Aeroplane Aeroplanes ( or airplane ) were a form of transport that travelled in the air . Whilst in flight , passengers were cared for by air stewardess es . ( TV : " Logopolis " ) The Fifth Doctor " expected " to be able to fly a plane , and would have managed to do so properly had the Dalek s not attacked the craft . ( AUDIO : " Fugitives " ) The Eleventh Doctor was due for a lesson in flying a bi - plane in 1911 . However , it may have in fact been a knitting lesson . ( TV : " The Impossible Astronaut " ) Despite this , he couldn ' t fly a plane at all . ( TV : " The Bells of Saint John " ) History . Leonardo da Vinci tried to build a flying machine ( " a sort of aeroplane " , as Steven Taylor put it ) after the Monk discussed with him the principles of powered flight . ( TV : " Checkmate " ) Aeroplanes were finally invented by the Wright Brothers in the early 20th century . Lethbridge - Stewart ' s father could remember reading about their first flight . ( PROSE : " The Dying Days " ) By 1904 , the brothers had " barely flown sixty feet yet " . ( PROSE : " Gudok " ) In 1932 , Japan ese aircraft launched from the aircraft carrier " Hosho " attacked Shanghai . In 1937 , they used Mitsubishi Ki - 15 s and Mitsubishi A5M s on air raids against China . ( PROSE : " The Shadow of Weng - Chiang " ) In 1941 , Edwin Bracewell used gravity bubble s on modified Spitfire s , sending them into space . There they disabled the Dalek flying saucer ' s transmitter . ( TV : " Victory of the Daleks " ) In 1964 , a light aircraft nearly collided with the TARDIS , which had materialised in mid - air over Alaska . ( AUDIO : " The Land of the Dead " ) The same year , a plane which left New York City with a crew of eleven and hundreds of passengers landed in London with no - one aboard , not even the pilot . The matter was investigated by Professor Rachel Jensen of the Intrusion Countermeasures Group . ( AUDIO : " State of Emergency " ) In 1966 , Chameleon Tours operated select flights from Gatwick Airport . They kidnapped passengers , taking them to a space station , and putting them in suspended animation whilst miniaturised . They were then replaced by Chameleons . ( TV : " The Faceless Ones " ) In the 1970s , UNIT deployed an RAF air strike that destroyed the Krynoid at Chase Mansion . ( TV : " The Seeds of Doom " ) In 1982 , two Concorde s , Golf Victor Foxtrot and Golf Alpha Charlie , were taken 140 million years into the past when they flew into a time corridor . ( TV : " Time - Flight " ) In 2007 , the Sky Gypsy came through the Cardiff Space - Time Rift . It carried Diane Holmes , John Ellis , and Emma - Louise Cowell . Diane attempted to return through it by flying again in the same conditions . ( TV : " Out of Time " ) In 2013 , Miss Kizlet , who had control of all of human ity through the Wi - Fi , made everyone on an aeroplane , including the pilot , fall asleep , and the plane came crashing down towards George Maitland ' s house . Using the TARDIS , the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald entered the plane and changed its course to prevent a crash . Everyone on the airplane woke up when the Doctor disabled the plane ' s Wi - Fi . ( TV : " The Bells of Saint John " ) Other Realities . Dream World . In a dream future created by the Kantrofarri , Clara learned to fly a plane . ( TV : " Last Christmas " )