On December 8, 1963, Pan Am Flight 214 crashed near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 crew and passengers. Flight 214 had originated at Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, flying to Friendship Airport near Baltimore, and then took off for Philadelphia. The crash was Pan Am's first fatal accident with the Boeing 707-121, which it had introduced to its fleet five years earlier. An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that the probable cause of the crash was a lightning strike that had ignited fuel vapors in one of the aircraft's fuel tanks, causing an explosion that destroyed the left wing. The exact manner of ignition was never determined, but the investigation increased awareness of how lightning can damage aircraft, leading to new regulations. The crash also led to research into the safety of several types of aviation fuel and into ways of changing the design of aircraft fuel systems to make them safer in the event of lightning strikes.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_214

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1876:

Götterdämmerung premiered, the last opera in the Ring cycle by Richard Wagner (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6tterd%C3%A4mmerung

1914:

World War I: Ignoring orders to retreat, Hermann von François led a successful counterattack defending East Prussia at the Battle of Stallupönen and scored the first German victory in the Eastern Front. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stallup%C3%B6nen

1943:

World War II: The Royal Air Force began a strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany's V-weapon programme by attacking the Peenemünde Army Research Center. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hydra_%281943%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

handout: 1. An act of handing out something. 2. (US, card games, archaic, rare) An act of dealing playing cards; a deal. 3. A printed sheet such as a leaflet or pamphlet, or a worksheet, that is given out free of charge (usually by hand) for a certain use, for example as an advertisement or for information. 4. Synonym of press release (“an official written statement that is sent to the media so that it can be publicized”) 5. (often derogatory) A gift of money or material assistance to the needy or poor. 6. (by extension) Something obtained without effort; a gift, a present. 7. Of a thing: given out free of charge, usually by hand. 8. Of or pertaining to the giving of handouts (gifts of money or material assistance, printed sheets, etc.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/handout

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We are expanding the area of active operations. … Hundreds of Russian servicemen have already surrendered, and all of them will receive humane treatment — they did not experience such treatment even in their own Russian army. … And now all of us in Ukraine should act as unitedly and efficiently as we did in the first weeks and months of this war, when Ukraine took the initiative and began to turn the situation to the benefit of our state. … we have proven once again that we, Ukrainians, are capable of achieving our goals in any situation — capable of defending our interests and our independence. And we must make full use of our achievements. And we will. … Special attention is paid to the Kursk region, and thus to the protection of all our border communities nearby. The more the Russian military presence in the border area is destroyed, the closer peace and real security will be for our country. The Russian state must be held accountable for what it has done. And it is.   --Volodymyr Zelenskyy https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy