9 September 1913

Russian Army aviator Pyotr Nikolayovich Nesterov believed an aircraft could fly a loop, a feat not previously performed. Despite the doubts of his peers, Nesterov proved his theory on 9 September 1913 and became the first pilot to fly a loop. This was done in a Nieuport IV monoplane with a 70 hp Gnome engine over Syretzk Aerodrome near Kiev, before many watchers. For this he was disciplined with ten days of close arrest, ostensibly "for risking government property".