1970 in aviation

January
January 31 - Mikhail Mil dies, aged 61

February
February 17-18 - US Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses attack Laos.

February 24 - HMS Ark Royal is recommissioned after a £UK 30 million refit.

February 27 - Hawker Siddeley begins buying back surplus Hawker Hunters from the Royal Air Force to remanufacture for new customers.

March
March 6 - BEA opens its charter service, BEA Airtours

March 17 - an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9 is hijacked. The hijacker is overpowered and the aircraft lands safely in Boston, although the co-pilot is killed in the struggle.

May
May 18 - National Airlines ends a 108-day strike by offering ground crews a 33% pay increase.

May 26 - the Tupolev Tu-144 exceeds Mach 2 in level flight, the first commercial aircraft to do so.

July
July 1 - Melbourne opens its new international airport

July 5 - An Air Canada DC-8 crashes near Toronto International Airport killing 108

July 17 - Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport commences passenger screening to help prevent hijackings; the first airport to do so.

August
August 22 - Two Sikorsky HH-53C helicopters complete a non-stop transpacific flight of 9,000 miles (14,484 km) using in-flight refuelling.

September
September 3 - Air France places the first orders for the Airbus A300

October
October 19 - Hindustan Aeronautics completes its first licence-built MiG-21

November
November 11 - the British government agrees to fund development of the Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan, rescuing the project from Rolls-Royce's bankruptcy

November 20 - the US Air Force and Army assault the Son Tay prison camp. No POWs are found.

November 21 - US aircraft begin the first major bombing campaign of North Vietnam since 1968. 300 aircraft attack the Mu Gia and Ban Gari passes.

December
December 15 - Artem Mikoyan dies, aged 65

December 20 - with pre-tax losses of $US 130 million, the year ends as the worst ever for US airlines.

December 31 - Jeanne Holm becomes the USAF's first female General.

First flights

January
January 17 Sukhoi T-6-2IG (prototype of Sukhoi Su-24 'Fencer')

February
February 19 - Canadair CL-84 CX8401

March
Martin-Marietta X-24

May
May 28 - Boeing Vertol Model 347

July
July 16 - Aérospatiale Corvette
July 18 - Alenia G.222

August
August 20 - Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk
August 29 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10

September
September 1 - Dassault Falcon 10

November
November 12 - Nihon XC-1
November 14 - Aerosport Rail N43344
November 16 - Lockheed L-1011

December
December 21 - Grumman YF-14A

Entered service

Nanchang Q-5 with Chinese People's Liberation Army
January
January 22 - Boeing 747 with Pan Am and TWA