Airport history
Famous moments at the world's airports, from the Tenerife disaster to the Miracle on the Hudson. Each one opens on the map as an animated replay of what happened, with the timeline, the crew and the sources. Press play when you're ready.
By year
- 1927Lindbergh lands in ParisLBG Paris, France · 21 May 1927
Charles Lindbergh flies alone from New York to Paris without stopping, the first solo flight across the Atlantic
First solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic - 1947Breaking the sound barrierEDW Edwards, United States · 14 Oct 1947
Chuck Yeager flies the rocket-powered Bell X-1 faster than sound over the Mojave Desert
First flight faster than sound in level flight - 1959The first landing on SabaSAB Zion's Hill, Caribbean Netherlands · 9 Feb 1959
Rémy de Haenen lands a plane on the tiny island of Saba for the first time, on the spot where the world's shortest commercial runway now is
First plane to land on Saba; airport opened in 1963 - 1977Tenerife airport disasterTFN Tenerife, Spain · 27 Mar 1977
Two Boeing 747s collide on a fog-covered runway, the deadliest accident in aviation history
583 people died; 61 survived - 1982When all four engines stoppedHLP Jakarta, Indonesia · 24 Jun 1982
British Airways Flight 9 glides through volcanic ash at night and lands safely in Jakarta
Everyone on board survived - 1983The Gimli GliderYGM Gimli, Canada · 23 Jul 1983
An Air Canada Boeing 767 runs out of fuel at 41,000 ft and glides to a disused air base
All 69 on board survived - 1989United 232 at Sioux CitySUX Sioux City, United States · 19 Jul 1989
A DC-10 with no working flight controls is steered by its engines alone to a crash landing
184 of 296 people survived - 1998Kai Tak's last nightHKG Hong Kong, Hong Kong · 6 Jul 1998
Hong Kong closes its famous city airport overnight and moves everything to Chek Lap Kok by morning
Kai Tak closed; Chek Lap Kok opened the same morning - 2000The Concorde crashCDG Paris (Roissy-en-France, Val-d'Oise), France · 25 Jul 2000
Air France Flight 4590 catches fire on takeoff after running over a strip of metal
113 people died - 2001The Azores GliderTER Praia da Vitória, Portugal · 24 Aug 2001
Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic and glides 120 km to the Azores
All 306 on board survived - 2001Operation Yellow Ribbon in GanderYQX Gander, Canada · 11 Sep 2001
With US airspace closed on 11 September 2001, 38 airliners land at Gander and a town of 10,000 takes in their passengers
38 airliners and about 6,600 people looked after for up to six days - 2003Concorde's last commercial flightsLHR London, United Kingdom · 24 Oct 2003
Three British Airways Concordes fly low over London and land at Heathrow one after another, ending 27 years of supersonic travel
End of supersonic passenger flights - 2005Air France 358 in the stormYYZ Toronto, Canada · 2 Aug 2005
An Airbus A340 overruns runway 24L into a ravine and burns; everyone escapes
All 309 on board survived - 2007The first A380 passenger flightSYD Sydney (Mascot), Australia · 25 Oct 2007
Singapore Airlines flies the world's largest airliner from Singapore to Sydney with passengers for the first time
The A380 entered passenger service - 2009Miracle on the HudsonLGA New York, United States · 15 Jan 2009
US Airways Flight 1549 glides onto the Hudson River after birds knock out both engines
All 155 people on board survived - 2010Qantas 32's exploding engineSIN Singapore, Singapore · 4 Nov 2010
An A380's engine bursts over Indonesia; five pilots nurse it back to Singapore
All 469 on board survived - 2013Asiana 214 hits the seawallSFO San Francisco, United States · 6 Jul 2013
A Boeing 777 comes in too low and slow at San Francisco and strikes the seawall short of runway 28L
3 people died; 304 survived - 2024Haneda runway collisionHND Tokyo, Japan · 2 Jan 2024
JAL 516 lands into a Coast Guard plane on the runway; all 379 on the airliner escape the fire
All 379 on JAL 516 survived; 5 of 6 Coast Guard crew died