December 6 , 1907 -- * December 21 , 1951 -- An explosion at Orient No . 2 mine in West Frankfort , Illinois kills 119 miners . The first commercial flight of a heavier-than-air machine was made by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. March 25 , 1947 -- 111 miners killed in explosion at the Centralia No . 5 mine in Centralia , Illinois . December 30 , 1970 -- 38 miners killed in explosions at mines in Hyden , Kentucky . May 20 , 2006 -- Five miners killed in explosion at Darby Mine No . 1 in Harlan County , Kentucky .
December 6 , 1907 -- The first commercial flight of a heavier-than-air machine was made by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. March 25 , 1947 -- 111 miners killed in explosion at the Centralia No . 5 mine in Centralia , Illinois . December 30 , 1970 -- 38 miners killed in explosions at mines in Hyden , Kentucky . May 20 , 2006 -- Five miners killed in explosion at Darby Mine No . 1 in Harlan County , Kentucky .