November 16

On November 16, 1940, mechanic George Metesky placed a bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison, marking the start of his notorious spree. Over the next 16 years, Metesky injured several people and instilled fear across New York and its suburbs with improvised explosive devices. His meticulous planning and use of pressure cooker bombs baffled investigators until his arrest in 1957. The case led to advances in forensic psychology and criminal profiling, as FBI profiler James Brussel famously described the bomber's personality. Metesky received a prison sentence and was declared mentally unfit to stand trial, closing one of America’s most infamous unsolved bombing mysteries.

On November 16, 1958, a Douglas DC-7 operating as National Airlines Flight 967 departed Tampa bound for New Orleans and Miami. While cruising at 15,000 feet, the aircraft suddenly broke apart, leading to a catastrophic in-flight explosion. All 42 people on board were killed, and debris scattered across a wide area of the Gulf of Mexico. Investigators could not definitively determine whether the blast was due to mechanical failure or sabotage. The tragedy prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to review safety protocols and influenced future aircraft maintenance and security procedures.

On November 16, 1959, Aeroflot Flight 315 was on a domestic passenger flight approaching Lviv Airport in Ukraine. Poor weather conditions and low visibility contributed to the aircraft descending prematurely below the glide path. The plane struck terrain short of the runway and was destroyed on impact. All 40 passengers and crew members perished in the accident, marking a significant loss in Soviet civil aviation. The official investigation cited pilot misjudgment and inadequate instrument guidance systems. This incident prompted improvements in landing procedures and airport navigational aids within the Soviet aviation network.

On November 16, 1967, Aeroflot Flight 2230, operating a scheduled passenger service, approached Koltsovo Airport near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia. The Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft encountered severe weather and low visibility during its descent. It collided with terrain approximately three kilometers from the runway, bursting into flames on impact. All 107 passengers and crew members onboard lost their lives, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the Soviet Union at the time. Investigators attributed the crash to pilot error compounded by inadequate meteorological briefing and air traffic control guidance. In response, Soviet authorities reviewed and improved approach protocols to enhance flight safety under adverse weather conditions.

On November 16, 1981, Aeroflot Flight 3603, a Tupolev Tu-154, was on final approach to Norilsk Airport in Siberia under challenging weather conditions. The aircraft descended below the safe altitude and collided with ground terrain just short of the runway. The impact caused the plane to break apart and ignite, resulting in the deaths of 99 passengers and crew. Investigations pointed to pilot error and inadequate instrumentation as contributing factors. The crash remains one of the worst aviation disasters in the remote Norilsk region, highlighting the risks of flying in extreme cold and poor visibility. Soviet aviation authorities subsequently reviewed landing procedures and improved pilot training for operations in harsh Arctic environments.