April 18 in aviation: the Moscow-Tokyo service was inaugurated; Soyuz 5 has re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

On April 18, 1915, the aircraft carrying Roland Garros was shot down and he was taken captive. Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros (October 6, 1888 - October 5, 1918) was a French fighter pilot and aviator during the First World War and in the early days of aviation.

In 1928, the Roland Garros tennis stadium was named in his memory, and the French Open tennis tournament was renamed Roland-Garros.

Other aviation events on April 18.

Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashed in Virginia.

On April 18, 1960, Capital Airlines Flight 20, a Vickers 745D Viscount aircraft, crashed on a farm in Charles City, Virginia, killing all 50 passengers on board.

The Moscow-Tokyo service was inaugurated.

On April 18, 1967, Aeroflot and Japan Air Lines inaugurated the Moscow-Tokyo service.

The Soyuz 5 spacecraft has re-entered Earth's atmosphere.

On April 18, 1969, the Soyuz 5 spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere.

Air Zimbabwe format.

On April 18, 1980, Air Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe's national carrier, was formed, based at Harare International Airport. From its hub at Harare International Airport, the carrier used to operate a network in southern Africa that included Asia and London-Gatwick. Following financial difficulties, Air Zimbabwe ceased operations at the end of February 2012. Serving a reduced internal network, the carrier resumed operations for a short period between May and early July 2012, when flights were again interrupted. Some flights were discontinued in November of that year. The airline resumed day-to-day operation of domestic routes as well as regional service to Johannesburg in April 2013.

Diamond D-Jet's first flight.

On April 18, 2006, the first flight of the Diamond D-Jet, a five-seater, single-engine, very light, developed by the Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries, took place. The estimated cost of the aircraft was announced by the company at $ 1,89 million in March 2009.