1970 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1970:

Events

January

• January 31 - Mikhail Mil dies, aged 61

February

• February 17-18 - US Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses attack Laos.
• February 24 - HMS Ark Royal is recommissioned after a £UK 30 million refit.
• February 27 - Hawker begins buying back surplus Hawker Hunters from the Royal Air Force to remanufacture for new customers.

March

• March 6 - BEA opens its charter service, BEA Airtours
• March 17 - an Eastern Airlines Douglas DC-9 is hijacked. The hijacker is overpowered and the aircraft lands safely in Boston, although the co-pilot is killed in the struggle.

May

• May 18 - National Airlines ends a 108-day strike by offering ground crews a 33% pay increase.
• May 26 - the Tupolev Tu-144 exceeds Mach 2 in level flight, the first commercial aircraft to do so.

July

• July 1 - Melbourne opens its new international airport
• July 17 - Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport commences passenger screening to help prevent hijackings; the first airport to do so.

August

• August 22 - Two Sikorsky HH-53C helicopters complete a non-stop transpacific flight of 9,000 miles (14,484 km) using in-flight refuelling.

September

• September 3 - Air France places the first orders for the Airbus A300

October

• October 19 - Hindustan Aeronautics completes its first licence-built MiG-21

November

• November 11 - the British government agrees to fund development of the Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan, rescuing the project from Rolls-Royce's bankruptcy
• November 20 - the US Air Force and Army assault the Son Tay prison camp. No POWs are found.
• November 21 - US aircraft begin the first major bombing campaign of North Vietnam since 1968. 300 aircraft attack the Mu Gia and Ban Gari passes.

December

• December 15 - Artem Mikoyan dies, aged 65
• December 20 - with pre-tax losses of $US 130 million, the year ends as the worst ever for US airlines.
• December 31 - Jeanne Holm becomes the USAF's first female General.

First flights

January

• January 17 Sukhoi T-6-2IG (prototype of Sukhoi Su-24 'Fencer')

February

• February 19 - Canadair CL-84 CX8401

March

• Martin-Marietta X-24

May

• May 28 - Boeing Vertol Model 347

July

• July 18 - Alenia G.222

August

• August 20 - Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk
• August 29 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10

November

• November 12 - Nihon XC-1
• November 16 - Lockheed TriStar

December

• December 21 - Grumman YF-14A

Entered service

• Nanchang Q-5 with Chinese People's Liberation Army

January

• January 22 - Boeing 747 with Pan Am