On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to
New York exploded in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland,
killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members aboard,
as well as 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground.

Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright made
the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-
than-air aircraft on December 17, 1903.

The John W. Berry, Sr. Wright Brothers National Museum
in Dayton. Ohio.

   
Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller
(March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944)

After departing from an airfield outside London on December
15, 1944, a single-engine aircraft carrying trombonist and
bandleader Glenn Miller went missing over the English
Channel.

Miller was traveling to France for a congratulatory performance
for American troops that had recently helped to liberate Paris.

The wreckage of Miller’s plane was never found. His official
military status remains Missing in Action.

A U.S. Army Air Forces Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman
from the 3rd Air Commando Group.

 
Published in 1939.

On its final approach to Madison, Wisconsin on December 10,
1967, the private plane carrying soul-music legend Otis Redding
would crash into the frigid waters of a small lake three miles
short of the runway, killing seven of the eight men aboard,
including Redding.

His megahit “Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay” would be released
in its “unfinished” form several weeks later. It would soon
become history’s first posthumous #1 hit and the biggest pop
hit of Redding’s career.