On April 28, 1988, a seemingly routine, 35-minute flight from
Hilo to Honolulu turned into terror when an 18-foot-long
section of the upper fuselage suddenly tears off Aloha
Airlines Flight 243.

The explosive decompression and roof loss sweep flight
attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing off the Boeing 737,
sending freezing winds of hurricane force through the
cabin, leaving passengers in the first five rows of the
plane completely exposed to the sky.

Miraculously, Captain Robert Schornstheimer landed the
plane in Maui with no further deaths.

The bizarre incident happened about 20 minutes into the
flight from Hilo International Airport to Honolulu, at 24,000
feet with 95 passengers and crew members on board.

Captain Robert Schornstheimer       
      
      
         
       

On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue
the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ended with eight
U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.

With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month
and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending
in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission
as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages.

The next day, a somber Jimmy Carter gave a press conference
in which he took full responsibility for the tragedy. The hostages
were not released for another 270 days.

President Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans
on their way home.

      
CAMILLE BOHANNON

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I.

He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited
with 80 air combat victories.

 
TIM MAGUIRE

Concorde G-BOAA takes off from London Heathrow on
its first passenger service to Bahrain.

Concorde entered service on 21 January 1976 with Air
France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from
London Heathrow.  

The passengers onboard British Airways Concorde.

The Concorde passenger cabin at the Museum of Flight near Seattle.

On January 15, 2009, a potential disaster turned into a heroic
display of skill and composure when Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III safely lands the plane he was piloting on New
York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines
to fail. David Paterson, governor of New York at the time,
dubbed the incident the “miracle on the Hudson.”

Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III will turn 74 on
January 23.