September 13
1997
The 1997 Namibia Mid-Air Collision
On September 13, 1997, two military planes—one German, one American—collided mid-air over the Atlantic Ocean off Namibia, killing all 33 aboard. The event highlighted dangerous gaps in radar coverage and communication protocols in remote airspace. Miscommunication and technical failures led to the disaster, marking it as one of the deadliest incidents in military aviation. Read more
1928
1928 Okeechobee hurricane (San Felipe Segundo)
A powerful Atlantic hurricane struck Puerto Rico on September 13, 1928 — Saint Philip’s Day — and then carved a path through the Bahamas to make landfall on Florida’s east coast on September 16–17, 1928. The storm wrecked crops, towns, and lives, but its deadliest legacy was the flood from Lake Okeechobee that overwhelmed low-lying settlements and killed thousands. The catastrophe exposed weaknesses in warning systems, racial and economic inequalities in relief, and ultimately drove federal flood-control work that reshaped the lake decades later. Read more
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