“It was a trauma and a great loss.”

Pacoima Junior High School after the Crash

On the 31^st January 1957, on the final functional test flight of the new airliner Douglas DC-7B (N8210H) aircraft before it was delivered to Continental Airlines and Northrop F-89D Scorpion on a similar test flight took off. Both performed their individual tests at an altitude of 25,000 feet in clear skies over the San Fernando Valley when a high-speed, near head on midair collision occurred.

Douglas DC-7B: American Airlines

The Douglas DC-7B was a variant of DC-7, an airliner/transport aircraft. The DC-7 and DC-7B was identical except for the increased fuel capacity in extended engine nacelles that extended the flight range of the later variant.

Northrop F-89D Scorpion

The Northrop F-89 Scorpion was a jet powered all weather interceptors. Its variant F-89D was the main production version with removed cannon and new Hughes E-6 fire control system with AN/APG-40 radar and an AN/APA-84 computer.

The midair collision results to the loss of all the Douglas DC-7B crew, 1 of 2 occupants of F-89D, and 3 junior high school students on the ground. The Douglas DC-7B crews are the pilot William Carr, 36; co-pilot Archie R. Twitchell, 50, a veteran flier and a part-time actor and appeared in over 70 films which include “I Wanted Wings” and “Among the Living”; the flight engineer Waldo B. Adams, 42; and the radio operator Roy Nakazama, 29. And the three dead boys are Ronnie Brann, Bob Zallan, and Evan Elsner.

The probable cause of the crash was said to be the high rate of near head on closure at high altitude, together with physiological limitations that resulted in a minimum avoidance opportunity during which the pilots didn’t see each other’s aircraft.

The midair collision and the outrage over the deaths led to the construction of a hospital in Pacoima and a ban on military operations over the Valley.

January 25 1990 – Avianca Flight 52 crashes, killing 73 passengers.

The Avianca Flight 52 was a regularly scheduled flight from Bogotá to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.

Boeing 707-320: Pan Am

On the 25^th of January 1990, the aircraft performing the Avianca Flight 52 was a Boeing 707-321B and it was registered as HK-2016, crashed in Cove Neck in New York. The cause of the crashed was fuel starvation and pilot error. This results to the killings of 73 passengers and crew on board, and injured 85 others.

Douglas DC-3 Crashed

January 25 2001 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24.

Douglas DC-3: United Airlines

The Douglas DC-3 was an airliner and transport aircraft. It was generally regarded as one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made due to its lasting impact on the airline industry and during the Second World War.

On the 25^th of January 2001, Rutaca Flight 224 crashed near the Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela. The aircraft performing this flight was the Douglas DC-3 and it has 24 people on board and that includes the 20 European tourists. There was no survivors on the said crashed. And the identities and nationalities of the passengers weren’t immediately known together with the cause of the crash.

January 22 1973 - A chartered Boeing 707 exploded in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria killing 176.

Boeing 707 (Pan American World Airways)

The Boeing 707 was a four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner. It dominated passenger air transport in 1960s. It was based on an aircraft known as 367-80. It was called the Dash 80 within Boeing.

On the 22^nd of January 1973, the Boeing 707 encountered an accident. The Boeing 707 operated by Royal Jordanian Airlines had been chartered by Nigeria Airways to fly pilgrims back to Jeddah to Lagos. Due to bad weather at Lagos, the crew was forced to divert to Kano Airport, Nigeria. Unfortunately, the right main gear leg collapsed after touchdown as it hit a depression in the runway. It turned 180 degrees and skidded off the side of the runway, caught fire, and exploded. This accident result to the killing of 176 people onboard.

Commercial Service of Concorde

January 21 1976 - Commercial service of Concorde begins with London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.

Concorde: British Airways

The Concorde was a supersonic airliner type of aircraft. It was the more successful of the only two supersonic passenger airliners that operated commercially. Its primary users are the British Airways, the largest airline and flag carrier of the United Kingdom; and the Air France, one of the largest airlines in the world.

Concorde: Air France

Its maiden flight was on the 2^nd of March 1969 and it was piloted by Andre Turcat. It was introduced commercially on the 21^st of January 1976. It flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle to New York JFK and Washington Dulles.

Concorde set many other records but as a result of the type’s only crash on the 25^th of July 2000, world economic effects arising from the 9/11 attacks, its operations has been ceased. And on the 26^th of November 2003, its last flight occurred.

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) Launched

The USS Nautilus (SSN-571) was the first operational nuclear-powered submarine in the world. It was also the first vessel to complete a submerged transit across the North Pole.

The Congress of the United States authorized the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine for the US Navy in July 1951. And on the 12^th of December 1951 the name of the submarine was announced by the US Department of Navy as the Nautilus and it will carry the hull number SSN-571.

On the 21^st of January 1954, it was christened and launched into the Thames River in Connecticut. It was sponsored by Mamie Eisenhower, wife of the former General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Palomares Hydrogen Bombs Incident

January 17 1966 – A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping four 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea in the Palomares hydrogen bombs incident.The B-52G Bomber of the US Air Force Strategic Air Command runs into a KC-135 Stratotanker during mid-air refueling over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain.

Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm

“The great duel, the mother of all battles has begun. The dawn of victory nears as this great showdown begins.”- Saddam Hussein

January 17 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.

The massive air campaign codenamed Operation Desert Storm was launched by the coalition the day after the deadline set in Resolution. It began when eight (8) United States AH-64 Apache helicopter and two (2) MH-53 Pave Low helicopters destroyed Iraqi radar sites near the Iraqi-Saudi Arabian border.

The Boeing 747-400 was an airliner aircrafts manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its maiden flight was on the 29^th of April 1988 and was introduced on the 09^th of February 1989 with Northwest Airlines. It was developed from Boeing 747. The -400 series was the best selling and advanced model for 747 family. The 747-400 was an improved version of 747-300. It improved its wingspan, winglets, engines, and its glass cockpit was removed.

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Aircrafts are vehicles that are able of atmospheric flight. There are two categories for aircrafts: those that are heavier than air and lighter than air. Those aircrafts which is heavier than air are also known as aerodynes. Heavier than air aircrafts includes autogyros, gyrodynes, helicopters, powered lifts, and fixed wing aircraft. While the lighter than air or also known as aerostat. Lighter than air crafts includes balloons and airships.

The Fixed-wing aircraft or the Aeroplane or much known as Airplane is heavier than air type of crafts. Their wings movement in relation with the aircraft is not used to generate lift. The aircraft’s major parts are its fuselage; pair of long, narrow, almost horizontal wings which got an airfoil cross-section shape; the vertical stabilizer; the pair of small horizontal wings; aircraft engines; and its landing gear. There are a lot of standardized controls which allow the pilots to manage the aircraft in the air. The controls that are usually found in fixed-wing aircrafts are the control stick, control the rotation of the aircraft about its pitch and roll axes; rudder pedals, are into its yaw axis; throttle, used to adjust the thrust produced by its engines; and the brakes, which is used to slow and stop the aircraft.

The Helicopters, a type of “heavier than air” craft that are lifted and can sustained in the air horizontally by rotating its wings or its blades turning on vertical axes through power supplied by its engine. The helicopters are used for search and rescue, Aerial still photography, logging, transport, and civilian touring or personal pleasure.