Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, landed at Al Ain on a week-long mission to test its performance in hot climatic conditions. The plane, which bore the livery of Etihad Airways on its fuselage, touched down at 6.45pm, when a strong wind was blowing dust and sand in the area. The double-decker aircraft was carrying test pilots, safety crew, and testing equipment on board. A 40-member team has arrived in Al Ain, including pilots, engineers, technicians, and other officials with the aircraft. The tests would also be monitored and verified by a team of the European Aviation Safety Agency, comprising a test pilot and two test flight engineers. A representative of the Airbus Industrie said the plane would go to Abu Dhabi, where a briefing would be held about the aircraft and its arrival in the UAE. Faris Salem Al Mazrouei, Director of Al Ain International Airport, said that it was big occasion for Al Ain airport for being selected for testing the huge passenger aircraft.
Other important events
1798 Napoleon captures Alexandria, Egypt.
1829 The first typewriter is patented by William Burt of Mount Vernon, Michigan.
1881 Boundary treaty between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
1913 Second Revolution breaks out in south China to force out military commander Yuan Shih-kai.
1914 Austria and Hungary issue ultimatum to Serbia after assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.
1920 King Faisal’s Arab army is defeated at Maysaloun, and Syria falls to the French.
1920 British East Africa is renamed Kenya and becomes British colony.
1921 The first meeting of the Chinese Communist Party is held.
1952 Egyptian military officers, led by Jamal Abdul Nasser, overthrow King Farouq I.
1962 The Telstar satellite sends the first major live TV broadcast between the US and Europe.
1967 English cyclist Tommy Simpson dies in intense head during the 13th stage of the Tour de France.
1970 Qaboos Bin Saeed becomes Sultan of Oman.
1972 First Earth Resources Technology Satellite is launched.
1986 Britain’s Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.
1994 Gambian soldiers proclaim military government in Dakar, Senegal.
1998 An Iranian court sentences Tehran’s mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi to five years in jail and banned him from holding public office for 20 years on charges of graft.
1999 King Hassan II of Morocco dies.
2000 Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to complete a career Grand Slam after he wins.
2001 Megawati Sukarnoputri is sworn in as Indonesian President.
2005 Multiple pre-dawn bombings targeting several hotels kill at least 88 in the Egyptian tourist resort of Sharm Al Shaikh.
2006 Investment in the UAE’s industrial sector jumps 140 per cent in 5 years.
2007 Afghanistan’s last king Mohammad Zahir Shah dies in Kabul.
2008 Cape Verde joins the World Trade Organisation, becoming its 153rd member.
2009 German carmaker Volkswagen takes over Porsche to create a new car giant.
2011 British soul singer Amy Winehouse is found dead in her home in London. She was 27.
2013 an inter-province bus and an 18-wheel trailer truck collided in Saraburi province, Thailand, killing 19 people.
2014 Taiwanese airline TransAsia Airways crashes while landing outside an airport on a small Taiwanese island and killing 47 people on board.
2015 A Earth-like planet Kepler 452b is discovered.
