December 7
Dec 7
1988 Armenian earthquake (Spitak earthquake)
On December 7, 1988, a shallow, powerful earthquake struck northern Armenia near the town of Spitak. In seconds, whole neighborhoods of Soviet-era apartment blocks collapsed under winter skies. Tens of thousands died, hundreds of thousands were left homeless, and the disaster became one of the Soviet Union’s most visible humanitarian crises — notable both for the scale of destruction and for the unprecedented acceptance of wide international aid.
Dec 7
Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
On December 7, 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a BAe 146 regional jet en route along California’s central coast, crashed into a hillside near Cayucos after a disgruntled former airline employee produced a handgun in flight, shot the pilots, and caused the aircraft to become uncontrollable. All 43 people aboard were killed. The cockpit voice and flight data recorders, recovered by investigators, established the sequence of events and spurred renewed industry focus on baggage-passenger reconciliation and employee access controls.
Dec 7
1983 Madrid–Barajas Airport runway collision
In the low dawn mist of December 7, 1983, two narrow‑body airliners—a McDonnell Douglas DC‑9 operated by Aviaco and a Boeing 727 operated by Iberia—collided on a busy Madrid–Barajas runway. The crash, caused by a mix of human factors, poor visibility and limited surface surveillance, produced a devastating fire, many deaths and a sustained overhaul of runway‑safety procedures in Spain and beyond.
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Dec 7
Winecoff Hotel fire
In the pre-dawn hours of December 7, 1946, a fire broke out in the Winecoff Hotel, a 15‑story downtown Atlanta lodging promoted as "absolutely fireproof." The blaze spread through combustible interiors and vertical openings, trapping guests on upper floors, overwhelming rescue ladders, and resulting in 119 deaths. The disaster exposed flaws in hotel egress and fire protection and helped drive major changes to U.S. building and life‑safety codes.
Dec 7
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7, 1941, aircraft launched from six Japanese fleet carriers struck the U.S. Pacific Fleet and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, killing 2,403 Americans, damaging or sinking much of the battleship force, and drawing the United States into World War II.