1977 in aviation

January
January 15 – Linjeflyg Flight 618, a Vickers Viscount 838. crashes in Kälvesta, Sweden just outside Stockholm killing all 22 on board.

March
March 27 - 583 people are killed when two Boeing 747s collide on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport), Tenerife.

April
Comair, owned by Delta Air Lines, started operations.

April 4 - Southern Airways Flight 242 crash-landed on a highway after engine failure, 62 out of 85 aboard killed, 8 ground fatalities.

April 28 - An Aviateca Convair 240 crashes near Guatemala City, Guatemala killing all 28 people on board

June
June 30 - US president Jimmy Carter cancels the B-1 Lancer program

July
July 23 - After threats of shutting down transatlantic air traffic, the U.S. and British governments reach the Bermuda II accord, giving British airlines additional ports of entry in the United States and removing American airlines' rights to carry passengers beyond London and Hong Kong.

August
August 23 - Gossamer Condor became the first human-powered aeroplane, flying a figure-8 course to demonstrate sustained, controlled flight.

August 31 - A Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 sets the current world altitude record for airbreathing aircraft of 123,524 ft. (37,650 m).

September
September 26 - Laker Airways inaugurates its no-booking "Skytrain" service between London and New York

September 28 – Japan Airlines Flight 472, a Douglas DC-8, is hijacked after taking off from Mumbai, India by Japanese Red Army (JRA) terrorists. The terrorists forced the plane to land in Dhaka, Bangladesh were they demanded a US$6 million and the release of nine imprisoned JRA members being held in Japan. The Japanese government complied and all of the hostages were eventually released.

October
October 13 – Lufthansa Flight 181 is hijacked by four Palestinians, members of the PFLP.

October 17 - The US ban of the Concorde was lifted when the Supreme Court of the United States declined to overturn a lower court's ruling rejecting the Port Authority's efforts to continue the ban.

October 26-31 - a Pan Am Boeing 747SP circumnavigates the world over the two poles

November
November 19 - TAP Boeing 727 overran runway at Funchal, Madeira Islands and exploded killing 131.

December
December 4 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 hijacked in mysterious circumstances.

December 13 – National Jet Services DC-3 charter, crashed on takeoff from Evansville, Indiana en route to Nashville International Airport (BNA), killing all 29 on board, including the entire University of Evansville basketball team.

First flights

January
January 6 - HAL HPT-32 X2157
January 31 - Cessna Citation II

May
May 3 - Bell Model 301 NASA702
May 20 - Sukhoi T-10 (prototype of Sukhoi Su-27)
May 26 - NDN Firecracker G-NDNI

June
June 27 - CASA C.101 Aviojet

July
July 25 - Aero Design DG-1 N10E

August
August 12 - Space Shuttle Enterprise (glide test)
August 15 - Embraer EMB-111
August 24 - Learjet 28

October
October 6 - Mikoyan MiG-29
October 20 - General Avia F15F I-PROL
October 27 - RFB Fantrainer 98+30

November
November 22 - Antonov An-72 SSSR-19774

December
December 1 - Lockheed Have Blue
December 14 - Mil Mi-26

Entered service

September
September 26 - Mitsubishi F-1 with Japan Air Self-Defense Force

November
November 1 - Tupolev Tu-144