1982 in aviation - Definition and Overview

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1982:

Events

January

• January 8 - the Airbus A300 is certified, becoming the first wide body airliner with cockpit accommodations for only two to be certified.
• January 10 - a Gulfstream III, Spirit of America, flies around the world in just 43 hours 39 minutes and 6 seconds, becoming the fastest business jet to fly around the world.
• January 22 - a F/A-18 Hornet makes a fully automated landing, its autopilot linked to a ground radar at the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River
• January 27 - Cessna delivers its 1,000th business jet

February

• February 3 - The Mil Mi-26 helicopter lifts a load weighing 57 metric tons to 2,000 metres (6,500 ft) to break a world record for a helicopter.
• February 6 - Freddie Laker's Laker Airways flies for the last time.
• February 9 - a Japan Airlines Douglas DC-8 crashes in Tokyo, killing 24 of the 174 passengers on board. The probable cause of the accident was cited as a possible breakdown by captain Seiji Katagiri, who had mental problems. Every airline pilot must now undergo mental testing as well as physical testing.
• February 10 - an Air Florida Boeing 737 crashes soon after take-off from Washington DC's National Airport, into the Potomac river, killing 70 passengers plus people on a bridge. Many of the passengers actually died frozen by the river's iced waters. The plane's anti-freeze solution was not adequate for the weather that day, and the plane's engines had ice on them before taking off.
• February 25 - American Airlines announces it will cancel its orders for 15 Boeing 757s.

April

• April 1 - Air France flies the Concorde over to Rio de Janeiro and Caracas, Venezuela for the last time.
• April 2 - Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
• April 5 - Royal Navy aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible sail for the Falkland Islands

May

• May 13 - Braniff International's president Howard D. Putnam announces the airline has filed for protection under bankruptcy laws, and the airline's fleet of 71 aircraft is grounded.
• May 18 - American Airlines' 1 millionth passenger is flown.
• May 24 - The last service by a British Airways Boeing 707, from Cairo, Egypt to London, is performed.

June

• June 14 - Argentinan forces surrender to English forces on the Falkland Islands. During their war, the English had destroyed 109 Argentinian planes, compared to only 10 lost by the British.

July

• July 9 - a Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes while en route from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to New Orleans, killing 137 passengers plus people on the ground. The sole survivor of the crash is a baby girl in a house.

September

• September 30 - H Ross Perot Jr. and J.W. Coburn make history by landing their Bell LongRanger II helicopter in Dallas, Texas 29 days, 3 hours, and 8 minutes after taking off. It is the first time a trip around the world is completed by helicopter.

October

• October 28 - The last Air France Boeing 707 service, from Tunis to Paris.

November

• November 4 - Pan Am inaugurates service from Los Angeles to Sydney; at 7,487 non-stop miles (11,979 km), it is the longest non-stop flight in the world.

First flights

February

• February 19 - Boeing 757

April

• April 3 - Airbus A310

June

• June 12 - IAR-825
• June 14 - Beechcraft Lightning

August

• August 30 - F-20 Tigershark

December

• December 23 - Shorts Sherpa
• December 26 - Antonov An-124

Entered service

• Mikoyan MiG-31 'Foxhound' with VVS/V-PVO

February

• Dornier 228 with AS Norving

December

• Boeing 767 with United Air Lines