September 28

What happened on September 28 in aviation and space history.

• September 28, 1988

  First flight of the Ilyushin Il-96

  First flight — The Ilyushin Il-96 flew for the first time on 1988-09-28.

• September 28, 2018

  First hull loss of an F-35: an F-35B crashes near Beaufort

  Accident — An F-35B of training squadron VMFAT-501 crashed near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The pilot ejected successfully and there were no injuries, but the aircraft was destroyed: it was the first hull loss in the programme's history, a day after the type's combat debut in Afghanistan. The failure was traced to a faulty fuel tube, prompting an inspection of the entire worldwide fleet.