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2023 in aviation

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Years in aviation: 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Centuries: 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades: 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s 2050s
Years: 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Many aviation-related events took place in 2023.

Events

[edit]

January

[edit]
1 January
The Philippine airspace temporarily closed due to an issue with air traffic control and navigation systems.[1]
2 January
Two helicopters collide near the Sea World theme park in the city of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The collision killed four people and injured eight.[2]
11 January
Thousands of flights are delayed or cancelled in the United States after a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) NOTAM system outage.[3]
15 January
An ATR 72-500 operating Yeti Airlines Flight 691 from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Nepal, crashes near Pokhara; all 72 people on board are dead.[4]
18 January
A helicopter crashes in Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv, Ukraine, killing Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky, his deputy Yevhen Yenin, and state secretary Yurii Lubkovych and 11 others.[5]
28 January
Flybe ceases operations and enters administration.[6]
31 January
The 1,574th and final Boeing 747, a 747-8 freighter, is delivered to Atlas Air.[7]
Norwegian carrier Flyr ceases operations before filing for bankruptcy after failing to secure financing.[8]
Australian low-cost airline Bonza conducts its maiden flight from the Sunshine Coast to the Whitsundays.[9]

February

[edit]
4 February
A Chinese-operated high-altitude weather balloon was shot down by the US Air Force over US territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. Over the next few days, more balloons are shot down over the US and Canada.[10]
6 February
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries terminates its SpaceJet project and plans to liquidate its Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation subsidiary.[11]
A Boeing 737-300 of Coulson Aviation crashes while fighting fires in Australia; both pilots survive the crash.[12]
14 February
In one of the largest ever purchases of passenger aircraft,[13] Air India places orders for a total of 470 airliners: 250 from Airbus (210 A320neo family and 40 A350s) and 220 from Boeing (190 737 MAX, 20 787s and 10 777Xs).[14]

March

[edit]
2 March
Virgin Atlantic joins the SkyTeam alliance.[15]
12 March
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman formally announces the establishment of Riyadh Air, a new flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia.[16]

April

[edit]
15 April
A Saudi Airlines Airbus A330 and a SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737-800 operating on behalf of Sun Air are badly damaged or destroyed at Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, during clashes between rival factions of the country's military. Major airlines suspend their flights to the region.[17][18] A United Nations Humanitarian Air Service aircraft was also badly damaged.[19]
Estonian startup Marabu Airlines makes its first flight, from Munich to Palma de Mallorca.[20]

May

[edit]
1 May
An Avianca Cessna 206 crashes in the jungle in the Caquetá Department in Colombia. The pilot and another passenger are killed; a mother and her children survive but the mother died later.[21][22] The children were found in the jungle on 10 June, after 40 days of search and rescue operations.[22][importance?]
3 May
Indian airline Go First declares bankruptcy and temporarily ceases operations, citing loss of revenue as a result of Pratt & Whitney engine issues.[23]
9 May
Ryanair orders 150 Boeing 737 MAX 10s outfitted with 228 seats, with options for a further 150 aircraft, to be delivered between 2027 and 2033, for a value of $40 billion at list price.[24][importance?]
11 May
Business jet operator NetJets order up to 250 Embraer Praetor 500s for $5 billion to be delivered from 2025, after having ordered up to 125 Phenom 300 in 2010 and 100 more in 2021.[25]
28 May
China Eastern Airlines conducts the first commercial flight of the Comac C919 from Shanghai to Beijing.[26]
30 May
UK startup Global Airlines announces the purchase of its first aircraft, an Airbus A380.[27] The company claims to be the first new airline in eight years to own an A380.[28]

June

[edit]
4 June
A privately operated Cessna 560 Citation V carrying three passengers and a pilot crashes near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia, killing everyone on board. The plane had strayed into restricted airspace; F-16 fighters sent to intercept it observed that the pilot of the plane had passed out.[29]
19–25 June
The Paris Air Show is held.[30] Highlights include:[31]
  • Beyond Aero announces a four-seater aircraft with a hydrogen-electric powertrain.
  • Aqualines announces an ekranoplan flying boat concept.
  • Wright Electric confirms that its electric motor-generator unit has achieved 1 MW of shaft power in testing.
  • Aura Aero announces a collaboration with Airbus for its two-seater electric trainer aircraft.
  • Leonardo unveils its hydrogen-powered Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft (HERA).
  • ZeroAvia announces an order for 250 hydrogen-electric engines to power Air Cahana's proposed fleet of converted De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprops.
  • Airbus records a total of 849 firm orders, including 500 A320neo-family aircraft for IndiGo and 250 aircraft (210 A320neo family and 40 A350) for Air India. Boeing records 359 firm orders, including 220 for Air India (190 737 MAX, 20 787s and 10 777Xs). De Havilland Canada, Embraer and ATR record 49, 28 and 24 orders respectively.
28–30 June
Up to 32,000 flights are delayed or cancelled across the United States. Over 1,700 flights, or roughly 1% of all US flights, are cancelled. The disruption was attributed to inclement weather and concerns about the possibility of signal interference from newly adopted 5G wireless technology. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that a small portion of the US fleet had not been upgraded to protect against radio interference.[32]

July

[edit]
14 July
American low-cost airline New Pacific Airlines commenced operations.[citation needed]
25 July
A Canadair CL-215 crashes while fighting a fire on the Greek island of Evia, killing two people.[33]

August

[edit]
15 August
Irkut Corporation formally rebrands itself as Yakovlev. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is to be rebranded as the SJ-100, and the Irkut MC-21 also adopts the Yakovlev name.[34]
18 August
A Beechcraft Premier I operated by Malaysian operator Jet Valet crashes onto an expressway near Elmina, Malaysia. Ten people are killed including all eight on board the aircraft and two on the ground. One of the fatalities is Malaysian Federal politician Johari Harun.[35]
23 August
An Embraer Legacy 600 business jet crashes in Russia, killing all three crew members and seven passengers, reportedly including Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group.[36]
28 August
The air traffic service in the UK (NATS) experienced significant delays after a technical issue with automated flight plan processing.[37] The fault was triggered at 08:32 by a valid (but unusual) flight plan. At about 12:30 the 4 hour buffer of processed plans expired, and manual processing of flight plans began with reduced capacity.[38] Severe disruption and delays occurred.[39] The problem was subsequently identified as a bug in the handling of identically named but geographically distant waypoints in a single flight plan.[38][40]

September

[edit]
12 September
An Airbus A320 operating Ural Airlines Flight 1383 from Sochi to Omsk makes an emergency landing in a field near Kamenka, Russia, following a hydraulic system failure. All 159 passengers and 6 crew survive.[41][42]
23 September
An Ilyushin Il-76 military transport crashes whilst attempting to land at Gao International Airport, Mali. Initial reports suggest the aircraft may have been linked to the Russian paramilitary organisation PMC Wagner.[43]

October

[edit]
23 October
An Alaska Airlines flight operated by Horizon Air, flying from Seattle Paine Field International Airport to San Francisco, is forced to divert to Portland after an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, travelling as a passenger on this flight, attempts to activate the engine fire extinguishers. After the aircraft landed, the passenger was arrested and is now facing criminal charges including attempted murder.[44]

November

[edit]
10 November
The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber makes its first flight from Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.[45]
13–17 November
The Dubai Airshow is held. Highlights include:[46][47][48]
  • Boeing recorded 259 aircraft orders, whilst Airbus recorded only 66 and ATR 10. Wide-body aircraft accounted for over half of the orders placed.
  • Spanish eVTOL developer Crisalion Mobility debuted its Integrity six-seater electric aircraft.
  • Archer Aviation announced plans by Air Chateau to purchase 100 of its Midnight eVTOL aircraft.
16 November
A Boeing 787-9 sets a record for the largest aircraft to land in Antarctica. The charter flight, operated by Norse Atlantic Airways on behalf of the Norwegian Polar Institute, flew from Oslo via Cape Town to an ice runway at the Norwegian Troll Research Station.[49]
19 November
Two Marchetti S.211 former military jet aircraft collide above Port Phillip Bay, near Melbourne, Australia. One aircraft lands safely at Essendon Airport; the other crashes, killing the two people on board.[50]
20 November
A Boeing P-8A Poseidon operated by the United States Navy overran the runway of the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay and ditched into the Kāneʻohe Bay in Oʻahu, Hawaii. None of the nine crew members were injured, and all of them evacuated from the aircraft safely.[51]
28 November
A Boeing 787 operated by Virgin Atlantic completes the first transatlantic flight by a commercial airliner using Sustainable Aviation Fuel.[52]

December

[edit]
3 December
Alaska Air Group announces a planned acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.[citation needed]
22 December
A Gulfstream G-1159A has reported missing on a private flight. It took from, Canouan Airport, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The plane landed in Suriname and was seen departing to its next destination. Current location is unknown.[53][54][55][56]

Deadliest crash

[edit]

The deadliest crash of this year involved an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport which overran the runway at Gao International Airport, Mali, on 23 September, reportedly killing up to 140 people.

The deadliest crash of a civilian airliner was Yeti Airlines Flight 691, an ATR 72 which crashed on final approach to Pokhara, Nepal, on 15 January, killing all 72 people on board.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cepeda, Mara (1 January 2023). "Manila airport power failure causes flight delays, diversions". The Straits Times.
  2. ^ Cabral, Sam (2 January 2023). "Australia helicopter collision: Four dead in mid-air incident over Gold Coast". BBC News.
  3. ^ "Air travel across US thrown into chaos after computer outage". Associated Press. 11 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Nepal plane crash: No hope of finding survivors, official says". BBC News. 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Ukraine crash: Ministers killed as helicopter comes down near nursery". BBC News. 18 January 2023.
  6. ^ Flybe: all flights cancelled as airline ceases trading The Guardian 28 January 2023
  7. ^ Hemmerdinger, Jon (31 January 2023). "Last of the jumbos: Boeing closes chapter with final 747 delivery". FlightGlobal.
  8. ^ Dunn, Graham (31 January 2023). "Norway's Flyr ceases operations after financing fails". FlightGlobal.
  9. ^ "First airline to launch in Australia in 15 years looks to open up routes but says Sydney fees are too expensive". ABC News. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ Brown, Matthew; Pollard, James (5 February 2023). "Eyes on the sky as Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Mitsubishi Heavy Announces Pullout from Passenger Jet Development". Jiji Press. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023 – via Nippon.com.
  12. ^ "2 pilots walk away from Boeing 737 tanker crash in Australia". The Seattle Times. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  13. ^ Jolly, Jasper (14 February 2023). "Air India makes record-breaking purchases from Airbus and Boeing". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Carvajal, Nikki; Isidore, Chris (14 February 2023). "Boeing lands massive Air India order, but still loses out to Airbus". CNN.
  15. ^ Byrne, Jack K. (3 March 2023). "Virgin Atlantic Becomes SkyTeam's First UK Member". AviationSource News.
  16. ^ "Saudi Arabia launches new national airline". Reuters. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  17. ^ Hogg, Ryan (15 April 2023). "A Saudi Arabian airline said an A330 plane was involved in an 'accident' at Khartoum airport in Sudan". Business Insider.
  18. ^ @flightradar24 (15 April 2023). "Video from the airport in Khartoum showing damage to the SkyUp 737 and Saudia A330" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "World Food Programme halts Sudan operations, 3 workers killed". Reuters. 16 April 2023.
  20. ^ Molyneaux, Ian (18 April 2023). "New airline set up in 'four months' completes first passenger flight - AeroTime".
  21. ^ Moss, Loren (13 June 2023). "Commercial Flight Reported Missing, Last Contact Was Over Remote Colombian Amazon Region". Finance Colombia. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Four children found in Colombian jungle 40 days after plane crash". Al Jazeera. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  23. ^ "India's Go First cancels flights after bankruptcy". BBC News. 3 May 2023.
  24. ^ David Kaminski-Morrow (9 May 2023). "Ryanair reaches 737 Max 10 deal covering up to 300 aircraft". Flightglobal.
  25. ^ Jon Hemmerdinger (12 May 2023). "NetJets to purchase up to 250 Embraer Praetor 500s". Flightglobal.
  26. ^ "China's C919 Takes Maiden Commercial Flight-and First Bite From Boeing". The Wall Street Journal. 28 May 2023.
  27. ^ "UK Startup Global Airlines Buys First Airbus A380, Eyes More". Aviation Week Network. 30 May 2023.
  28. ^ "New UK-US airline buys first plane". The Independent. 28 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Pilot of plane that crashed in Virginia was slumped over in cockpit - reports". BBC News. 5 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Home - SIAE 2023". www.siae.fr. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Paris Air Show 2023 - Day Four and Summary". Royal Aeronautical Society.
  32. ^ Koenig, David (1 July 2023). "After several turbulent days, flight disruptions ease despite worries about 5G signals". AP News.
  33. ^ "Greece fires: Two pilots die after firefighting plane crashes". BBC News. 25 July 2023.
  34. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (16 August 2023). "Yakovlev name formally approved as Irkut's new corporate identity". Flight Global.
  35. ^ Chua, Alfred (17 August 2023). "Malaysia starts probe of fatal business jet highway crash". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  36. ^ "What we know about Russia plane crash that reportedly killed Prigozhin". BBC News. 23 August 2023.
  37. ^ NATS (29 August 2023). "Air Traffic Control system update". NATS. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  38. ^ a b "CAP2582: NATS (En Route) Plc Major Incident Preliminary Report". publicapps.caa.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Statement following publication of NATS report into last week's air traffic control technical failure". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  40. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (6 September 2023). "Coincidentally-identical waypoint names foxed UK air traffic control system". Flight Global.
  41. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (12 September 2023). "Ural A320 lands in field while operating Russian domestic flight". Flight Global.
  42. ^ "Russian airliner forced to land in corn field". BBC News. 12 September 2023.
  43. ^ "Incident Ilyushin Il-76". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  44. ^ Wong, Kathleen (23 October 2023). "Off-duty pilot tried to crash plane mid-flight, charged with attempted murder". USA Today.
  45. ^ Copp, Tara (10 November 2023). "Nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, takes first test flight". Defense News.
  46. ^ Robinson, Tim; Richards, Bella (17 November 2023). "Dubai Air Show 2023 - Day Four and Summary". Royal Aeronautical Society.
  47. ^ Falcus, Matt (17 November 2023). "Dubai Air Show Orders Summary". Airport Spotting.
  48. ^ Vitale, Cat (17 November 2023). "Dubai Airshow: what you need to know". Airport Technology.
  49. ^ Varley, Len (16 November 2023). "Norse Atlantic lands 787-9 Dreamliner in Antarctica". AviationSource News.
  50. ^ Sciberras, Allannah; Tuffield, Rhiannon (20 November 2023). "Pilot and cameraman feared dead after ex-military plane crash in Melbourne". www.9news.com.au.
  51. ^ "Accident Boeing P-8A Poseidon 169561, Monday 20 November 2023". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  52. ^ Young, Sarah; Plucinska, Joanna (29 November 2023). "Virgin Atlantic jet lands after maiden transatlantic flight on low-carbon fuel". Reuters.
  53. ^ "À Saint-Vincent et les Grenadines les autorités maintiennent le silence autour de la disparition d'un jet privé (In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, authorities maintain silence over the disappearance of a private jet)". FranceInfo. 25 December 2023. p. 1. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  54. ^ "Did crew of missing plane (N337LR) orchestrate their vanishing?". StVincetteTimes. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  55. ^ "N337LR Aircraft Registration". Flightaware. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  56. ^ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 349063". Aviation Safety Network. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
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