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This is a list of aviation-related events from 2000.
Events
January
- January 9 – The United States reports that Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery sites have fired at aircraft participating in Operation Southern Watch to enforce a no-fly zone over southern Iraq more than 420 times since December 1998 and that Iraqi aircraft have violated the southern no-fly zone more than 140 times since Operation Desert Fox took place in mid-December 1998.
- January 10 – Crossair Flight 498, a Saab 340, crashes in Niederhasli, Switzerland shortly after takeoff from Zurich-Kloten Airport, killing all 10 people on board. This is Crossair's first fatal accident in its history.
- January 30 – Kenya Airways Flight 431, the Airbus A310-304 Harambee Star, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire a minute after takeoff from Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, killing 169 of the 179 people on board and injuring all 10 survivors. This is Kenya Airways first fatal accident, and the deadliest aviation accident of 2000.
- January 31 – Due to inadequate maintenance, the horizontal stabilizer of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, jams during a flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Seattle, Washington, forcing the plane into a dive from 31,500 feet (9,601 m) to between 23,000 (7,010 m) and 24,000 feet (7,315 m) in 80 seconds. Although the crew manages to stop the dive and attempts to divert to Los Angeles, California, the stabilizer jams again minutes later and the plane dives into the Pacific Ocean near Anacapa Island, California, killing all 88 people on board. Among the dead is Morris Thompson, who had served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1973 to 1976; Cynthia Oti, a financial talk show host for radio station KSFO-AM in San Francisco, California; guitarist Dean Forshee; Tom Stockley, wine columnist for The Seattle Times; and columnist Jean Gandesbery, author of Seven Mile Lake.
February
- During the month, Trans World Airlines takes delivery of the first of 50 Boeing 717-200 airliners it has ordered. The airline also has options on 50 more Boeing 717-200s.
- February 8 – A Zlín Z 242L piloted by WGN radio disk jockey Bob Collins collides on approach to Waukegan Regional Airport in Waukegan, Illinois, with a Cessna 172 Skyhawk piloted by a student pilot. Collins' plane crashes onto the roof of a hospital, killing him and his passenger; the student pilot's Cessna crashes three blocks away, killing her as well. There are no other deaths or injuries in the accident.
- February 11 – JetBlue Airways commences operations.
- February 16 - - Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes right after takeoff and kills all 3 people on board. The cause was a jamed right elevator.
March
- March 5 – Southwest Airlines Flight 1455, a Boeing 737-3T5 with 142 people on board, overshoots the runway on landing at Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport in Burbank, California, injuring forty-four passengers and crew. This is the first major accident since Southwest Airlines was founded.
- March 26 – Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways, and Lauda Air join the Star Alliance.
April
- April 1 – Singapore Airlines joins the Star Alliance.
- April 5 – Legend Airlines operates the first long-haul airline flight from Dallas Love Field to a destination beyond the Wright Amendment five-state region since the opening of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 1974.
- April 19 – Air Philippines Flight 541, a Boeing 737-2H4, slams into a mountainside in Island Garden City of Samal, Philippines, after circling in low clouds while waiting for another aircraft to clear the runway at Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao, killing all 131 people on board.
May
- May 15 – Helios Airways commences airline operations.
- May 22 – The United States reports that Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery sites have fired at aircraft participating in Operation Southern Watch to enforce a no-fly zone over southern Iraq more than 470 times since December 1998 and that Iraqi aircraft have violated the southern no-fly zone more than 150 times since Operation Desert Fox took place in mid-December 1998.
October
- October 8 – The final flight of Alliance Air, a multinational airline based in Uganda, departs London bound for Johannesburg, South Africa. When it arrives, the airline is dissolved.
- October 31 – During heavy rain caused by Typhoon Xangsane, the flight crew of Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a Boeing 747-412, attempts to take off from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, using the wrong runway. During its takeoff roll, the plane is destroyed when it collides with construction equipment parked on the runway and bursts into flame, killing 83 of the 179 people on board and injuring 71 of the 96 survivors. It is the first fatal accident involving a Singapore Airlines aircraft other than the 1997 crash of an airliner operated by the Singapore Airlines subsidiary SilkAir. Among the injured survivors is William Wang, later the founder of Vizio.
November
- November 3 – The last flight of an EC-135E Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft takes place as a United States Air Force flight crew from the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, delivers the last Boeing EC-135E (serial number 60-374, nicknamed The Bird of Prey), with full Prime Mission Electronic Equipment (PMEE), to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
- November 19 – During the Angolan Civil War, UNITA forces shoot down an Angolan Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name "Flanker") as it comes in for a landing at an air base in Angola.
December
- Lauda Air becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines.
- December 3 – Legend Airlines ceases flight operations due to mounting losses.
- December 5 – Reeve Aleutian Airways ceases flight operations and goes out of business after over 53 years of service.
- December 29 – On British Airways Flight 2069, a mentally ill Kenyan passenger stormed into the cockpit and attempted to take control of the plane. Grabbing the yoke, a struggle ensued between the would-be hijacker and the pilots, causing the plane to stall and plunge towards the ground. Passengers and crew members assisted in restraining the man and the plane landed safely at Nairobi.
First flights
- Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name "Flanker-H")
January
- RQ-8A Fire Scout first autonomous flight
February
- February 29 – Mikoyan Project 1.44
March
- March 5 – Aquila A 210
- March 21 – Adam M-309 CarbonAero
May
- May 2 – Boeing X-45
July
- July 18 – Dassault AVE-D Petit Duc stealth UAV
Entered service
- Mitsubishi F-2 with Japan Air Self-Defense Force
October
- October 1 – Mitsubishi MH2000 with Excel Air Service, Japan
Deadliest crash
The deadliest crash of this year was Kenya Airways Flight 431, an Airbus A310 which crashed shortly after takeoff from Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 30 January, killing 169 of the 179 people on board.