Today In History; World's First Jet Airliner Makes It's First Flight

1952: With thirty-six passengers on board, the world's first jet airliner, the De Havilland Comet 1, took off on its maiden flight from London (England) to Johannesburg (South Africa) - a 7,000 mile journey. The flight, expected to take at least twenty-three hours, would make five stops, changing crews in Beirut and again in Khartoum. At the end of the first leg of the journey, each passenger received a certificate signed by the pilot, marking their historic flight.