationalist Chinese-held islands of Quemoy and Matsu. During the crisis, the U.S. Navy attack aircraft carriers and patrol nearby, and F8U Crusader fighters from them make 1,000-knot (1,150-mph; 1,852-km/hr) sweeps along the coast of China. **President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, dissolving the Civil Aeronautics Administration and Civil Aeronautics Board and transferring all authority over aviation operations in the United States to the newly created Federal Aviation Agency (FAA, later renamed Federal Aviation Administration).


September

* September 2 – An Independent Air Travel Vickers VC.1 Viking cargo aircraft carrying a cargo of two
Bristol Proteus The Bristol Proteus was the Bristol Engine Company's first mass-produced gas turbine engine design, a turboprop that delivered just over 4,000 hp (3,000 kW). The Proteus was a reverse-flow gas turbine. Because the second turbine drov ...
turboprop engines suffers engine trouble soon after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport. While attempting to reach Blackbushe Airport for an emergency landing, the Viking crashes into a row of houses in Southall, London, England, killing its entire crew of three and a mother and three children on the ground. * September 5 – One or more hijackers attempt to commandeer an
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
Ilyushin Il-14P The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in East Germany by VEB ...
with 17 people on board during a domestic flight in the Soviet Union from Leningrad to Tallinn. Passengers overpower the hijacker or hijackers, one person dies in the struggle, and the airliner diverts to a landing at Jõhvi. * September 6 – The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend that U.S. Navy forces be given permission for more aggressive action the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, including carrier air strikes against the territory of the People's Republic of China, but President Dwight D. Eisenhower rejects the idea. * September 18 – East Germany establishes the airline Interflug as a hedge against its national airline, Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH), losing a trademark lawsuit to the West German airline
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
, which in August 1954 had purchased the right to use the name of the defunct pre-1945 German airline Deutsche Luft Hansa. Pending legal developments, Interflug operates as a charter airline until taking over DLH's assets upon the liquidation of DLH in September 1963. * September 20 – During a high-speed flyby in an
air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...
at RAF Syerston, Nottinghamshire, England, prototype Avro Vulcan bomber (serial number ''VX770'') suffers total collapse of the starboard wing and crashes, killing its entire crew and three people on the ground. * September 24 – During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, a dogfight breaks out between 32 Republic of China Air Force F-86F Sabres and over 100 Peoples Republic of China MiG aircraft. During the engagement, guided
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s are employed in combat for the first time when the Sabres use AAM-N-7 Sidewinder IA – later known as AIM-9B Sidewinder IA – missiles to down several MiG-15 (
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
"Fagot") fighters and at least ten MiG-17s (NATO reporting name "Fresco"). * September 30 – Britain's last
flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
is withdrawn from commercial service when Aquila Airways terminates its service on the Southampton-- Funchal (Madeira) route.


October

* October 1 – In the United States, in accordance with the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) is dissolved and its successor, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA), begins operations. * October 4 –
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
de Havilland Comet 4 ''G-APDB'' makes the first commercial transatlantic crossing by a jet airliner, from London Heathrow Airport to New York International Airport, Anderson Field via Gander. * October 8 – In Manhigh III, the third and final flight of the United States Air Force's Project Manhigh, Air Force Lieutenant
Clifton M. McClure Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton * Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Sco ...
ascends to an altitude of 29,900 meters (98,097 feet) in a helium balloon, the second-highest altitude achieved in Manhigh. * October 10 – A C-123B Provider serving as a maintenance support aircraft for the United States Air Force Thunderbirds air demonstration team flies into a flock of birds and crashes near Payette, Idaho, killing the entire flight crew of five and all 14 maintenance personnel on board. It remains the worst accident in Thunderbirds history. * October 15 – The first
North American X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed an ...
is rolled out at
North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...
s facility at Los Angeles, California. * October 19 – A People's Republic of China-owned
Tupolev Tu-104 The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO reporting name: Camel) is a retired twinjet, medium-range, narrow-body turbojet-powered Soviet airliner. It was the second to enter regular service, behind the British de Havilland Comet, and was the only jetliner operat ...
crashes at Kanash in the Soviet Union during a regular flight between Beijing and Moscow, killing all 65 passengers and crew members. Among those killed are 16 Chinese government officials, one Briton, four East Germans and the son of the Cambodian ambassador to China. * October 22 **The Vickers Viscount 701 ''G-ANHC'', operating as British European Airways Flight 142, collides with an Italian Air Force F-86E Sabre over Anzio, Italy. Both aircraft crash; the F-86E pilot ejects and survives, but all 31 people aboard the Viscount die. ** Three rebels hijack a Cubana de Aviación
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
with 14 people on board during a domestic flight in Cuba from Cayo Mambi to Moa and force it land at a rebel-held airfield in the Sierra Maestra mountain range in southeastern Cuba. * October 25 – The Short SC.1 experimental VTOL aircraft makes its first free vertical flight. * October 26 ** Snowy Mountains Scheme worker Tom Sonter accidentally discovers the wreckage of the Australian National Airways Avro 618 Ten ''Southern Cloud'', which had disappeared without trace in bad weather over the
Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...
in New South Wales,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, with the loss of all eight people on board on March 21, 1931, in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
s first airline disaster. **The first commercial flight by a
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
jet airliner takes place, on Pan American World Airways transatlantic service from New York City to Paris.


November

* Trans-Pacific Airlines changes its name to Aloha Airlines. * November 4 – Shortly after takeoff from
Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...
outside Abilene, Texas, a United States Air Force B-47 Stratojet carrying a
nuclear bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
catches fire. It reaches an altitude of 1,500 feet (457 meters) before it crashes, killing one of its four crewmen. High explosive material in the bomb explodes, creating a crater 6 feet (1.8 meters) deep and 35 feet (10.7 meters) in diameter, but there is no nuclear explosion. * November 6 – Rebels hijack a Cubana de Aviación
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
with 29 people on board during a domestic flight in Cuba from Manzanillo to Holguín and force it land at a rebel-held airfield in Cuba. * November 25 – The English Electric P.1B, the first fully developed prototype of the English Electric Lightning, exceeds
Mach Mach may refer to Mach number, the speed of sound in local conditions. It may also refer to: Computing * Mach (kernel), an operating systems kernel technology * ATI Mach, a 2D GPU chip by ATI * GNU Mach, the microkernel upon which GNU Hurd is bas ...
2 for the first time. * November 26 – A U.S. Air Force B-47 Stratojet with a nuclear bomb aboard is destroyed by fire while on the ground at Chennault Air Force Base near Lake Charles, Louisiana. High-explosive material in the bomb detonates, contaminating the bomber's wreckage and the surrounding area with radioactivity, but there is no nuclear explosion.


December

* An operational Royal Navy fighter squadron fires
air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s for the first time, when three de Havilland Sea Venoms of No. 893 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, embarked aboard the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
fire Firestreak missiles at target drones over the Mediterranean Sea off Malta, scoring 80 percent hits. * December 4 – Flying a Cessna 172 Skyhawk (registration N9172B), Robert Timm and John Cook take off from McCarran Airfield in Las Vegas, Nevada. They will remain airborne continuously for 64 days 22 hours 19 minutes 5 seconds before landing at McCarran Airfield on February 4, 1959, setting a new world record for manned flight endurance. * December 10 – National Airlines becomes the first airline to offer jet service on domestic flights within the United States, using a
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
leased from Pan American World Airways for flights between Miami, Florida, and New York City. * December 18 – The Bell XV-3 Tiltrotor makes the first true mid-air transition from vertical helicopter-type flight to fully level fixed-wing flight. * December 23 –
Syrian Airways Syrian Airlines ( ar, السورية للطيران), operating as SyrianAir ( ar, السورية), is the flag carrier airline of Syria. It operates scheduled international services to several destinations in Asia, Europe and North Africa, tho ...
merges into United Arab Airlines (the future
EgyptAir Egyptair (Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-A ...
). United Arab Airlines takes over all of Syrian Airways' routes and aircraft. * December 24 – During a test flight to renew its certificate of airworthiness, the
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
Bristol Britannia 312 ''G-AOVD'' crashes near Sopley and Winkton, England, killing nine of the 12 people on board and injuring all three survivors.


First flights


January

* January 17– Aviamilano Nibbio * January 19 – Fuji T-1 *January 20 –
Nord 3400 The Nord 3400 Norbarbe was a French two-seat observation and casualty-evacuation aircraft built by Nord Aviation for the French Army Light Aviation. Design and development The Nord 3400 was designed to meet a French Army requirement for a two-s ...
Taylor 1961, p. 61. * January 25 – Aer Lualdi L.55 *January 31 – North American T2J-1, first variant of the T2J Buckeye, redesignated as the T-2 Buckeye in September 1962


February

* February 22 – Auster Workmaster * February 25 –
Doak VZ-4 The Doak VZ-4 (or Doak Model 16) was an American prototype Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft built in the 1950s for service in the United States Army. Only a single prototype was built, and the U.S. Army withdrew it from active trials ...


March

* March 5 – Yakovlev Yak-28 * March 11 – Handley Page Dart Herald * March 15 – Antonov An-14 * March 25 – Avro CF-105 Arrow ''RL201'' at Malton, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * March 27 – Aerfer Ariete


April

* April 17 – LIPNUR Belalang * April 22 – Boeing Vertol 107-II * April 24 – SIPA S.1100 * April 30 –
Blackburn Buccaneer The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccanee ...
''XK 486''


May

* May 2 – Kaman K-17 * May 12 ** Dassault Mirage IIIA ** Morane-Saulnier M.S. 1500 Epervier. * May 21 ** Dassault Étendard IVM ** Breguet 940 **
PZL-102 Kos The PZL-102 Kos (''blackbird'') is a Polish two-seat touring and training monoplane designed and built by PZL. Development First flown on 21 May 1958 by Mieczysław Miłosz the PZL-102 was designed as a semi-aerobatic two-seat light monoplane and ...
* May 27 – McDonnell XF4H-1, prototype of the
F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
* May 30 – Douglas DC-8


June

* June 2 –
Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III The Vought XF8U-3 Crusader III was an aircraft developed by Chance Vought as a successor to the successful Vought F-8 Crusader program and as a competitor to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.Tillman 1990 Though based in spirit on the F8U-1 a ...
, the "Super Crusader" * June 5 – Sud Aviation SE-116 Voltigeur * June 9 –
Agusta AZ8-L The Agusta AZ.8L, or Agusta-Zappata AZ.8L, was an Italian airliner prototype first flown on 9 June 1958. It was of conventional low-wing monoplane configuration with tricycle undercarriage and all-metal construction. Filippo Zappata's design gre ...
* June 15 – Westland Westminster * June 20 – Westland Wessex * June 26 –
PZL M-2 PZL M-2 was a Polish trainer aircraft prototype of 1958, a low-wing monoplane with fixed gear. Designed at WSK-Mielec, it did not enter production. Design and development The M-2 was designed as a trainer aircraft for the Polish Aero Club by the ...


July

* July 4 –
SAN Jodel D.140 Mousquetaire The SAN Jodel D.140 Mousquetaire (Musketeer) is a French five-seat light touring monoplane based on the earlier Jodel D.117 and built by Société Aéronautique Normande (SAN) at Bernay. Development SAN had been producing the earlier Jodel D.1 ...
* July 5 –
Bristol Belvedere The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a British twin-engine, tandem rotor military helicopter built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was designed by Raoul Hafner for a variety of transport roles including troop transport, supply dropping and ca ...
* July 8 – Borgward Kolibri * July 20 –
Saro P.531 The Saro P.531 (or Saunders-Roe P.531) is a British all-metal five-seat helicopter designed and built by Saunders-Roe, Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro). Development Design of the P.531Jackson 1974, p 295 and 329 was started in November 1957 as a p ...
* July 30 –
de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 a ...
''CF-KTK-X''


August

* August 14 – Grumman Gulfstream I * August 28 – Beechcraft Queen Air Model 65 * August 31 – North American A3J-1 Vigilante


September

* September 16 – North American NA265-40 Sabreliner * September 24 ** Beijing 1 ** HAL Pushpak


November

* Adams-Wilson Hobbycopter * November 6 – Downer Bellanca 260


December

* December 4 – Baade B-152 V1 Prototype * December 12 –
Dornier Do 29 The Dornier Do 29 was an experimental aircraft developed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke and the ''Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt'' (German Aviation Laboratory) in the 1950s, used to test a tilting-propeller system for short takeoff and land ...
* December 17 – Wassmer WA-30 Bijave * December 25 – Sukhoi Su-11 (
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
"Fishpot-C")


Entered service

*
Beriev Be-10 The Beriev Be-10, also known as Izdelye M, (NATO reporting name: Mallow) was a twin engined, turbojet powered, flying-boat, patrol bomber built by the Soviet Union from 1955. The Be-10 is sometimes referred to as the M-10, though this designatio ...
(
NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
"Mallow") with the 2nd Squadron of Soviet Naval Aviation′s 977th Independent Naval Long-range Reconnaissance Air Regiment


January

* January 26 – Lockheed F-104 Starfighter with the United States Air Forces 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base, California.


April

* April 9 – Handley Page Victor with the Royal Air Force′s No. 10 Squadron at RAF Cottesmore * April 21 – Vertol Model 44 with New York Airways


May

* Canadair CL-28 Argus with the Royal Canadian Air Force′s No. 405 Squadron * May 26 – Republic F-105B Thunderchief with the U.S. Air Force's
335th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 335th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The 335th was constituted on 22 August 1942 as an incorporation of the N ...
at
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...


June

* Supermarine Scimitar with 803 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm


August

*
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
with Pan American World Airways


November

* November 3 – de Havilland Sea Vixen to
700 Naval Air Squadron 700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is an experimental test squadron in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. History 700 NAS was originally formed on 21 January 1940 at RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk'') in Orkney in a plan to centralise the operations ...


December

* Lockheed L-188 Electra with American Airlines


Retirements

* Curtiss P-40, by the
Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...


April

* April 16 –
Convair R3Y Tradewind The Convair R3Y Tradewind was an American 1950s turboprop-powered flying boat designed and built by Convair. Design and development Convair received a request from the United States Navy in 1945 for the design of a large flying boat using new t ...
by United States Navy Transport Squadron 2 (VR-2)Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: Great But Impractical Aircraft," ''Naval History'', June 2012, p. 13. * April 22 – Westland Wyvern by
813 Naval Air Squadron 813 Naval Air Squadron was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II and again post-war. It initially operated Swordfish Mk Is from the aircraft carrier '' Illustrious'' and took part in the successful raid on Ta ...
, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy


June

* June 28 – Avro Anson by the Southern Communications Squadron


References

* * * {{Aviation timelines navbox Aviation by year