The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earliest jet airliner—the de Havilland Comet—entered service and only a few years before the jet-powered Douglas DC-8 first flew in 1958. Larger numbers of both DC-7B and DC-7C variants were also built.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1962.
Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel. The airline was bought by Federal Express in 1989.
On December 16, 1960, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 bound for Idlewild Airport in New York City collided in midair with a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation descending toward LaGuardia Airport. The Constellation crashed on Miller Field in Staten Island and the DC-8 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, killing all 128 aboard the two aircraft and six people on the ground. The accident was the world's deadliest aviation disaster at the time, and remains the deadliest accident in the history of United Airlines.
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 (FT739/FTL739) was a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliner that disappeared on March 16, 1962, over the western Pacific Ocean. The aircraft, which had been chartered by the United States Army, was transporting ninety-six military passengers from Travis Air Force Base in California to Tan Son Nhut International Airport in Saigon, South Vietnam. After refueling at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the Super Constellation disappeared while en route to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. All 107 aboard were declared missing and presumed dead.
In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water surface in an aircraft not designed for the purpose, a very rare occurrence. Controlled flight into the surface and uncontrolled flight ending in a body of water are generally not considered water landings or ditching, but are considered accidents. Most times, ditching ends up in aircraft structural failure.
Slick Airways was one of the first scheduled cargo airlines in the United States, awarded a certificate for scheduled cargo service in the same proceeding that awarded a certificate to Flying Tiger Line. The airline was founded by Earl F. Slick, a Texas aviator and multimillionaire who along with his brother, inherited $25 million in oil wealth after their father's death in 1930.
Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 was a charter flight by the United States Army to transport new recruits to Columbia, South Carolina for training. On November 8, 1961, the aircraft crashed as it attempted to land at Byrd Field, near Richmond, Virginia. This was the second deadliest accident in American history for a single civilian aircraft.
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 was an international scheduled passenger service from Kansas City, Missouri to Cairo, Egypt via Chicago, New York City, Paris, Milan, Rome, and Athens. The Boeing 707 caught fire following a rejected take off on runway 25 at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, Rome at 13:09 GMT on a flight to Athens International Airport, Greece on November 23, 1964, killing 49 of the 74 people on board.
The Lockheed C-69 Constellation is a four-engined, propeller-driven military transport aircraft developed during World War II. It was co-developed with the Lockheed Constellation airliner.
The Lockheed C-121 Constellation is a military transport version of the Lockheed Constellation. A total of 332 aircraft were constructed for both the United States Air Force and United States Navy for various purposes. Numerous airborne early warning versions were also constructed. The C-121 later saw service with smaller civilian operators until 1993.
The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft was colloquially referred to as the Super Connie.
The Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation was a turboprop-powered version of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft family. Built in 1954 and 1955, the aircraft were used as prototypes for possible future military transport aircraft for both the United States Air Force and United States Navy. Both aircraft saw very short lives and the airframes were later used to build L-1049 Super Constellations.
A British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Lockheed L-749A Constellation crashed and caught fire as it attempted to land at Kallang Airport on 13 March 1954, killing 33 of the 40 passengers and crew. The accident occurred when the aircraft struck a seawall on approach to the runway. The inquiry attributed this to crew tiredness, noting that the captain had been on duty for over 21 hours. It also criticised the response of the airport fire unit. This is the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Singapore.
Pan Am Flight 121 was a scheduled Pan American World Airways flight from Karachi to Istanbul. On the evening of June 18, 1947, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation serving the flight, known as the Clipper Eclipse, suffered an engine failure. This led to the overheating of the remaining engines until one caught fire, which spread to the aircraft. The heat from burning magnesium parts caused the engine to fall from the aircraft, leaving it unable to maintain altitude. Early in the morning of June 19, 1947 the plane crashed in the Syrian desert 4 miles from the town of Mayadin. Fifteen people were killed, including 7 crew and 8 passengers. The three surviving crew members were third officer Gene Roddenberry, the chief purser, and one flight attendant. After rescuing passengers from the burning wreckage, Roddenberry took control as the ranking flight officer and organized scout parties to find aid. By midday, the Syrian Army took the survivors to the hospital at Deir ez-Zor. The majority returned to the United States quickly while Roddenberry remained in Syria for two weeks to answer questions about the crash from the local government.
Air France Flight 152 (AF152) was a scheduled international passenger flight which made an emergency water landing in the Mediterranean Sea, off Fethiye, South-Western Turkey on 3 August 1953. The aircraft sank over an hour after ditching. Four passengers died, out of 8 crew and 34 passengers.
Varig Flight 850 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by now-defunct Brazilian airline Varig. The flight itinerary was departure from Salgado Filho International Airport, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with the final destination being John. F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States. Between the two cities, stopovers were scheduled in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Ciudad Trujillo, and Miami.
TWA Flight 595 was a cargo flight operated from Chicago-Midway Airport in Illinois to Los Angeles International Airport in California. On 24 November 1959 the Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation operating the flight received a fire warning in its No. 2 engine shortly after departure at Chicago-Midway Airport in cloudy weather and requested to turn back. While turning onto their final approach path they banked excessively exceeding 45 degrees and started rapidly sinking. The aircraft impacted the ground in a residential area at 5:35 am CST about a quarter mile southeast of the airport, killing all 3 crewmembers on board and 8 people on the ground.
