March 13 in aviation: the first crossing of the South Atlantic, the first flight of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
On March 13, 1922, the Portuguese pilots Capt. Gago Coutinho and Capt. Sacadura Cabral left Lisbon to attempt the first crossing of the South Atlantic by plane. The two land in Brazil on June 16, in a Fairey III aircraft that they used for this trip.
Other events in aviation on March 13.
South African Airways 406 crashed into the sea.
On March 13, 1967, South African Airways 406, a Vickers Viscount 818, crashed into the sea as it approached East London, South Africa, killing all 25 passengers and crew on board. The pilot of the plane suffered a fatal heart attack while at the helm, and the co-pilot failed to regain control of the aircraft.
Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 806 took off and crashed in California.
On March 13, 1974, Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight 806 took off and crashed in Bishop, California. All 36 people on board the aircraft died on the Convair CV-440 (N4819 C).
The first flight of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
On March 13, 1977, the first flight of the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter took place. Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-sized American commercial helicopter, manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. The S-76 has two turbocharged engines, four-bladed main and tail rotors and a retractable landing gear.
Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-29.
On March 13, 1989, the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-29 was launched at 14:57:00 UTC. Its main missions were to supply the ISS and rotate the crew.
The Mexican airline MexicanaLink has started operations.
On March 13, 2009, the Mexican airline MexicanaLink began operations. MexicanaLink, a subsidiary of Mexicana de Aviación, was a regional airline based at Guadalajara International Airport that operated as a food airline for both Mexicana and MexicanaClick.
It operated in markets considered too thin to justify the use of larger aircraft. It was the regional carrier Mexicana, while MexicanaClick was a low-cost domestic airline competing against Interjet, Volaris and VivaAerobus. MexicanaLink used to compete against Aeromar and Aeroméxico Connect.
The airline was presented to the press on March 10, 2009. The ceremony was led by the CEO of Mexicana de Aviación, Manuel Borja, and the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, joined the ceremony with a short speech. The event took place at the Mexican maintenance base at Guadalajara Miguel Hidalgo International Airport. The first flight of this airline was on March 13, 2009 at 14:30 CST departing from Guadalajara (GDL) to Puerto Vallarta (PVR).