January 14 – The pilot of a
Philippine Air LinesDouglas DC-6 (registration PI-C294) loses control of the aircraft at an altitude of 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) while approaching
Rome towards the end of a flight from
Beirut. The airliner crashes in
Italy east of
Roma-Ciampino Airport, killing all 16 people on board.[8]
February 18 – A
Junkers Ju 52 (registration 1015/4S-5) of the Aeronavale (the French naval air service) crashes into the side of a 3,600-foot (1,100-meter) mountain near
Zaghouan,
French Tunisia, during a night flight, killing all 15 people on board.[13]
March 28 – After a successful mail-drop mission at
Bear Island,
Norway, a
Royal Norwegian Air ForceBoeing CanadaCatalina IVB attempts a low pass over the island at an altitude of 100 meters (330 feet). Its right wing hits the ground during a right turn and it crashes, killing eight of the nine people on board.[21]
March 30 – A U.S. Air Force Fairchild C-119F Flying Boxcar suffers engine failure on takeoff from
Pope Air Force Base in
Fayetteville,
North Carolina. It strikes a
United States Army building housing a mess hall at neighboring
Fort Bragg and crash-lands on a parade ground, killing five of the nine people on board and two soldiers in the mess hall and injuring five other people on the ground.[22]
A
Chilean Air Force Douglas C-47-DL Skytrain with nine passengers, five crew members, and a cargo of 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of meat on board crashes near
Batuco,
Chile, during a domestic flight from
Santiago to
Los Cóndores Air Base in
Iquique, killing all 14 people on board.[26]
May 1 – The
Myasishchev M-4, the first
Sovietbomber purportedly designed to reach the
United States and return to the Soviet Union, is displayed to the public for the first time.[29] In reality, however, it lacks the range to reach the United States and return.
July 6 – Prior to departure from
Cleveland,
Ohio, for a flight to
St. Louis,
Missouri, a 15-year-old boy forces his way into the cockpit of
American Airlines Flight 163, a
Douglas DC-6B (registration N90773) with 53 people on board, and threatens the
captain with an empty
pistol in an attempt to hijack the airliner. The captain produces his own pistol and shoots the boy to death.[38]
July 26 – Two People's Republic of China
Lavochkin La-7s attack three U.S. Navy aircraft – two
AD Skyraiders and an
F4U Corsair – searching for survivors from the Cathay Pacific Airways flight. The American aircraft shoot them both down.[39]
August 16 – An
Air VietnamBristol Type 170 Freighter on a domestic flight in
Vietnam from
Hanoi to
Saigon carrying refugees from the
Red River delta suffers engine trouble and attempts to divert to an emergency landing at
Pakse,
Laos. While on approach to Pakse, it crashes into a tributary of the
Mekong River, killing 47 of the 55 people on board. It is the deadliest aviation accident in the history of newly independent Laos at the time and will be the deadliest in history involving a Bristol Freighter.[41]
September 4 – Two Soviet
MiG fighters fire on a U.S. Navy
P2V Neptune patrolling off the east coast of the Soviet Union. It remains unclear whether the Neptune had remained over
international waters during its flight or had violated Soviet
airspace.[45]
Attempting to break the speed record he set on 3 September, U.S. Air Force Major John L. "Jack" Armstrong dies when his F-86H Sabre disintegrates in flight during the National Aircraft Show at Dayton, Ohio.[44][46]
September 25 –
Karen rebels
hijack a
Union of Burma AirwaysDouglas C-47A-20-DK Skytrain (registration XY-ACT) during a domestic flight in
Burma from
Rangoon to
Akyab and force it to land on a deserted beach, intending to use it to smuggle guns. When they discover that the plane is carrying heavy metal chests containing cash being transferred between bank branches, they drop their smuggling plans and instead steal the money from the plane and escape.[49]
October 27 – The
Douglas X-3 Stiletto supersonic research aircraft makes its 36th and most significant flight. During the flight,
test pilotJoseph A. Walker experiences violent instability as the X-3 exhibits "
roll inertia coupling" – in which a maneuver in one axis causes an uncommanded maneuver in one or two others, a phenomenon also experienced in several incidents involving
North American F-100A Super Sabres – and comes close to breaking up. Walker regains control of the aircraft and lands safely. Findings from the flight contribute to saving the F-100 program.
^Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,
ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 47.
^Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,
ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 176.
^Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,
ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 607.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 97.
^Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,
ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 283.
^Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,
ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 240.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 429.
^Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,
ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 611.
^Isenberg, Michael T., Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945-1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,
ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 598.
^Hallion, Richard P., "Across the Hypersonic Divide," Aviation History, July 2012, p. 40.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 352.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 353.
^Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter M. Bowers, United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, London: Putnam, 1976,
ISBN0-370-10054-9, p. 422.
^
abPolmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: Great But Impractical Aircraft," Naval History, June 2012, p. 13.
^
abAngelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 282.
^Donald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,
ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 70.
^Golan, John, "Heinemann's Hot Rod," Aviation History, January 2015, p. 30.
^Mondey, David, ed., The Complete Illustrated History of the World's Aircraft, Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc., 1978,
ISBN0-89009-771-2, p. 55.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 249.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 105.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 349.
^Bernier, Robert, "Ensign Eliminator," Aviation History, July 2012, p. 15.
Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1955–56, New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1955.
de Narbonne, Roland. "En avance sur leur temps: Les "avions flèches" de Roland Payen". Le Fana de l'Aviation, February 2014, No. 531. pp. 70–75. (in French).
de Narbonne, Roland. "Février 1954, dans l'aéronautique française: Le CAB GY.30 "Supercab": Le petit bolide de Gardan". Le Fana de l'Aviation, February 2014, No. 531. pp. 78–79. (in French).
de Narbonne, Roland. "Nord 1402 "Gerfaut": La petite bombe de Nord Aviation". Le Fana de l'Aviation, March 2014, No. 532. pp. 18–31. (in French).
Rocher, Alexis "Ce jour-là: 24 août: Premier vol du C-130 "Hercules": Coup de poker gagnant!" Le Fana de l'Aviation, August 1954, No. 537. pp. 78–79. (in French).