This is a list of
aviation-related events from 1997.
Events
British Airways adopts a new livery which consists of a revised logo and around 20 different
ethnic tailfins featuring art and designs representing many countries around the world.
March 10 - A
Gulf Air aeroplane goes through the wall at
Abu Dhabi Intl Airport. The landing gear falls apart during take off. The plane is severely damaged but there are no fatalities.[3]
U.S. Marine Corps helicopters involved in Operation Silver Wake come under fire from small arms and a shoulder-launched
surface-to-air missile in Albania. The helicopters are not hit and return fire. The United States temporarily suspends evacuation operations in Albania.[5]
Six
Italian military helicopters evacuate about 100 people from Tirana's main
football stadium. Ground fire hits one of the helicopters, but no one is injured. Sixty-nine French nationals evacuate by helicopter from
Durres and are flown to Durres, and 16 Russian citizens evacuate by air from Tirana.[5]
March 17 – May 28 –
Linda Finch, pilot, aviation historian, and
San Antonio, Texas businesswoman, flying a restored and specially equipped 62-year-old
Lockheed Model 10 Electra, recreates the 1937
Amelia Earhart flight to circumnavigate the globe solo. Her attempt is successful, taking 73 days. She touches down in
Oakland, California.
March 26 – Operation Silver Wake comes to an end. During the 13-day operation, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army helicopters have evacuated 400 American citizens and 489 citizens of other countries from Albania.[6]
September 8 – The
Boeing777-300 is rolled out. At 73 metres (240 feet) it is the longest airliner ever built. This title will be claimed by the
Airbus A340-600 in 2001.
September 26 –
Garuda Indonesia Flight 152, an
Airbus A300B4-220, crashes 29 km (18 mi) from the airport while on approach in low visibility to
Medan on
Sumatra in
Indonesia, killing all 234 passengers and crew. It is the deadliest aviation accident of 1997, and it remains the deadliest in Indonesian history.
October
October 10 –
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 2553, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, crashes at
Nuevo Berlin,
Uruguay, after its
pitot tube freezes, causing the flight crew to receive false readings that the airliner is flying much more slowly than it actually is, resulting in catastrophic damage when they mistakenly deploy
wing slats at too high a speed. The aircraft strikes the ground almost vertically at about 1,200 km/h (750 mph), killing all 74 people on board. It remains the deadliest aviation accident involving an
Argentinian aircraft, as well as the deadliest one ever to occur in Uruguay.
December 6 – A Russian Air Force (RA-82005)
Antonov An-124-100crashes in
Irkutsk, Russia, after multiple engines fail during its initial climb after take-off. The crash kills all 23 people on board, as well as 49 people on the ground.[10]
December 16 – Unable to land successfully at
Fredericton, New Brunswick,
Canada, because of poor visibility,
Air Canada Flight 646, a
Canadair CL-600-2B19 Regional Jet, attempts a
go-around and crashes. No fire results and, although the flight crew is poorly trained in evacuation procedures, emergency response time is 20 minutes, and some people have to be extricated from the plane by rescue services, there are no fatalities among the 42 people on board.
December 10 - A Tupolev Tu-145 operating as
Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183, crashes into the ground a few kilometres away from the Sharjah Airport runway, killing most people on board.[11]