1984 in aviation - Definition and Overview

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1984:

Events

February

• February 21 - 14 hours and 2 minutes after taking off from New York, Air France pilot Patrick Fourticq and his companion, race driver Henry Pescarolo, land their Piper Malibu in Paris, setting a world record for a trans-Atlantic flight by a single engined light aircraft.
• February 29 - American Airlines sets an industry record by ordering 67 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 airliners, with options to order 100 more in the future.

April

• April 29 - TWA starts services to ten new cities in one day, the largest single day expansion in the carrier's history.

June

• 16 - Frontier Airlines pilot Emily Warner and co-pilot Barbara Cook make history by directing the first all-female commercial airline crew, on a flight from Denver to Lexington, Kentucky.
• June 22, London: Richard Branson's airline, Virgin Atlantic, begins services to North America, using Boeing 747s.

July

• July 3 - Air Florida suspends all their flights after going bankrupt.
• July 23 - an Air Canada Boeing 767 runs out of fuel on its way from Montreal to Edmonton. Ground crew at the Montreal airport miscalculated the flight's length and did not put enough fuel in it. Pilot Robert Pearson, an amateur glider pilot, lands the plane safely at Gimli, making the incident famous as the "Gimli Glider"

September

• September 14-18 - Joe Kittinger makes the first solo transatlantic balloon flight, from Carbon, Maine to Savona, Italy.

October

• October 2 - the US Navy awards McDonnell Douglas a $US 438 million contract to develop the T-45 Goshawk
• October 4 - 61 year old Elaine Yadwin lands a Piper Cherokee Warrior II safely in Florida after her husband, the plane's pilot, dies during the flight.

November

• November 1 - British Airways and some other international airlines begin relief flights carrying food and supplies to Ethiopia.

December

• December 17 - C-5 Galaxy of the USAF becomes airborne with 920,836 pounds (417,684 kg) aboard, setting a U.S. national record.

First flights

February

• February 6 - AIDC AT-3
• February 15 - Cessna T-47

April

• April 24 - Dornier SeaStar D-ICDS

May

• May 7 - Pilatus PC-9
• May 15 - AMX International AMX

June

• June 22 - Scaled Composites Voyager

July 4

• July 4 - Bell Twin Ranger

August

• August 16 - ATR 42

October

• October 6 - FMA IA 63
• October 12 - PZL-130

December

• December 14 - Grumman X-29

Entered service

May

• May 12 - Airbus A310 with Air France.

June

• June 15 - Saab 340 with Crossair.

July

• July 2 - Mirage 2000 with Escadron de Chasse 1/2