1982 in aviation

• January
  • 8, Europe: The Airbus A300 is certified, becoming the first wide body airliner with cockpit accommodations for only two to be certified.
  • 10, Teterboro, New Jersey: A Gulfstream III, Spirit of America, flies around the world in just 43 hours 39 minutes and 6 seconds, becoming the fastest business jet to fly around the world.
  • 22, Germany: The NATO receives its first Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS airplane.
  • 27, Wichita, Kansas: Cessna delivers its 1,000th business jet.
• February
  • 3, U.S.S.R: The Mil Mi-26 helicopter lifts a load weighing 125153 pounds and 8 ounces up to 6,565 feet, to break a world record for a helicopter.
  • 6, London; Freddie Laker's Laker Airways flies for the last time.
  • 9, Tokyo: A Japan Airlines DC-8 crashes, killing 24 of the 174 passengers on board. The probable cause of the accident was cited as a possible breakdown by captain Seiji Katagiri, who had mental problems. Every airline pilot must now undergo mental testing as well as physical testing.
  • 13, Washington D.C; An Air Florida Boeing 737 crashes soon after take-off from Washington's National Airport, into the Potomac river, killing 78 passengers plus people on a bridge. Many of the passengers actually died frozen by the river's iced waters. The plane's anti-freeze solution was not the adequate for the weather that day, and the plane's engines had ice on them before taking off.
  • 19, Renton, Washington: The Boeing 757 makes its first flight.
  • 25, Dallas, Texas: American Airlines announces it will cancel its orders for 15 Boeing 757s.
• March
  • 16, France: Embraer's first EMB-121 is delivered, to the French Navy and Air Force.
• April
  • 13, Dallas, Texas: Braniff International Airlines' president Howard D. Putnam announces the airline has filed for protection under bankruptcy laws, and the airline's fleet of 71 airplanes is grounded.
  • 1, Paris: Air France flies the Concorde over to Rio de Janeiro and Caracas for the last time.
• May
  • 18, Dallas, Texas: American Airlines' 1 millionth passenger is flown.
  • 20, United States: The United States Army has their first Boeing Vertol CH-47D Chinook helicopter delivered.
  • 24, London: The last service by a British Airways Boeing 707, from Cairo to London, is performed.
• June
  • 14, Falkland Islands: Argentinian forces surrender to English forces. During their war, the English had destroyed 109 Argentinian planes, compared to only 10 lost by the British.
  • 14, Wichita, Kansas: Beechcraft's model 38P Lighting takes off for the first time.
• July
  • 2, Germany: West Germany's Army receives its first Panavia Tornado. It would eventually get 112.
  • 9, Kenner, Louisiana: A Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes while en route from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to New Orleans, killing 137 passengers plus people on the ground. Sole survivor of the crash is a baby girl in a house.
• August
• September
  • 30, Dallas, Texas: H Ross Perot Jr and J.W. Coburn make history by landing their Bell 2061 LongRanger II helicopter 29 days, 3 hours, and 8 minutes after taking off. Its the first time a trip around the world is completed by helicopter.
• October
  • 28, Paris: The last Air France Boeing 707 service, from Tunis to Paris.
• November
  • 4, Los Angeles: Pan Am inaugurates service from Los Angeles to Sydney; with 7,487 non-stop miles, its the longest non-stop flight in the world.
• December