This day in: 1976, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1988 & 2001

03 Jul 2010

3 July 1976 The Piaggio P.166-DL3 twin-engine light transport made its first flight. 3 July 1981 Aeroflot inaugurated its first international service with the Ilyushin Il-86, on the airline's Moscow-East Berlin route. 3 July 1982 The first prototype of the General Dynamics F-16XL was flown. A single-seater converted from an existing F-16 airframe, it has cranked-arrow delta-type wings with graphite polyimide composite material skins, a lengthened fuselage and greater fuel capacity. The XL could carry twice the weapon load of the standard F-16, take-off/ land in two-thirds the distance and greatly increased range. 3 July 1984 Air Florida filed for bankruptcy protection, the third major US airline to do so since deregulation in 1978. 3 July 1988 - An Iranian Air Airbus A300 was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, after mistaking it for an Iranian Grumman F-14 Tomcat, killing all 286 people on board. - Saudi Arabi signed another arms contract with the UK, to include additional Tornados, 60 BAe Hawk 200s and perhaps 80 Westland-built WS 70 Black Hawk helicopters. 3 July 2001 More than 3 months after its emergency landing at Lingshui airbase in China, the United States Navy EP-3E Aries III was airfreighted back to America on a chartered Russian An-124. The Chinese Government insisted that a civilian aircraft be used to remove the aircraft.

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