1892 – Birth of Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, Soviet aircraft designer who became known as the “King of Fighters.”
1944 – Swordfish aircraft from the British Merchant Aircraft Carrier (or “MAC-ship”) MV Empire MacCallum mistakenly sink the Free French submarine La Perle. It is the only time that MAC-ship-based aircraft sink a submarine.
1961 – Death of Leonard Thomas Eaton “Taps” Taplin, Australian World War I flying ace, aviation pioneer and commercial pilot; Taps also pioneered the use of aerial photography for cartography.
1992 – First flight of the Bede BD-10 (shown), a U.S. attempt to introduce the world’s first kit-built, jet-powered general aviation supersonic aircraft.
2011 – Hewa Bora Airways Flight 952, a Boeing 727, crashes at Bangoka International Airport, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as it attempts to land during weather conditions that includes heavy rain, and limited visibility, killing 74 of 118.