Aircraft Maintenance

1989: Aircraft Technician published for first time. The Northrop B2, the most expensive aircraft in history, at a cost of $516 million, made its first flight. The Pentagon lifts a ban on the use of pin-ups to decorate U.S. Air Force aircraft fuselages. James Busey named FAA Administrator. Southern Cross Aviation started in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

1991: Pan American World Airlines (Pan-Am) stopped flying after 73 years.

1992: Thomas Richards named FAA Administrator

1993: David Hinson named FAA Administrator. The first B2 Stealth bomber delivered to the USAF.

1994: FlightSafety International introduced Master Technician training program. Space Shuttle Discovery launched.

1996: The Dutch aircraft company Fokker declared bankruptcy and ceased aircraft manufacturing after 77 years. A merger between aerospace giants Boeing and McDonnell Douglas occurred and the new company will be known as Boeing. ValuJet 592 crash in Everglades due to fire caused by chemical oxygen generators.

1997: Jane Garvey named FAA Administrator.

1999: A Learjet 35 crashed in South Dakota killing all five occupants, including the golfer Payne Stewart. It is believed that the aircraft’s occupants lost consciousness as the result of a pressurization failure. The 1,000th McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache helicopter is delivered.

2000: An Air France Concorde crashed onto a hotel shortly after take-off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, killing 114 people, including the crew and passengers of the aircraft. It is the first crash involving Concorde. The crash is later attributed to FOD. Airbus gave final approval to build the Airbus A3XX, now renamed the A380.