Today in History - February 24 | Family refuses seat upgrade on Australia flight - and walk off alive
On February 24, 1989, nine people died when disaster struck a United Airlines passenger flight from Hawaii to Sydney.
Shortly after take-off from Honolulu, a huge hole blew through the Boeing 747 plane, sucking out the nine victims who had been in business class.
American Stuart McClure, his mother and younger brother could have been among the victims, but they turned down the chance of a seat upgrade before they boarded the flight.
Survivors recalled being woken during the night flight by a huge boom and cloud of smoke.
The veteran pilot initially believed a bomb had gone off aboard the plane and rapidly dropped altitude as passengers prepared for a water landing.
The stricken aircraft landed safety back in Hawaii a short time later. US air safety investigators later found faulty wiring had caused a cargo hold door to tear off during the flight.
British American rock band Fleetwood Mac, from left Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and John McVie, released their eponymous debut album on February 24, 1968.
Despite not having a hit single, Fleetwood Mac reached number four in the UK. The album was the only Fleetwood Mac LP to not include keyboardist and vocalist Christine McVie (wife of John), who joined the group two years later.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on national television he was launching a "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Putin argued that Ukrainians and Russians historically have always been one people, and that Ukraine's sovereignty is merely an illegitimate holdover from the Soviet era.
Legendary rock 'n roll singer Elvis Presley separated from his wife of six years Priscilla on February 24, 1972.
She had first met the world famous musician at the age of 14 when he was posted to Germany while on national service with the US army.
They tied the knot in Las Vegas in 1967, but the couple were driven apart by Elvis's alleged infidelities and her affair with a karate instructor.
Anti-aircraft guns started firing wildly over the city of Los Angeles during World War II on February 24, 1942, when authorities thought it was under enemy attack.
Just months after the devastating Pearl Harbor raid by Japan, nerves were fragile across the mainland US.
But what became known as he "Great Los Angeles Air Raid" was actually started by a released weather balloon being mistaken for a Japanese plane.
Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on February 24, 2020, was found guilty of rape and a criminal sexual act in a landmark court case.
His conviction, which was later overturned by an appeals court over a legal technicality, galvanised the #MeToo movement, which erupted when women began going public with accounts of his behaviour.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
