This is a list ofaviation-related events from 1987.

• Lauda Air begins scheduled service.

• During January and February, theUnited States Navy conducts proof-of-concept tests of Pioneer (laterRQ-2 Pioneer)unmanned aerial vehicles aboard thebattleshipUSS Iowa (BB-61) in theCaribbean Sea to see if they can spot effectively for naval gunfire. Although four of the five Pioneers are lost during the tests, they demonstrate their ability to detect targets forIowa's 16-inch (406-mm) guns.^[1]
• January 1 –United States Coast GuardHH-65 Dolphin andUnited States NavyH-3 Sea King helicopters help rescue people trapped inside theDupont Plaza hotel inPuerto Rico after a fire breaks out there late on December 31, 1986.
• January 3 –Varig Flight 797, aBoeing 707-379C, develops engine trouble after departingAbidjan,Ivory Coast. It crashes while attempting to return to the airport, killing 50 of the 51 people on board.
• January 7 –French Air Force jets attack theLibyan Air Force base inOuadi Doum to avenge a raid byLibya against the French military three days before.
• January 9 – In theIran–Iraq War, an IranianHawksurface-to-air missile shoots down anIraqi Air ForceMiG-25 (NATO reporting name "Foxbat").^[2]
• January 14 – Iranian Hawk missiles shoot down two Iraqi Air ForceTupolev Tu-22 (NATO reporting name "Badger") bombers.^[2]
• January 15
  • Iraq claims to have shot down anIslamic Republic of Iran Air ForceF-14 Tomcat in air-to-air combat.^[3]
  • Iraq claims its aircraft have flown over 500 combat missions in support of Iraqi ground forces since January 14.^[3]
  • Since January 1, Iraq has conducted airstrikes against five ships in thePersian Gulf and 30 economic and urban targets in Iran, while Iran has carried three airstrikes, all against economic and urban targets in Iraq.^[4]
• January 22 – Iran claims to have shot down 57 Iraqi aircraft since January 1, while Iraq admits to the loss of 15.^[2]
• January 28 – An Iranian Hawk missile shoots down an IraqiMiG-23 (NATO reporting name "Flogger") flying at an altitude of 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) over the front lines atBasra, Iraq.^[2]
• January 30 – Since January 15, Iraq has conducted airstrikes against two ships in the Persian Gulf and 18 economic and urban targets in Iran, while Iran has carried out 12 airstrikes, all against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[4]
• January 31
  • During the month, Iraq has conducted over 200 long-range air andballistic missile strikes against 35 Iranian cities, includingQom,Nahawand,Ramhormoz,Isfahan, andDezful. Iran claims that the raids have killed over 3,000 civilians in a single week, but later revises this claim to say that the raids killed over 1,800 Iranians and injured over 6,200.^[4] Iran claims to have shot down 69 Iraqi aircraft during the month, while Iraq admits to the loss of no more than 38.^[2]
  • During the month, Iran and Iraq have struck more targets in the Persian Gulf than in any other month of the Iran-Iraq War since it began inSeptember 1980.^[5]

• During early and mid-February, theIraqi Air Force conducts continual strikes against the 13 major cities in westernIran and againstTehran.^[6]
• During the month, a defectingIslamic Republic of Iran Air Forcecolonel says inMujahideen-e-Khalq-sponsored press conferences that only one-third ofIran's 65F-4 Phantom IIs, a third of itsattack helicopters, 30 to 40 of itsC-130 Hercules, six to ten of itsF-14 Tomcats, and four of itstanker aircraft remain operational; that only one or two or its pre-Iran–Iraq War total of sixP-3C Orionmaritime patrol aircraft remain fully operational; that several C-130s had crashed due to poor maintenance; that two-thirds of Iran's 65 flyable fighter aircraft were not fully functional; that all of Iran's RF-4E Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft had been shot down or lost in accidents; that Iran had shot down 55 of its own aircraft due toradar andidentification-friend-or-foe problems, including aDassault Falcon jet transport shot down by aHawksurface-to-air missile in early February; that Iran had too few technical experts to keep its remaining aircraft flying; and that 180 Iranian pilots had defected, many with their aircraft, and that Iranian pilots were briefed on their missions only an hour or so ahead of time so that they would not have time to plan defections.^[7]
• February 1 –People Express Airlines andNew York Air cease operations, and People Express,Frontier Airlines (which had ceased operations inAugust 1986), New York Air, and severalcommuter airlines merge intoContinental Airlines.
• February 9 – A singleIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force plane drops bombs onBasra,Iraq.^[4]
• February 11 –British Airways isprivatised.^[8]
• February 14 – Since January 1, Iraq has conducted 75 airstrikes against Iranian economic installations.^[4]
• February 15
  • Iraq claims to have lost three aircraft over Iranian cities since 14 February, at least of them to an Iraniansurface-to-air missile.^[2]
  • Since February 1, Iraq has conducted airstrikes against four ships in thePersian Gulf and 27 economic and urban targets inIran.^[4]
• February 18 – The latest phase of major Iraqi airstrikes against Iranian cities and Iranianballistic missile strikes against Iraqi cities, which began on January 9, ends. Iran claims that Iraqi aircraft have struck 35 Iranian cities and towns, killing 3,000 Iranians and injuring 9,000.^[9]
• February 28 – Since February 16, Iraq has conducted airstrikes against five ships in the Persian Gulf and eight economic and urban targets in Iran^[10]

• Grumman delivers the last of 712Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighters produced to theUnited States Navy. Production has included 557 F-14A (of which 18 later were converted into F-14Ds), 38 F-14A+ (later redesignated F-14B), and 37 F-14D aircraft for the U.S. Navy and 80 F-14As for theImperial Iranian Air Force, of which 79 were delivered toIran and one retained by theUnited States after the 1979Iranian Revolution.^[11]
• March 5 – American race car driverDon Yenko is killed when theCessna 210 Centurion he is piloting lands hard nearCharleston, West Virginia, veers off the runway, hits a bank of dirt, falls into a ravine, and crashes. His three passengers also die.^[12]
• March 10 – ThePan AmBoeing 747-121Clipper Ocean Pearl, operating asFlight 125 with 245 people on board, experiences pressurization problems during climbout fromHeathrow Airport in England, and returns to the airport. An investigation finds that latching problems had allowed the forward cargo door to come ajar. A similar door problem will lead to a fatal accident aboardUnited Airlines Flight 811 in February 1989.
• March 21 – American entertainerDean Paul "Dino" Martin, the son of singer and actorDean Martin, is killed when theCalifornia Air National GuardF-4C Phantom II he is piloting enters a maximum takeoff climb, flies into clouds, and crashes into a wall ofgranite onMount San Gorgonio inCalifornia'sSan Bernardino Mountains while flying inverted at a speed of 560 miles per hour (900 kilometres per hour)r).^[13] Hisweapon systems officer also dies.
• March 27 –Pacific Western Airlines purchasesCanadian Pacific Air Lines, and the two airlines amalgamate to formCanadian Airlines.
• March 29 – TheUnited States Navy disbandsUnited States Naval ReserveLight Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 206 (VFP-206), its last squadron equipped with specializedphotographic reconnaissance aircraft and the last equipped with any version of theVought F-8 Crusader.^[14]
• March 31 – Since March 1, Iraq has conducted airstrikes against eight ships in thePersian Gulf and four urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out one airstrike targeting Persian Gulf shipping but none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[2]

• After purchasing and merging withCanadian Pacific Airlines andNordair,Pacific Western Airlines announces that the name of the new combined airline will beCanadian Airlines International.
• April 1
  • TheGovernment of India′sBureau of Civil Aviation Security, becomes an independent agency of theMinistry of Civil Aviation. Previously, it had been a department of theDirectorate General of Civil Aviation.
  • Western Airlines ceases to exist as it merges withDelta Air Lines. Western had operated sinceApril 1926.
• April 2 – ARoyal Air ForceVickers VC10 sets a new record time between theUnited Kingdom andAustralia, landing inPerth, Australia, after a flight of 16 hours 1 minute.
• April 4 –Garuda Indonesia Flight 035, aDouglas DC-9-32, strikes a pylon and crashes on approach toMedan-Polonia Airport inMedan onSumatra inIndonesia. A fire following the crash kills 23 of the 45 people on board; all 22 survivors are injured.
• April 10 –Johan Åhling ofSweden introduces the "Mosquito", a foot-launchedpowered hang glider harness.
• April 11 – Britishcharter airlineAir 2000 begins operations with a leasedBoeing 757-200.^[15]
• April 13 – The IranianKarbala 9 offensive ends. Since Iran launched itsKatbala 4 offensive on the night of December 23–24, 1986, theIraqi Air Force has lost between 70 and 90 aircraft, and during March and April it was lost several aircraft per week.^[16]
• April 30 – Since April 1, Iraq has conducted five airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and seven urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out no airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping or urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[17]

• May 4 –American Eagle Flight 5452, aCASA C-212 operated byExecutive Airlines, crashes on landing atEugenio María de Hostos Airport inMayagüez,Puerto Rico, killing both pilots. The other four people on board, all passengers, survive with minor injuries.
• May 9 – TheLOT Polish AirlinesIlyushin Il-62MTadeusz Kościuszko, operating asLOT Flight 5055 bound forNew York City, catches fire due to an engine failure soon after take-off fromOkęcie Airport and crashes into theKabaty Woodsnature reserve on the outskirts ofWarsaw,Poland, killing all 183 persons on board. It is the deadliest aviation disaster of 1987.^[18]
• May 17 – In theUSSStark incident, anIraqi Air ForceDassault Mirage F1 jet hits theUnited States Navy guided-missilefrigateUSS Stark (FFG-31) with twoExocet antishipcruise missiles, badly damaging her and killing 37 and wounding 21 of her crew.
• May 29
  • To create an "imaginary bridge" between theWestern world and theCommunist Bloc and defuse tensions between the two,Mathias Rust, a 19-year-oldWest German pilot, makes an unauthorized flight fromHelsinki-Malmi Airport inHelsinki,Finland, through supposedly impregnableSoviet air defenses and lands his rentedReims Cessna F172P adjacent toRed Square inMoscow in theSoviet Union. He is arrested. His flight results in the firing of many senior Soviet military personnel, including theMinister of Defense,Marshal of the Soviet UnionSergei Sokolov, and the Commander-in-Chief of theNational Air Defense Forces,Chief MarshalAlexander Koldunov.
  • Pacific Southwest Airlines becomes a division ofUSAir.^[19]
• May 31 – Since May 1, Iraq has conducted six airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and five against urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out eight airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping and two against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[2]

• June 4 – InOperation Poomalai, fiveIndian Air ForceAntonov An-32 (NATO reporting name "Cline")transport aircraft airdrop supplies byparachute into the city ofJaffna,Sri Lanka, to aidTamil Tiger rebels who have been besieged there by Sri Lankan government forces during theSri Lankan Civil War.^[20] FiveMirage 2000 fighters escort the An-32s, but the Indian aircraft meet no opposition.
• June 11 – An unidentified warplane attacks theGreektankerEthnic in thePersian Gulf nearKuwait.^[21]
• June 19–20 – TheIraqi Air Force strikes thetankerTenacity in the Persian Gulf and the western jetty at Iran'sKharg Island.^[21]
• June 21 –Air France pilotPartick Fourticq and friendHenri Pescarolo once again enter the record books, completing an around-the-world flight aboard aLockheed Model 18 Lodestar in 88 hours 19 minutes.
• June 27 –Philippine Airlines Flight 206, aHawker Siddeley HS 748, crashes intoMount Ugu nearItogon, Benguet, in thePhilippines, killing all 50 people on board. It is the second-worst aviation accident in Philippine history at the time.
• June 30 – Since June 1, Iraq and Iran each has conducted a single airstrike against shipping in thePersian Gulf. Iraq has conducted a single airstrike against urban and economic targets inIran, while Iran has carried out none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[2]

• July 3 –Richard Branson andPer Lindstrand become the first people to complete atransatlantic flight in ahot-air balloon,^[22] aboard theballoonVirgin Atlantic Flyer.
• July 24
  • TheGovernment of Australia′sDepartment of Aviation is absorbed by the newDepartment of Transport & Communications, which is created on the same date.
  • Operation Ernest Will – the American military protection ofKuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in thePersian Gulf – begins, covered byUnited States Navy forces includingF-14 Tomcat,F/A-18 Hornet,A-6 Intruder, andEA-6B Prowler aircraft from theaircraft carrierUSS Constellation (CV-64) in theIndian Ocean. The operation will continue for 14 months.^[23]
• July 28 –Iraq shoots down aSyrian Air Force fighter that mistakenly flies over Iraqi territory.^[24]
• July 31 – Since July 1,Iraq has conducted five airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and six against urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out four airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping, but none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[2]

• During the month, theUnited States Navy deploys eightRH-53D Sea Stallionminesweeping helicopters to thePersian Gulf to assist in the clearing of Iraqi and Iraniannaval mines.^[25]
• August 8 – AUnited States Air ForceE-3 Sentryairborne early warning and control aircraft vectors two U.S. NavyF-14A Tomcat fighters from theaircraft carrierUSS Constellation (CV-64) to an encounter with anIslamic Republic of Iran Air ForceF-4 Phantom II fighter approaching a U.S.P-3C Orionmaritime patrol aircraft in a threatening manner and refusing to be warned off. One F-14A fires twoAIM-7F Sparrowair-to-air missiles at the F-4, scoring no hits, and the F-4 breaks off and returns toIran. The entire encounter takes placebeyond visual range viaradar.^[26]
• August 9 – US airlineTranStar Airlines (formerly known as Muse Air), a subsidiary ofSouthWest Airlines operating out ofDallas Love Field, ceases operation and is shut down.^[27]
• August 10 – TheIraqi Air Force bombs Iranian oil facilities for the first time in 25 days, claiming to fly 110 sorties, attacking theoil refinery atTabriz and oil sites atBiki Hakima,Marun-e Jayezan,Karanj, andGachsaran.^[28]
• August 15 – Since August 1,Iraq has conducted two airstrikes against urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[2]
• August 16 – AMcDonnell Douglas MD-82 ofNorthwest Airlines operating asFlight 255 crashes on takeoff fromDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport inRomulus, Michigan. The crash kills all but one of the 157 people on the plane, as well as two on the ground; only a seriously injured four-year-old girl survives. Among the dead isNational Basketball Association playerNick Vanos. It remains the deadliest aviation accident with a sole survivor in American history.
• August 17 – In thePhilippines, Manila International Airport is renamedNinoy Aquino International Airport.
• August 30
  • Iraq resumes airstrikes in thePersian Gulf after a 45-day hiatus.Iraqi Air Force aircraft strikeKharg Island,Sirri Island, andLavan Island, setting fire to at least one storagetanker.^[29]
  • TheGovernment of Israel cancels theIAI Lavi programme.
• August 31
  • Thai Airways Flight 365, aBoeing 737-2P5, crashes into theAndaman Sea while on approach toKo Phuket inPhuket Province,Thailand, killing all 83 people on board.
  • Since August 1, Iraq has conducted no airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf, while Iran has carried out three. Since 16 August, however, the pace of air attacks on urban and economic targets has increased sharply, with Iraq striking 13 such targets in Iran and Iran hitting seven in Iraq.^[2]

• September 1 – In three straight days of air raids beginning on August 30, theIraqi Air Force has hit Iraniantankers, oil facilities in the Persian Gulf, oil facilities ashore inIran, and factories.^[17]
• September 13 – A fully armedSoviet Air ForcesSukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name "Flanker") intercepts aRoyal Norwegian Air ForceLockheed P-3 Orionmaritime patrol aircraft flying over theBarents Sea and makes three close passes, colliding with P-3 on the third pass. The Su-27 then disengages, and both aircraft return to base safely.^[30]
• September 15
  • The pace of Iraqi and Iranian airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and urban and economic targets on each other's territory has increased sharply during the first half of September. Since September 1,Iraq has conducted 22 airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping and 35 against urban and economic targets in Iran, while Iran has conducted 10 airstrikes against shipping and eight against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31]
  • AEurocopter AS565 Panther sets new time-to-altitude records for helicopters in its class.
• September 16 –Iraq begins a new series of airstrikes against Iranian ships and oil facilities. Iran responds, and by September 19 both sides are striking inland oil targets.^[32]
• September 21 – TwoUnited States ArmyOH-6A Cayuse lightattack helicopters equipped with night vision devices and operating from theUnited States Navyguided-missile frigateUSS Jarrett (FFG-33) as part ofOperation Prime Chance observe theIranian navallanding craftIran Ajr layingnaval mines at night in thePersian Gulf. The helicopters fire onIran Ajr, disabling her and killing three to five (sources differ) members of her crew. U.S.Navy SEALs soon board and seizeIran Ajr, which U.S. forces scuttle on 26 September.^[33]
• September 30 – Since September 16, Iraq has conducted 19 airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and 19 against urban and economic targets inIraq. Iran has carried out seven airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping and three against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31]

• October 3 – AfterUnited States Air ForceE-3A Sentryairborne early warning and control aircraft detect 48 to 60Iranian speed boats moving fromKharg Island across thePersian Gulf toward theKhafji oil field inKuwait,Royal Saudi Air ForceF-15 Eagle andTornado aircraft joinRoyal Saudi Navy andUnited States Navy warships in moving toward them. After detecting the movement of the Saudi and American forces, the Iranian boats turn away and return to Iran.^[34]
• October 5 – TheIraqi Air Force begins a new series of long-range strikes targetingtankers loading at Iran'sLarak Island, scoring major hits in the vicinity of Larak Island for the first time. The attack is the 21st Iraqi airstrike against Persian Gulf shipping since lateAugust. Although it fails to sink or set afire any ships, it does hit four tankers, includingSeawise Giant, the world's largest ship.^[35]
• October 8
  • A force of American helicopters including threeUnited States ArmyMH-6 Little Bird night surveillance/attack helicopters attacks an Iranian naval force of acorvette and three speedboats approaching thebargeHercules, employed as a floating American base nearFarsi Island in the Persian Gulf. The helicopters sink oneBoghammer speedboat and damage twoBoston Whaler-type boats, killing or mortally wounding eight Iranian crewmen, andUnited States NavySEALs take six other Iranian crewmen prisoner.^[36]
  • The Iraqi Air Force hits aGreek-ownedmerchant ship, killing one crewman. The strike brings the total number of Iraqi Air Force antishipping raids since October 1 to 12, and the number of ships Iraq and Iran have hit in the Persian Gulf since October 1 to nine, with seven crewmen killed and four injured in the attacks. The Iraqi Air Force has flown some 50 sorties a day against Persian Gulf shipping since October 5 and has lost oneMirage F-1 since October 1.^[37]
• October 12 – Since January 1, Iraq has made 60 air attacks against shipping in the Persian Gulf, three using bombs and the remainder usingair-to-surface missiles, while Iran has conducted no air attacks against Persian Gulf shipping. The total of Iraqi air attacks against Persian Gulf shipping since 1984 has reached 185 – five using bombs, four using rockets, and 176 using air-to-surface missiles, while Iran's total since 1984 stands at 37.^[38]
• October 15
  • Since October 1,Iraq has conducted 15 airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and 12 against urban and economic targets in Iran. Iran has carried out eight airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping and six against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31]
  • Aero Trasporti Italiani Flight 460, anATR-42-312, crashed 15 minutes after takeoff from Milan, Italy, killing all 37 occupants on board.^[39]
• October 19 – In retaliation for a series of IranianSilkworm missile strikes against Kuwait, a U.S. Navy force attacks Iran's Rustam oil platform in the Persian Gulf. Three U.S. Navy aircraft – twoF-14 Tomcats and anE-2C Hawkeye – cover the operation. The only Iranian response is to launch a singleIslamic Republic of Iran Air ForceF-4 Phantom II, which turns away as soon as it detects the size of the American force.^[40]
• October 20 – Attempting to make anemergency landing atIndianapolis International Airport inIndianapolis,Indiana, a U.S. Air ForceA-7D-4-CV Corsair IIcrashes into the nearby AirportRamada Inn. The pilot survives, but nine people in the hotel die.
• October 23 – The lastF-104 Starfighter is phased out ofGerman Air Force service.
• October 24
  • Iran claims that three Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force fighter aircraft have flown within 10 miles (16 km) of a U.S. Navy warship in the Persian Gulf despite warnings not to do so.^[41]
  • APan American World Airways office in Kuwait is damaged by aterrorist bomb.^[41]
• October 28 – Iraq claims hits on three Iranian tankers in an airstrike in the Persian Gulf. In fact, no ships are damaged.^[42]
• October 31
  • British Airways accepts the airline's first women pilots.
  • In late October, Iraqi Air Force aircraft strike theAgha Jari oil field in southwestern Iran, an Iranian oil refinery inShiraz, and tankers shuttling oil cargoes in the Persian Gulf for Iran, hitting a supertanker in use as a storage hulk. Since October 16, Iraq has conducted nine airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and four against urban and economic targets in Iran. Iran has carried out one airstrike against Persian Gulf shipping and four against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31][41]

• The BritishDepartment for Transport′s Accidents Investigation Branch is renamed theAir Accidents Investigation Branch.
• November 4 –Iraqi Air Force aircraft hit theNational Iranian Tanker Company'stankerTaftan as she loads oil atKharg Island. It is the first successful Iraqi antishipping strike sinceOctober 21.^[42]
• November 14
  • Iraq claims to have conducted air raids against Iranian oil fields atAbed al-Khan,Marun-e Jayezan, andKaj Saran.^[43]
  • TheCanadian airlineAir Transat begins operations.
• November 15
  • Continental Airlines Flight 1713, aMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 with 82 people on board, crashes while taking off fromStapleton International Airport inDenver,Colorado, during a snowstorm. Twenty-eight people lose their lives and all 54 survivors are injured, 28 of them seriously.
  • Iraq claims that its air force has hit 15 ships in thePersian Gulf since November 9, but it has damaged only three ships.^[43] Since November 1, Iraq has conducted 18 air strikes against shipping in the Persian Gulf and 14 against urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out three air strikes against Persian Gulf shipping and eight against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31][42]
• November 17 – Iraqi Air Force aircraft conduct a major raid against the Iraniannuclear reactor under construction atBushehr, killing oneWest German technician and injuring several other West Germans working on the reactor.^[44]
• November 19 – Iraqi Air Force aircraft carry out another major raid against the Iranian nuclear reactor at Bushehr.^[45]
• November 20 – Iraq claims that it has hit 21 ships in air attacks in the Persian Gulf since November 8, but in fact has damaged only four.^[43]
• November 22 – Iran claims to have fired on four American helicopters operating over the Persian Gulf, although no such incident appears to have occurred.^[46]
• November 23 –Ryan Air Service Flight 103, aBeechcraft 1900C registered as N401RA, crashes on landing atHomer Airport,Alaska, United States. Out of the 21 occupants onboard, only 3 survives whereas the other 18 dies.^[47][48]
• November 28 –South African Airways Flight 295, aBoeing 747-244BM CombiHelderberg, suffers a catastrophic in-flight fire in the cargo area and crashes into theIndian Ocean east ofMauritius, killing all 159 people on board.
• November 29 – A bomb planted byNorth Korean agents explodes over theAndaman Sea aboard aSouth KoreanBoeing 707-3B5C operating asKorean Air Flight 858, destroying theairliner and killing all 115 people on board.^[49]
• November 30 – Since November 16, Iraq has conducted 12 airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and 10 against urban and economic targets in Iran. Iran has carried out seven airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping, but none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31]

• During the month, Iraq focuses it air campaign against Iran on strikes against shipping in the Persian Gulf, although theIraqi Air Force also occasionally raids Iraniandams andoil refineries.^[46]
• December 7 –David Burke, an angry former employee ofUSAir, the parent company ofPacific Southwest Airlines, shoots both pilots ofPacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, aBAe 146, while it is cruising at 22,000 feet (6,700 m) over the centralCalifornia coast. No longer under control, the plane pitches down (planes pitch nose up or nose down; they do not pitch "forward") and accelerates, crashing into the ground at a speed of around 700 mph (1,100 km/h) nearCayucos, California, killing all 43 people on board.
• December 8 – APeruvian Naval AviationFokker F27 chartered by the Peruvianassociation football clubAlianza Limacrashes into thePacific Ocean off theVentanilla District ofCallao,Peru, killing 43 of the 44 people on board. Among the dead areJosé Casanova,Luis Antonio Escobar,José González Ganoza,Alfredo Tomassini,Johnny Watson, and 11 other players; head coachMarcos Calderon and nine other coaches and team staff; eightcheerleaders; threereferees; twoPeruvian Navy passengers; and five crew members. The pilot is the only survivor.
• December 15 – Since December 1,Iraq has conducted eight airstrikes against shipping in thePersian Gulf and seven against urban and economic targets inIran. Iran has carried out five airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping and two against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31]
• December 21 –Air Littoral Flight 1919, anEmbraer EMB 120 ofAir Littoral (operating forAir France), crashed inBordeaux-Mérignac Airport,France, during landing killing all 16 occupants on board.^[50]
• December 22 – The Iraqi Air Force conducts an unusually long-range raid, striking shipping around Iran'sLarak Island. The raid hits four supertankers employed as storage ships there, including the world's largest ship,Seawise Giant.^[51]
• December 31 – Iraq claims that it has hit four ships in the Persian Gulf since December 26, although none actually have been damaged. Since December 16, Iraq has conducted nine airstrikes against shipping in the Persian Gulf and a single airstrike against urban and economic targets in Iran. Iran has carried out 10 airstrikes against Persian Gulf shipping, but none against urban and economic targets in Iraq.^[31] During 1987, Iraq has conducted 83 attacks – mostly by air – on shipping in the Persian Gulf, an increase from 65 in 1986, while Iran has conducted 80, mostly by usingsurface warships, speedboats, andnaval mines. Since 1984, Iraq has attacked 215 ships in the Persian Gulf, destroying 49 and badly damaging nine, while Iran has destroyed 16. Despite the Iraqi and Iranian antishipping campaigns, Iranian oil exports for 1987 are 40 percent higher in 1987 than in 1986 and both Iranian and Iraqi oil exports have increased during the second half of 1987.^[52]

• February 13 –Fokker 50 – First production aircraft.^[53]
• February 19 —Boeing E-6 Mercury — First production aircraft.^[54]
• February 22 –Airbus A320^[55]

• March 9 –Yakovlev Yak-141
• March 19 –Glaser-Dirks DG-500M^[54]

• April 15 —Glaser-Dirks DG-600^[54]
• April 30 –Promavia Jet Squalus^[56]

• May 15 —Starfire Firebolt^[54]
• May 16 –Boeing VC-25

• June 10 –Boeing Vertol Model 360^[57]
• June 24 –Grob/E-Systems/AlliedSignal Egrett^[57]

• July 1 –Questair Venture^[57]
• July 20 –PZL M-24 Dromader Super^[57]
• July 28 –Wheeler Express^[57]

• August 17 –Sukhoi Su-33 (NATO reporting name "Flanker-D")
• August 31 –Mitsubishi H-60^[57]

• October 9 – EHI EH101, later rebranded as theAgustaWestland AW101^[57]

• November 24 –F-14D Tomcat^[57]

• AEA Maverick
• December 29 –Scaled Composites AT^3[58]

April –Tu-160 in Soviet Air Forces (184th Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment in Pryluki)

The deadliest crash of this year wasLOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055, aIlyushin Il-62M which crashed inWarsaw,Poland on 9 May, killing all 183 people on board.

• Taylor, John W. R.Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1987–88. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Yearbooks, 1987.ISBN 0-7106-0850-0.
• Taylor, John W. R.Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–89. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data, 1988.ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.