1969 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1969:
Events
The Canadian Snowbirds aerobatic team is formed.
A fifth annual Harmon Trophy is created to honor the world's outstanding astronaut of the year and is awarded for the first time, honoring the outstanding astronauts of 1968.
Interflug begins operation of the Tupolev Tu-134, its first jet airliner.
January
January 5 – The flight crew of Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701, a Boeing 727-113C, fails to extend the airliner's flaps while on approach to London Gatwick Airport in heavy fog. The plane crashes short of the runway, striking a house in Horley, Surrey, England, killing 48 of the 62 people on board and two people on the ground. All 14 survivors are injured, as is one person on the ground.
January 13 – With its cockpit crew so occupied with attempting to diagnose the lack of a nose gear green light that they inadvertently allow its rate of descent to increase while on approach to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, the Scandinavian Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62 Sverre Viking, operating as Flight 933 with 45 people on board, crashes in Santa Monica Bay 6 miles (11 km) short of the runway and breaks into three pieces, two of which sink immediately. Fifteen people die, and 17 of the 30 survivors are injured.
