January 14 –Qantas became the first foreign airline permitted to fly across the United States.
January 26 –British European Airways (BEA) takes over all operation ofCyprus Airways routes, although Cyprus Airways continues to operate under its own name.
January 31 – While a U.S. Air ForceBoeing B-47 Stratojet made a simulated takeoff inMorocco, a wheel casting failure caused itstail assembly to strike therunway. One of the bomber's fuel tanks ruptured, and a fire broke out that damaged an armednuclear bomb aboard the aircraft, releasing some radioactive material into the environment.[3][4]
February 25 – United Airlines set a speed record for a commercial flight from Honolulu, Hawaii, to San Francisco, California, with a flight time of 5 hours 43 minutes.[5]
Misrair, the futureEgyptAir, renamed itself United Arab Airlines.Egypt andSyria's merger on 1 February to form theUnited Arab Republic prompted the name change.
March 11 – A crewman aboard a USAFB-47E Stratojet flying as part of a formation of four B-47s fromHunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia, to England to conduct a mock bombing attack inOperation Snow Flurryaccidentally released a 7,600 lb (3,400 kg)Mark 6 nuclear bomb at an altitude of 15,000 ft (4,600 m). The bomb smashed the closed bomb bay doors open and struck the ground inMars Bluff, South Carolina. Its high-explosive detonator exploded on impact, creating a crater 70 ft (21 m) wide and 30 ft (9.1 m) deep. The bomb'score was not in the weapon, so no nuclear explosion occurred.
March 22 –Lucky Liz, the private twin-enginedLockheed Lodestar of American theater and film producerMike Todd, flying grossly overloaded in fog, snow, and thunderstorms, crashed in theZuni Mountains nearGrants, New Mexico, when one of its engines failed inicing conditions. All four people aboard the plane died, including Todd and his biographer, American sportswriter, screenwriter, and authorArt Cohn. Todd's wife, American actressElizabeth Taylor, was not aboard because she had stayed home with a bout ofbronchitis.[9]
April 10 – A rebelliousRepublic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) captain attempted to hijack a ROKAFCurtiss C-46 Commando with seven people on board during a domestic flight in South Korea fromDaegu toSeoul and forced it to fly him to North Korea. A struggle ensued in which the hijacker shot one of the crew members to death, but he was subdued and the plane diverted to a landing atPyongtaek, South Korea.[13]
April 13 – The three crew members of a Cubana de AviaciónDouglas DC-3 with 12 passengers on board making a domestic flight in Cuba from Havana to Santa Clara illegally flew the airliner toMiami, Florida, instead, to seek refuge in the United States.[14]
AB-26 Invader bomber flown by U.S.Central Intelligence Agency employeeWilliam H. Beale in support of IndonesianPermesta rebels bombed the harbor atBalikpapan,Borneo, Indonesia, sinking the Britishoil tankerSS San Flaviano and hitting the British oil tankerMV Daronia with a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb that bounced overboard without exploding. In June, the Indonesian and British governments both claimed that Indonesian rebels flew the bomber, concealing the CIA's involvement.
May 7 – USAFMajor Howard C. Johnson of the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron set a new world record for altitude, flying aLockheed F-104 Starfighter to 27,813 m (91,250 ft).[15]
May 16 – USAFCaptain Walter W. Irwin set a new world airspeed record of 1,404 mph (2,260 km/h) in an F-104 Starfighter,[15] the first record over 2,000 km/h (1,200 mph).
May 17 – FourF3H Demons and fourF8U Crusaders made a nonstop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
May 18
Indonesian forces shot down aB-26 Invader bomber flown by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employeeAllen Pope in support of IndonesianPermesta rebels and captured Pope. In June, the Indonesian and British governments both claimed that Indonesian rebels flew the bomber, concealing the CIA's involvement.
June 9 –London Gatwick Airport opened after two years of extensive reconstruction. It was the first multimodal airport in the world, with direct rail connections from the main terminal to London andBrighton.
June 28 – The 22-year operational career of theAvro Anson cane to an end with a six-plane formation fly-over of their base by the Southern Communications Squadron atBovington,Hampshire, United Kingdom.[23]
July 1 –Royal Nepal Airlines was founded. Initially, its fleet consisted of a single Douglas DC-3.
July 3 – The "Telecopter", aBell Model 47 rented bytelevision stationKTLA in Los Angeles, and outfitted with a television camera, made the world's first flight by atelevision news helicopter. Its inventor, John D. Silva, was aboard. When the television station reported that it was receiving no video, Silva exited the helicopter'scockpit to climb onto its landing skid while it hovered at 1,500 ft (460 m) so he could investigate themicrowave transmitter bolted to its side, where he discovered that avacuum tube had failed due to vibration and hot weather. After Silva fixed the problem overnight, the Telecopter made its first successful news flight the following day.[24]
September 2 – An Independent Air TravelVickers VC.1 Viking cargo aircraft carrying twoBristol Proteusturboprop engines suffered engine trouble soon after takeoff from London Heathrow Airport. While attempting to reachBlackbushe Airport for an emergency landing, the Vikingcrashed into a row of houses inSouthall, London, killing its entire crew of three and a mother and three children on the ground.
September 5 – One or morehijackers attempted to commandeer anAeroflotIlyushin Il-14P with 17 people on board during a domestic flight in theSoviet Union fromLeningrad toTallinn. Passengers overpowered the hijacker or hijackers, one person died in the struggle, and the airliner diverted to a landing atJõhvi.[30]
September 18 –East Germany established the airlineInterflug as a hedge against its national airline,Deutsche Lufthansa (DLH), losing atrademark lawsuit to theWest German airlineLufthansa, which inAugust 1954 had purchased the right to use the name of the defunct pre-1945 German airlineDeutsche Luft Hansa. Pending legal developments, Interflug operated as a charter airline until taking over DLH's assets upon the liquidation of DLH inSeptember 1963.
September 20 – During a high-speed flyby in anair show atRAF Syerston,Nottinghamshire, England, a prototypeAvro Vulcan bomber (serial numberVX770) suffered total collapse of the starboard wing andcrashed, killing its entire crew and three people on the ground.
October 1 – In the United States, in accordance with theNational Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics was dissolved and its successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, began operations.
October 8 – In Manhigh III, the third and final flight of the USAF'sProject Manhigh,LieutenantClifton M. McClure ascended to an altitude of 29,900 m (98,100 ft) in ahelium balloon, the second-highest altitude achieved in Manhigh.
October 10 – AC-123B Provider serving as a maintenance support aircraft for theUnited States Air Force Thunderbirds air demonstration team flew into a flock of birds and crashed nearPayette, Idaho, killing the entire flight crew of five and all 14 maintenance personnel on board. It remains the worst accident in Thunderbirds history.
October 19 – A People's Republic of China-ownedTupolev Tu-104 crashed atKanash in the Soviet Union during a regular flight betweenBeijing andMoscow, killing all 65 passengers and crew members. Among those killed were 16Chinese government officials, oneBriton, fourEast Germans, and the son of theCambodian ambassador to China.[37]
Three rebels hijacked aCubana de Aviación Douglas DC-3 with 14 people on board during a domestic flight in Cuba fromCayo Mambi toMoa, and forced it land at a rebel-held airfield in theSierra Maestra mountain range in southeastern Cuba.[38]
October 25 – The Short SC.1 experimental VTOL aircraft made its first free vertical flight.
Trans-Pacific Airlines changed its name toAloha Airlines.
November 4 – Shortly after take-off fromDyess Air Force Base outsideAbilene, Texas, a USAF B-47 Stratojet carrying a nuclear bomb caught fire. It reached an altitude of 1,500 ft (460 m) before it crashed, killing one of its four crewmen. High-explosive material in the bomb exploded, creating a crater 6 ft (1.8 m) deep and 35 ft (11 m) in diameter, but no nuclear explosion occurred.[39]
November 6 – Rebels hijacked a Cubana de Aviación Douglas DC-3 with 29 people on board during a domestic flight in Cuba fromManzanillo toHolguín and forced it land at a rebel-held airfield in Cuba.[40]
November 25 – The English Electric P.1B, the first fully developed prototype of theEnglish Electric Lightning, exceededMach 2 for the first time.[43]
November 26 – A USAF B-47 Stratojet with a nuclear bomb aboard was destroyed by fire while on the ground atChennault Air Force Base nearLake Charles, Louisiana. High-explosive material in the bomb detonated, contaminating the bomber's wreckage and the surrounding area with radioactivity, but with no nuclear explosion.[44]
December 4 – Flying aCessna 172 Skyhawk (registration N9172B), Robert Timm and John Cook took off from McCarran Airfield in Las Vegas. They remained airborne continuously for 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds before landing at McCarran Airfield onFebruary 4, 1959, setting a newworld record for manned flight endurance.[46]
December 10 –National Airlines became the first airline to offer jet service on domestic flights within the United States, using a Boeing 707 leased fromPan American World Airways for flights between Miami and New York City.[47]
December 18 – ABell XV-3Tiltrotor made the first true midair transition from vertical helicopter-type flight to fully level fixed-wing flight.
December 23 –Syrian Airways merged into United Arab Airlines (the futureEgyptAir). United Arab Airlines took over all of Syrian Airways' routes and aircraft.
^Crosby, Francis,The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 289.
^abcAngelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 283.
^Angelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 353.
^Angelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 190.
^abDonald, David, ed.,The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 81.
^Pool, Bob, "Obituary: John D. Silva, 92; TV Engineer Devised the World's First News Helicopter,"The Washington Post, December 11, 2012, Page B6.
^Potter, E. B., ed.,Sea Power: A Naval History, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1981,ISBN0-87021-607-4, p. 371.
^Isenberg, Michael T.,Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 712.
^Anonymous, "Today in History,"The Washington Post Express, July 29, 2013, p. 26.
^Isenberg, Michael T.,Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,ISBN0-312-09911-8, p. 623.
^Isenberg, Michael T.,Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace, Volume I: 1945–1962, New York: St. Martin's Press,ISBN0-312-09911-8, pp. 623–624.
^Crosby, Francis,The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, pp. 41, 42.
^Angelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 311.
^Angelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 454.
^"World Air News: First Flights".Air Pictorial November 1958, p. 382.
^"World Air News: First Flights".Air Pictorial December 1958, p. 414.
^Donald, David, ed.,The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 119.
^"World Air News: First Flights".Air Pictorial February 1959, p. 44.
^Angelucci, Enzo,The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 162.
^Polmar, Norman, "Historic Aircraft: Great But Impractical Aircraft,"Naval History, June 2012, p. 13.
Bridgman, Leonard (1958).Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958–59. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
Bridgman, Leonard (1959).Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1959–60. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
