Capitol Air
| Capitol Air | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | CL |
| ICAO code : | CL |
| Call sign : | CAPITOL |
| Founding: | 1946 as Capitol Airways |
| Operation stopped: | 1984 |
| Seat: |
Smyrna , Tennessee , United States
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| Home airport : | Smyrna Airport |
| Fleet size: | 13 (March 1984) |
| Aims: | USA, Caribbean, Europe |
| Capitol Air ceased operations in 1984. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Capitol Air (originally Capitol Airways , trading as Capitol International Airways from 1967 to 1981 ) was an American airline that ceased operations on November 25, 1984.
history
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Capitol Air was born on June 11, 1946 under the name Capitol Airways by three former USAAF pilots in Nashville founded and received by the US Aviation Authority Civil Aviation Board classification as a charter airline ( Supplemental Airlines ). This classification prohibited the individual sale of tickets and the establishment of fixed flight connections between two locations, so that Capitol Airways was only allowed to operate ad hoc charter flights with its Douglas DC-3 and Lockheed Lodestar aircraft . Due to these restrictions, the company was initially also active as a flight school and in the trade in used aircraft.
From 1954, Capitol Airways regularly took part in tenders from the US armed forces, which subsequently became the company's most important customer. The company acquired several used Curtiss C-46s for military contract flights . At the same time, a Douglas DC-4 was used in civil ad hoc charter traffic. In early 1958, Capitol Airways sought liner rights between Miami and Chicago , but did not get these approved by the Civil Aviation Board . The fleet at that time consisted of 16 Curtiss C-46s and a Lockheed L-749 Constellation . In the late 1950s, the company moved its operational base to Wilmington , Delaware . Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation , which was acquired second -hand, was used on military and civil charter flights to Europe from the early 1960s. In September 1963 , Capitol Airways put its first jet aircraft, a Douglas DC-8 Jet Trader , into service for military contract services. The machine could be used either for the transport of military personnel or for freight transport. On February 9, 1964, the aircraft completed a direct flight from Tokyo to Wilmington in 12 hours and 25 minutes, setting a new world record for the longest non-stop flight to date.
From 1964 the company also carried out IT charter traffic for the tour operator Berliner Flugring from West Berlin Tempelhof Airport . At the same time, Capitol Airways operated several Curtiss C-46s on behalf of Air France and Lufthansa on cargo flights within Europe. In March 1967 the company was renamed Capitol International Airways . The company started using a fleet consisting exclusively of Douglas DC-8s from the spring of 1970 and relocated its corporate base to Smyrna Airport in Tennessee in the following year . The Airline Deregulation Act passed by the US Congress in October 1978 made it legally possible for Capitol International Airways to set up scheduled connections. From May 1979 onwards there were scheduled flights from Boston , Chicago and New York to Brussels , which were offered at very affordable rates. As a result of the deregulation of air traffic, competition among US airlines intensified considerably, so that Capitol International Airways got into increasing economic difficulties.
The company facing bankruptcy was bought in 1980 by George Batchelor, who also owned majority stakes in Arrow Air and the leasing company International Air Leases . The company was named Capitol Air in December 1981 . In addition to international charter and scheduled flight operations, the establishment of a national route network has begun. For this purpose, Capitol Air rented four McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s from International Air Leases . In September 1982 the company made scheduled flights to Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Frankfurt , Los Angeles , Miami , New York, Philadelphia , Puerto Plata , San Francisco , San Juan and Zurich . Scheduled flight operations caused considerable losses, so that from January 1983 Capitol Air only operated charter flights and reduced their number of employees considerably. George Batchelor sold his shares to a New York investment group that same year. In parallel, the leased McDonnell Douglas DC-10s were assigned to Arrow Air . In March 1984 the fleet consisted of 13 Douglas DC-8s, which were mainly used in cargo charter services for other companies. In addition, an Airbus A300 and a Boeing 727-200 were operated on IT charter flights in the summer of 1984 . Both aircraft were briefly leased from Hapag-Lloyd Flug . The flight operations were discontinued on November 25, 1984 for economic reasons.
Continued use of the brand name
The rights to the brand identity of Capitol Air were acquired by the Red Apple Aviation Group , which founded the airline Capitol Air Express ( Capitol for short in the external image ) in 1992 . Capitol Air Express was initially based at Washington Dulles International Airport , later in Smyrna (Tennessee) and used its Boeing 727 mainly on routes to Florida . The company was dissolved in 1996.
fleet
The company used the following aircraft and helicopters:
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Incidents
- On November 16, 1958, a Curtiss C-46 hit after an engine failure near Fort Collins in the Rocky Mountains . The two pilots were killed.
- On October 15, 1960, a Curtiss C-46 lost a wing while approaching Hill Air Force Base, Utah . The two crew members died in the crash.
- On January 22, 1961, the left engine of a Curtiss C-46 caught fire. The fire spread in the landing gear shaft and resulted in the tearing of the left wing. Both pilots were killed in the crash near Katy in Texas .
- On September 13, 1967, a Curtiss C-46 suffered an engine failure shortly after taking off from Palisadoes Airport ( Jamaica ). The pilots ditched .
- On April 28, 1968, a Douglas DC-8-31 had an accident at Atlantic City Airport . The four crew members who completed a training flight survived the incident. The aircraft was written off as a total loss.
- On November 27, 1970, a Douglas DC-8-63 of Capitol International Airways (registration number N4909C ) with soldiers on its way to Cam Ranh Bay in the Vietnam War took off from Anchorage (Alaska, USA) due to an unexplained fault in the braking system did not lock the brakes and shot past the end of the runway. The problem was noticed too late by the pilots. Of the 229 occupants, 47 died, 182 survived (see also Capitol International Airways flight C2C3 / 26 ) .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Flight International, March 31, 1984
- ↑ a b c d e f g Aerodacious, Post Deregulation Air Mail First Flights, Capitol International Airways
- ^ Flight International, February 14, 1958
- ↑ Aviation News for Berlin and Brandenburg, Issue 10, October 2009
- ^ Flight International, March 26, 1970
- ↑ Flight plan Capitol International Airways, May 1979
- ↑ rzjets.net, Capitol Air
- ^ Flight International, October 30, 1982
- ^ Capitol Air, September 1982 flight plan
- ^ Flight International, January 29, 1983
- ^ The New York Times, Gander Crash puts spotlight on aviation group and its regulatory clashes, December 24, 1985
- ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 84
- ↑ rz.jets.com, Capitol Air fleet overview
- ↑ airliners.net, rented A300 from Hapag-Lloyd
- ↑ airlines-airliners.com, Capitol International Airways
- ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 94/95
- ↑ Flight International, various issues
- ↑ JP aircraft markings and JP airline-fleets international, various years
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, November 16, 1958
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, October 15, 1960
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, January 22, 1961
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, September 13, 1967
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, April 28, 1968
- ↑ accident report DC-8-63 N4909C , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 11 November 2017th
