Historical timeline for December 23

The crash of Harmony Jets Flight 185 killed all eight people on board, including the Libyan Army chief Mohammed al-Haddad in Ankara, Turkey.

A series of massacres targeting Berom civilians unfold in the Plateau State in Nigeria, killing over 200 people and further injuring over 500. No group claims responsibility.

A bomb explodes at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, killing one airport cleaner. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claim responsibility for the attack four days later.

A coup d'état occurs in Guinea hours after the death of President Lansana Conté.

An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.

An Antonov An-140, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading across the Caspian Sea, crashes, killing 23 people.

An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.

A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.

History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.

Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.

After experiencing an engine fire, Aeroflot Flight 3519 attempts to make an emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport but crashes, killing 110 of the 111 people on board.

Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Alitalia Flight 4128 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea while on approach to Falcone Borsellino Airport in Palermo, Italy, killing 108.

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.

The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism.

The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.

The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.

The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.

Hilkka Saarinen née Pylkkänen is murdered in the so-called "oven homicide" case in Krootila, Kokemäki, Finland.