1999 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1999:

Events

February

• February 16 - Gulfstream II carrying film director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Men in Black II, and Wild, Wild West, slid off runway at Van Nuys, California; Sonnenfeld was uninjured.
• February 24 – A China Southwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in Ruian, China while descending to land at an airport. All 61 passengers and crew members were killed.

March

• March 29 - Crash of #2 RQ-4 Global Hawk prototype at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.

June

• June 1 - Crash of American Airlines Flight 1420. A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (registration number N215AA) overran the runway upon landing in Little Rock, killing 11 and injuring 110.

July

• July 24 – All Nippon Airways Flight 61, a Boeing 747 was hijacked by a passenger, Yuji Nishizawa, wielding a knife. After fatally stabbing the captain, he was overpowered by the crew and the co-pilot landed the plane safely at Haneda, Japan.

August

• August 7 – A TACV Cabo Verde Airlines Dornier Do 228 (charter from the Cape Verde Coast Guard) crashed into a cliff on Santo Antão, Cape Verde during poor weather. All 18 people on board were killed.
• August 22 – Mandarin Airlines Flight 642, an McDonnell Douglas MD-11, crashed on landing at Hong Kong during Tropical Storm Sam. Of the 315 people on board, three died.
• August 24 – On board an Uni Air McDonnell Douglas DC-9 a fire starts in an overhead luggage compartment over Hualien Taiwan. The fire was cause by the accidental ignition fumes from a bottle of household cleaner. One person died.
• August 31 – LAPA Boeing 737 overshoots the runway in Buenos Aires, Argentina and crashes into a golf course. Of the 103 people on board, 64 are killed as well as ten on the ground.

September

• September 4-September 12 - the 11th FAI World Rally Flying Championship in Ravenna, Italy. Individual winners: 1st Krzysztof Wieczorek & Wacław Wieczorek (Poland), 2nd Janusz Darocha & Zbigniew Chrząszcz (Poland), 3rd Nigel Hopkins & Dale de Klerk (South Africa); team winners: 1st Poland, 2nd Czech Republic, 3rd France.
• September 23 – Qantas Flight 1, a Boeing 747, overshoots the runway upon landing in Bangkok, Thailand. None of the 410 people on board were seriously injured.

October

• October 25 - Crash in South Dakota of a Learjet 35 killing professional golfer and 1999 U.S. Open winner Payne Stewart and five others.
• October 31 – EgyptAir Flight 990, a Boeing 767 on its way Cairo, Egypt, was deliberately crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket, Massachusetts by the co-pilot as a way of committing suicide. All 217 passengers and crew members on board were killed.

November

• November 9 – TAESA Flight 725, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, crashes near Uruapan, Mexico killing all 18 on board.

December

• December 11 – A SATA International British Aerospace APT crashed on São Jorge Island in the Azores. All 35 people on board were killed.
• December 21 – A Cubana de Aviacon McDonnell Douglas DC-10 overshot the runway in Guatemala City, Guatemala and crashes into homes. Of the 314 people on board, 16 die as well as two people in the homes.
• December 24 – Indian Airlines Flight 814 was hijacked en route to Delhi, India. After stopovers in Lahore and Dubai, it landed in Kandhar (Afghanistan), where after several days of negotiations, all the hostages were released in exchange for the release of three senior Islamic fighters held by India.
• December 25 – A Cubana de Aviacon Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into a mountain near Bejuma, Venezuela killing all 22 on board.
• December 31 - Fear of the Y2K computer bug and possible in-flight consequences for those planes flying during the night of December 31, 1999 and the early morning of January 1, 2000, spreads around the airline industry.

First flights

February

• February 8 - Tupolev Tu-334

March

• March 1-19 - Hot air balloon Breitling Orbiter 3, with pilots Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, begins the first non-stop, round the world balloon flight. This sets a new distance record for any type of aircraft of 40,804 kilometres (25,360hkgh miles).

July

• July 28 - Rotary Rocket Roton ATV

Entered service

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