This is a list of aviation-related events from 2014.
Deadliest crash
The deadliest crash of this year was Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777 which was shot down on 17 July near Hrabove, Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board; it is the deadliest airliner shoot-down in aviation history. Flight 17 also marked the deadliest plane crash of the 2010s decade, and not withstanding the September 11 attacks, it is the deadliest aviation crash of the 21st century.
Events
January
1 January
To express his patriotic support for the People's Republic of Chinas claim to the Diaoyu Islands – also claimed by Japan as the Senkaku Islands – Chinese balloonist Xu Shuaijun attempts to fly his hot-air balloon from Fujian Province, China, to the islands. After nearly 7½ hours in the air, he encounters severe air turbulence, his balloon malfunctions, and he is forced down in the East China Sea from the islands. A Japan Coast Guard ship picks him up unharmed and transfers him to a Chinese patrol ship. Syrian Air Force aircraft conduct a cross-border strike into Lebanon, bombing barren hills in the Jroud Arsal area which Syrian refugees and rebels use to move between the two countries. The raid kills or injures 10 Syrians.
2 January
A helicopter from the Chinese icebreaking research vessel Xuě Lóng rescues 52 passengers aboard the Russian research ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy – trapped by thick sea ice off Cape De la Motte, George V Land, Antarctica, since 24 December 2013 – and carries them 12 at a time to the Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis. Akademik Shokalskiys 22 crew members remain behind to await a chance to free their ship. A previous attempt by Xuě Lóng to rescue Akademik Shokalskiys passengers on 28 December 2013 had failed.
5 January
An Airbus A320 operated as Air India Flight 890 (registration VT-ESH), flying from Imphal to Guwahati and Delhi in India, diverted to Jaipur airport due to poor visibility, suffers a runway excursion on landing. Nobody on board was injured but the plane was written off. Following this incident, a Spicejet Boeing 737-800 (registration VT-SGU) flying from Goa to Delhi, also subsequently diverted to Jaipur was forced to divert back to Delhi, while approaching Delhi, several low fuel warnings had blared in the aircraft, resulting in the pilots to declare a mayday. The aircraft conducted a poor visibility approach and had landed safely without any injuries on board. the aircraft only had 400kgs of fuel on board while landing and 150kgs of fuel when the engines were shut down.
6 January
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 with 494 people on board makes an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan, due to cabin depressurization while en route from London to Singapore. There are no injuries, but oxygen masks deploy.
7 January
The Iraqi Air Force strikes a rebel operations center on the outskirts of Ramadi, Iraq. According to Iraqi officials, the strike kills 25 al-Qaeda militants. A Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from the United States Air Forces 48th Fighter Wing crashes at a nature reserve in Cley next the Sea, United Kingdom, killing all four people on board.
8 January
The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency bans liquids in hand luggage in the countrys airports until 1 April 2014, requiring them to be placed in checked baggage instead.
9 January
Kenyan aircraft strike Garbahaareey, Somalia, killing 30 al-Shabaab members.
10 January
In Jakarta, Indonesia, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport resumes service of scheduled flights after a hiatus of almost 29 years to relieve overcrowding at the city's main airport, Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. It is the first time since the opening of Soekarno–Hatta International in March 1985 that Halim Perdanakusuma Airport has handled anything other than charter and military flights and general aviation. After detaching in flight from its carrier aircraft, White Knight Two, Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo successfully completes its third test flight, reaching an altitude of and a top speed of Mach 1.4 over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. It is the highest altitude SpaceshipTwo has reached thus far.