aiREFORM.com

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19580530: The Douglas DC-8 first flew. On August 31, 1959, FAA type-certificated this four-engine long-range jet airliner with a maximum capacity for 189 passengers. The plane entered scheduled airline service with Delta on September 18, 1959.
19740530: FAA certificated the Airbus A-300, the first of a series of wide-body transport aircraft produced by Airbus Industrie, an international consortium established in December 1970 with French, West German, British, Spanish, Dutch, and Belgian partner companies. The emergence of Airbus Industrie signaled greater competition for U.S. aircraft manufacturers. (See April 6, 1978.)
19910530: DOT announced a $5 million grant to Stewart International Airport, Newburgh, N.Y., the first award under the Military Airports Program mandated by the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990 (see November 5, 1990).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19390529: CAA’s Indianapolis Experimental Station opened with the mission of seeking improvements in ultra-high-frequency radio ranges, transmitters, receivers, instrument landing systems, airport lighting methods, and other air navigation aids. Located on a landing area contiguous with the municipal airport, the station was made available by the city of Indianapolis through a long-term lease arrangement. Its facilities included a hangar, laboratory, and shop building constructed in accordance with the Authority’s specifications.
19740529: FAA announced a new advisory circular on safety parameters for hang gliding, which included recommendations not to fly: over 500 feet above general terrain; in clouds; in controlled airspace, or within five miles of an uncontrolled airport without proper notification; in restricted or controlled areas without prior permission; over or within 100 feet horizontally of buildings, populated areas, or crowds.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19370528: National Aviation Day occurred for the first time, on a one-time basis, pursuant to a Presidential proclamation issued in accordance with Public Resolution No. 32, 75th Congress, approved May 25, 1937. May 28 was selected because it marked the 20th anniversary of the decision to design what later became known as the Liberty engine, the principal U.S. contribution to aeronautics during World War I. (See August 19, 1939.)
19480528: The President approved legislation directing CAA to construct and operate public airports at or near Anchorage and Fairbanks “adequate for the needs of air-transportation services and air commerce of the United States serving the territory of Alaska and foreign countries by way of points within the territory of Alaska.” The act also authorized the Administrator to provide for facilities, roads, and services necessary to the operation of the airports.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19460527: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Causby v. United States that flights over private land represent the taking of an air easement if they are “so low and so frequent as to be a direct and immediate interference with the enjoyment and use of the land.” Causby owned a small chicken farm near a municipal airport used by military aircraft that passed over his property at an altitude below 100 feet. The noise from these flights frightened the chickens, caused a drop in production, and eventually forced Causby to close down his chicken-raising operation. The Court found that the United States had taken an air easement over Causby’s property that interfered with its normal use. Causby’s Fifth Amendment rights had been violated, it held, because his property had been put to public use without just compensation. (See December 13, 1956, and March 5, 1962.)
19560527: The Sud-Aviation SE 210 Caravelle made its first flight.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19610526: FAA Administrator Halaby disclosed his intention to decentralize the agency’s operational responsibilities and broaden the authority of regional executives. He selected FAA’s Region One, with Headquarters in New York, for the pilot program, and chose Oscar Bakke, head of the Bureau of Flight Standards, to develop the program and to submit a transition plan which would be used as a model for reorganization of the other regions. Bakke assumed the title of Assistant Administrator for the Eastern Region, effective July 1 (see that date).
19650526: In the U.S. Army’s closely contested light observation helicopter competition, the Hughes Model 369 (YOH-6A) was announced the winner over two other entries, the Bell 206 (OH-4A) and the Fairchild-Hiller 1100 (OH-5A1).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19610525: A Special Civil Air Regulation effective this date banned the use of portable FM radios on U.S. civil aircraft. Radios having oscillators operating within or very near the Very High Frequency (VHF) band affected the VHF radio navigation system of the aircraft.
19700525: FAA issued the first supplemental type certificate for installation and operation of area navigation equipment in general aviation aircraft to the Butler National Corporation for use of the Butler Vector Analog Computer. The certificate permitted the use of this equipment during the en route, terminal, and approach phases of operation. (See October 1, 1969.)
19780525: PATCO began intermittent slowdowns to protest the refusal of some U.S. flag carriers to provide controllers with overseas familiarization flights.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19460524: The Civil Aeronautics Administration gave an initial demonstration of the first radar-equipped control tower for civilian flying atop the agency’s Experimental Station at Indianapolis Municipal Airport. Raytheon had built the basic radar equipment for the Navy, and the company’s engineers directed modifications at Indianapolis that included improvements lately developed for that service. Among these were an improved search antenna and a feature that eliminated ground clutter by permitting only moving targets to appear on the screen. (See June 30, 1945.)
19500524: Reorganization Plan No. 5 became effective. The plan, one of a number put into effect under the Reorganization Act of 1949, stemmed in part from recommendations of the Hoover Commission (see March 1, 1949).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19260523: Western Air Express (WAE) became one of the first U.S. airlines to offer regular passenger service, flying from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City via Las Vegas. WAE had begun flying on April 17 as the fourth carrier to begin operations under a new air mail contract system that became the major source of income for the era’s small but growing airline industry (see June 3, 1926).
Over twelve years earlier, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line had offered the world’s first regularly scheduled airline service using heavier-than-air craft. This enterprise lasted for only the first three months of 1914. On March 1, 1925, T. Claude Ryan’s Los Angeles-San Diego Air Line had begun the first scheduled passenger service operated wholly over the U.S. mainland and throughout the year.
19330523: Clarence M. Young resigned as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, effective June 15. (See June 10, 1933.)
19480523: The Secretaries of Defense and Commerce announced preliminary agreement to set up an Air Navigation Development Board (ANDB).

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19320522: Amelia Earhart became the first woman to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic by airplane, flying from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in a Lockheed Vega.
19620522: An explosion blew the tail off a Continental Air Lines 707 flying over southern Iowa, killing all 45 persons aboard. Officials later cited the probable cause as a dynamite detonation in a rear lavatory. On June 5, a government/industry steering committee headed by FAA Administrator Halaby convened to review efforts to combat the aircraft bombing hazard.
19690522: Administrator Shaffer requested plans for consolidating regional and area offices located in the same city within the contiguous United States.

Full FAA Chronology at this link.
19270521: Charles A. Lindbergh, a former air mail pilot, made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in an airplane, a Ryan monoplane dubbed the Spirit of St. Louis. He flew the 3,610 miles from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, N.Y., to Le Bourget Field, Paris, France, in 33 hours 29 minutes.
Lindbergh’s feat provided a strong stimulus to U.S. aviation, and made him a world hero whose fame overshadowed earlier Atlantic crossings by air.