1979
- August 2 – Cessna 501, N15NY. Thurman Munson, catcher for the New York Yankees, died in a crash of his personal jet while practicing touch-and-go landings at Akron-Canton Regional Airport.
- August 24 – A Stearman biplane, aircraft registration number N48784, flew into electrical transmission lines that cross Lake Natoma at Mississippi Bar. Jacquelyn Burnett, a passenger in the biplane, was killed. The pilot, Stephen Francis Williams, was convicted of manslaughter. His conviction marked the first time in United States history that a pilot was held criminally responsible for the death of a passenger. Williams had previously killed his own 12-year-old daughter, Patricia Anna Williams, by attempting a takeoff in dense fog at the Salinas Municipal Airport.
Read more about this topic: List Of Accidents And Incidents Involving General Aviation