When handed a spectacular window of opportunity, the last thing you want to do is break it. But that’s exactly what happened in Ottawa on August 5, 1959. And then some.

During the last gasp of the 1950s, the busiest airport in Canada was Uplands, later renamed Ottawa International Airport, and now known as Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International.

The federal government put big money into new facilities there, including cutting-edge architecture and comfy new amenities for the growing number of people embracing commercial travel.

Federal and local officials saw the official opening of the airport as a perfect chance to showcase Ottawa as an international aviation hub, so they pulled out all the stops.

During a full rehearsal the day before, the Royal Canadian Air Force put on quite a show. It also got support from its U.S. counterpart, which sent up a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, a state-of-the-art jet that represented America’s advanced technology and military might.

The practice session went flawlessly, until a Canadian official decided to add a show-stopping spectacle. He asked the American pilot to showcase his jet’s most powerful manoeuvre.

Happy to, the pilot pulled the Starfighter into a low, flat turn toward the terminal and gunned the engines. The powerful jet screamed past in a dazzling, deafening, supersonic fly-by, traveling at Mach 1, or 1,200 km/h (741........

© Sarnia Observer