2004 in aviation
Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (May 14, 2004) - The Canadian Forces air demonstration team, "Snowbirds," prepare to separate from each other as they dive towards show center at the 2004 Joint Service Open House. The "Snowbirds" fly a show consisting of nine Canadair CT-114 Tutor basic pilot training aircraft. The Open House, held on May 14-16th at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., showcased civilian and military aircraft from the Nation's armed forces, which provided many flight demonstrations and static displays. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Daniel J. McLain.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 2004.
Events
January
February
Thai AirAsia begins flight operations, offering domestic airline service in Thailand .The Spanish airline Vueling is founded. It will begin flight operations in July .
The Belgium -based airline BelgiumExel is founded and begins flight operations.
10 February – Kish Air Flight 7170 , the Fokker 50 EP-LCA , crashes into the ground while on final approach to a landing at Sharjah International Airport in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates , killing 43 of the 46 people on board and injuring all three survivors.
12 February – United Airlines creates a new airline, Ted , to serve as a divisional brand of United serving the low-cost vacation market.
19 February – The Evergreen 747 Supertanker makes its first flight. Based on the Boeing 747-200 cargo aircraft and capable of carrying 19,600 U.S. gallons (16,320 Imperial gallons ; 74,194 liters ) of water, it is the world's largest aerial firefighting aircraft.
23 February – The US Army cancels the Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter program. It had been planned to purchase as many as 650 Comanches, but it was argued that cancellation would free up funds for more urgent army aviation priorities. A total of $6.9 billion had already been spent on the RAH-66.[ 1]
26 February – President of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski and all eight other people on board are killed when a Macedonian government Beechcraft Super King Air 200 (registration Z3-BAB) crashes into a mountainside in Herzegovina near the villages of Huskovici and Rotimlja while on approach in thick fog and heavy rain to Mostar Airport in Mostar , Bosnia and Herzegovina .[ 2] [ 3]
29 February – Canadian artist Toni Onley is killed when the Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer amphibian he is piloting crashes into the Fraser River near Maple Ridge , British Columbia , Canada , while he is practicing takeoffs and landings. The plane sinks in 10 meters (33 feet) of water.[ 2] [ 4]
March
27 March – NASA 's X-43 pilotless plane breaks world speed record for an atmospheric engine by briefly flying at 7,700 kilometers (4,800 mi) per hour (seven times the speed of sound)
31 March – Mexicana leaves the Star Alliance .
April
May
June
1 June
6 June – Alaska Airlines starts service between Denver and Anchorage and discontinues service between San Jose and Tucson .
16 June – Atlantic Coast Airlines begins service as a low-cost carrier under the new name Independence Air .
18 June – The first missile strike by an American unmanned aerial vehicle inside Pakistan takes place when an AGM-114 Hellfire fired by an MQ-1 Predator strikes the house of local Taliban commander Nek Muhammad Wazir in Kari Kot , South Waziristan , killing him, his two brothers, and two bodyguards.[ 8]
20 June – Frontier Airlines begins service to Nashville, Tennessee .
21 June – SpaceShipOne is the first non-government-built spacecraft to transport a person into space and return safely to earth.
26 June – Belavia inaugurates service between Belarus and Hanover , Germany .
29 June – Aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 327 , a Boeing 757-200 bound from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus , Michigan , to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles , California , journalist Annie Jacobsen , a writer for WomensWallStreet , and her family report to air marshals that 14 Syrian men – musicians traveling to a performance – aboard the airliner are acting suspiciously and may be performing a "dry run " for a future terrorist attack. The air marshals disagree, and the Jacobsen family becomes so agitated and vocal that the air marshals begin to suspect them of trying to draw out the air marshals so that terrorists can target the marshals. Jacobsen later writes about the incident, bringing it to national attention in the United States .
July
1 July
13 July – Air Moldova becomes a member of the International Air Transport Association .
14–20 July – The 14th FAI World Rally Flying Championship takes place in Herning , Denmark . Individual winners: 1. Jiří Filip & Michal Filip (Czech), 2. František Cihlář & Milos Fiala (Czech), 3. Krzysztof Wieczorek & Krzysztof Skrętowicz (Poland); team winners: 1. Czech Republic , 2. Poland , 3. France .
19–24 July – The 16th FAI World Precision Flying Championship takes place in Herning, Denmark. Individual winners: Krzysztof Wieczorek (Poland) – 3Xtrim , 2. Petr Opat (Czech) – Cessna 152 , 3. Wacław Wieczorek (Poland) – PZL Wilga 2000 ; team winners: 1. Poland, 2. Czech Republic, 3. France.
23 July – Air Ukraine 's air operator's certificate is revoked. The airline had not operated since declaring bankruptcy in December 2002 .
August
4 August – Independence Air 's status as a United Express carrier comes to an end.
9 August – Several member states of the Pacific Islands Forum sign the Pacific Islands Civil Aviation Safety and Security Treaty in Apia , Samoa . The treaty will enter into force on 11 June 2005 . It formally confirms the Pacific Aviation Safety Office , which had been formed informally in 2002.
13 August – Air Tahoma Flight 185 , a Convair 580 on a cargo flight, runs out of fuel due to pilot error and crashes short of the runway on final approach to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron , Kentucky , killing one of its two crew members.
24 August – After departing Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow , Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303 , a Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name "Crusty"), explodes over Russia 's Tula Oblast and crashes, killing all 43 people on board. Minutes later, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047 , a Tupolev Tu-154 (NATO reporting name "Careless") which also had departed Domodedovo International, explodes over Russia's Rostov Oblast and crashes, killing all 46 people on board. The Russian government declares the explosions to have been caused by female Chechen suicide bombers .
September
KLM Cargo joins the Skyteam Cargo airline alliance .7 September – Indonesian human-rights and anti-corruption activist Munir Said Thalib dies of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta , Indonesia, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands . The victim of an assassination, he apparently had been poisoned during a stopover in Singapore .
11 September – Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria and all 16 other people on board are killed in the crash of a Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopter into the Aegean Sea off Mount Athos , Greece , 5.5 nautical miles (6.3 miles (10.1 km) off the Chalkidiki Peninsula.[ 2]
13 September – Continental Airlines , Northwest Airlines , and KLM join the Skyteam airline alliance . It is the largest expansion of an airline alliance in history and makes Skyteam the second-largest alliance, moving it ahead of Oneworld . With the expansion, Skyteam serves more than 341 million customers, with 14,320 daily flights to 658 destinations in 130 countries.
October
Air Baltic is rebranded as airBaltic .
1 October – American multi-sport athlete and former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Gertrude Dunn is killed when the Piper PA-28-180 Archer she is piloting crashes due to engine failure on takeoff from New Garden Airport in Avondale , Pennsylvania .[ 2]
3 October – Iraqi Airways makes an international flight for the first time since the Gulf War broke out in January 1991 , flying from Baghdad , Iraq , to Amman , Jordan .
4 October – SpaceShipOne successfully makes its third flight into space. It wins the Ansari X-Prize for proving to be a plausible option for space tourism.
14 October
MK Airlines Flight 1602 , a Boeing 747-200F cargo aircraft, strikes the ground and crashes immediately after takeoff from Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield , Nova Scotia , Canada , killing its entire crew of seven.During a ferry flight with no one else aboard, the pilot and copilot of Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 , a Bombardier CRJ-200 , decide to test the performance limits of the aircraft by pushing it to its maximum approved altitude of 41,000 feet (12,000 meters). They conduct various non-standard maneuvers and reach the altitude, but overstress the engines, flame out, and stall . They recover from the stall at 38,000 feet (12,000 meters) and enter a glide. Never able to restart the engines and unable to glide far enough to reach any of six airfields they are advised to divert to, they eventually crash near Jefferson City , Missouri . Both pilots die in the crash.
19 October – Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 , a British Aerospace Jetstream 32 , crashes on approach to Kirksville Regional Airport in Adair County , Missouri, near Kirksville , killing 13 of the 15 people on board and injuring both survivors.
24 October – Flying in heavy fog, a Beechcraft Super King Air 200 owned by Hendrick Motorsports crashes into Bull Mountain, seven miles (11 kilometers) from Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville , Virginia , killing all 10 people on board. Former NASCAR Busch Series driver and owner Ricky Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports Director of Engine Operations and lead engine builder Randy Dorton are among the dead.
28 October – Boeing ceases production of the Boeing 757 airliner after manufacturing 1,050 of the aircraft for 54 customers.
29 October – the Government of Benin establishes the Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Bénin Benin 's national civil aviation authority . It replaces the Direction de l’Aviation Civil ("Directorate of Civil Aviation").
November
1 November – The second revival of Pan American Airways – nicknamed "Pan Am III" by some people – which had begun service in October 1999 , ceases operations and turns its operations over to Boston-Maine Airways .
2 November – Independence Air 's status as a Delta Connection carrier comes to an end.
3 November – Blue1 joins the Star Alliance as its first regional member.
16 November – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's X-43 reaches a record speed of Mach 9.8 (7,546 mph (12,144 km/h).
18 November – Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines join the Star Alliance.
21 November – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 , a Bombardier CRJ-200LR , crashes into a park just after takeoff from Baotou Erliban Airport in Baotou , China , killing all 53 people on the aircraft and two people on the ground. An investigation finds that icing caused the crash.
30 November – Lion Air Flight 583 , a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 with 156 people on board, overruns the runway on landing in a hard rain at Adi Sumarmo Airport in Surakarta , Indonesia , and crashes, killing 25 people and injuring all 138 survivors.
December
First flights
February
March
May
June
July
August
October
December
Entered service
Deadliest crash
The deadliest crash of this year was Flash Airlines Flight 604 , a Boeing 737 which crashed into the Red Sea near Sharm El Sheikh , Egypt on 3 January, killing all 148 people on board.
References
^ "US Army cancels Comanche programme". Air International . Vol. 66, no. 4. April 2004. p. 4. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ a b c d e f planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 2000s ^ Aviation Safety Network Accident Description ^ Anonymous, "Toni Onley, 75", The Globe and Mail , March 1, 2004, 11:10 PM EST. ^ "Airscene: Civil Affairs: UK". Air International . Vol. 66, no. 6. June 2004. pp. 11– 12. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Airscene: Civil Affairs: Ireland". Air International . Vol. 66, no. 6. June 2004. p. 11. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Jetstar commences services". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 1. July 2004. p. 13. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ Peter Bergen; Katherine Tiedemann (2013). Talibanistan: Negotiating the Borders Between Terror, Politics, and Religion ISBN 978-0-19-998677-4 ^ "Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer first flight". Air International ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Embraer 190 first flight". Air International . Vol. 66, no. 4. April 2004. p. 4. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "NAL Saras First Flight". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 1. July 2004. p. 4. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Airscene: Aircraft & Industry: Iran". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 3. September 2004. p. 9. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "First Flight of Aermacchi M-346". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 3. September 2004. p. 4. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Prototype Aerocomp Compare Flown". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 3. September 2004. p. 9. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Nimrod MRA4 Finally Flies". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 4. October 2004. p. 4. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Quest Kodiak Utility Aircraft flown". Air International . Vol. 67, no. 6. December 2004. p. 11. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "An-148 First Flight". Air International . Vol. 68, no. 2. February 2005. p. 11. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Bell 210 Takes To the Air". Air International . Vol. 68, no. 2. February 2005. p. 12. ISSN 0306-5634 . ^ "Elipse 500 Flight". Air International . Vol. 68, no. 2. February 2005. p. 12. ISSN 0306-5634 .
