Eastern Air Lines

This article covers Eastern Air Lines , which was founded in 1926 and ceased operations in 1991. For the airline of the same name, which emerged in 2011 from the purchase of its trademark rights, see Eastern Air Lines (2011) .

Eastern Air Lines
IATA code :	EA
ICAO code :	EAL
Call sign :	EASTERN
Founding:	1926
Operation stopped:	1991
Seat:	Miami-Dade County , United States
Home airport :	Atlanta Airport
Number of employees:	45,000
Frequent Flyer Program :	OnePass
Fleet size:	434
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.easternairlines.aero
Eastern Air Lines ceased operations in 1991. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

Eastern Air Lines was an American airline based in Miami that went bankrupt on January 18, 1991 and had to cease operations.

history

An Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L-1011

Founded on April 19, 1926 under the name Pitcairn Aviation , the company has focused on mail transport between New York and Atlanta after winning a government contract . In 1929 it was taken over by North American Aviation and renamed Eastern Air Transport in 1930 . One began to expand the route network by taking over various smaller airlines and got into passenger traffic. As a result of the airmail scandal , the company was renamed Eastern Air Lines in 1934 and North American Aviation withdrew from the company. Led by the legendary flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker , a wonderful period of growth began.

After initially concentrating on routes on the American east coast, the network was extended to the rest of the country after 1945 and, from 1956, through the takeover of Colonial Airlines , to international routes. In 1960, jets of the types DC-8 and Boeing 720 were added to the fleet for the first time. From July 1977, Eastern Air Lines was the first American airline to also use aircraft from the European manufacturer with the Airbus A300 . The Airline Deregulation Act of October 28, 1978 made the airline's business difficult. The more profitable Delta Air Lines was a direct competitor at the important Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta .

From 1985 one took up the transatlantic traffic with the route Miami − London. In the mid-1980s, the company's rising personnel costs caused more and more problems. Attempts to lower it led to massive clashes with the unions , but not to the desired success. 1986 had the then president of the company, ex- NASA - Astronaut Frank Borman , eventually taking over the company weakened by the Texas Air Corporation agree.

The new management under Frank Lorenzo pursued an even more rigid austerity course and thus also came into confrontation with the workforce . In addition, efforts were made to weaken Eastern as an airline with a high degree of union organization in favor of other companies in the Texas Air Group. So were z. B. Eastern funds were transferred to other companies in the conglomerate , jets were sold to Continental Airlines , another company under the control of the group, without any payments being made , and the company's booking system was abolished to use that of Texas International from now on - around 10 million US dollar fee per month.

As a result of these actions and the already existing cost problem, Eastern got more and more into financial difficulties and was forced to cut staff massively. This in turn exacerbated the disputes between management and the trade unions and thus also the economic difficulties. Initially, attempts were made to relieve the company financially by selling route rights and closing airport hubs. Even so, Eastern Air Lines made more than $ 800 million in losses in 1989. The situation was exacerbated by strikes that at times paralyzed parts of the fleet. In January 1991, Eastern Air Lines finally ended, which collapsed under a debt of over one and a half billion dollars.

The name was bought in 2009 and a new Eastern Air Lines was founded in 2011 , which began flight operations at the end of May 2015. In June 2017 the company merged with Swift Air, whereupon the name Eastern Air Lines disappeared again.

Incidents

In its 65-year history, Eastern Air Lines had 42 total aircraft casualties, including 26 with 768 fatalities. Examples:

• On September 7, 1945, an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-3-201G ( aircraft registration number NC33631 ) suffered a fire in the rear cargo hold during flight. Even before an emergency landing could take place, there was a loss of control and a crash 10 km away from Florence (South Carolina) . All 22 people on board were killed.

• On May 30, 1947 fell Douglas DC-4 (C-54B) of the Eastern Air Lines (NC88814) on the regular flight from Newark (New Jersey) to Miami (Florida) from the cruising out in a forested area near Baltimore . All 53 people on board were killed. The cause could never be found.

Lockheed L-188A Electra accident, October 4, 1960

• On November 1, 1949, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft belonging to the Bolivian Aviation Authority (NX26927) collided with a Douglas DC-4 operated by Eastern Air Lines (N88727) shortly before Washington / National Airport , which was currently in the final approach curve . All 55 occupants of the DC-4 were killed. At this point in time, the Bolivian pilot had approached without clearance (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 537 ) .

• On October 4, 1960, a Lockheed L-188A Electra of Eastern Air Lines (N5533) had an accident after taking off from Boston Airport (Massachusetts, USA) due to a bird strike that had led to the failure of two engines. Of the 72 people on board, 62 were killed.

• On 30 November 1962 touched Douglas DC-7B of Eastern Air Lines (N815D) in the go-around in the fog on the New York-Idlewild with the two propellers left the floor in the airport area. The machine from Charlotte (North Carolina) had drifted to the left while going around and finally fell to the ground. The go-around procedure was not carried out correctly and quickly enough during the necessary rapid transition from visual flight back to instrument flight, so that the machine did not climb. Of the 51 inmates, 25 were killed.

• On 25 February 1964, a rushed Douglas DC-8-21 (N8607) incorrect due to trim a few minutes after takeoff from New Orleans in the Lake Pontchartrain . All 58 occupants of the machine were killed (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 304 ) .

• On February 8, 1965, an Eastern Airlines Douglas DC-7B (N849D) crashed on the flight from Boston to Atlanta six minutes after taking off from a stopover at New York-Idlewild Airport . All 79 passengers and the 5 crew members were killed (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 663 ) .

• On December 4, 1965, a joined Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation of Eastern Air Lines (N6218C) on the flight from Boston to New York to Carmel, New York, with a Boeing 707 of Trans World Airlines (N748TW) together, relying on the flight from San Francisco to New York. When the uncontrollable Super Constellation crash-landed on a field, in which the aircraft caught fire and was destroyed, 4 people died. The Boeing 707, however, remained controllable and made a successful emergency landing. It could be repaired (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 853 ) .

• On May 28, 1972, an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-31 (N8961E) crash-landed in Fort Lauderdale , Florida, United States. The main landing gear collapsed, the wings broke off and a fire broke out in which the aircraft was completely destroyed. The 10 people on board all survived the accident.

• On December 29, 1972, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (N310EA) crashed from New York to Miami over the Everglades. Of the 163 people on board, 101 were killed. The accident happened after the flight crew flew holding patterns over Florida and tried to fix a problem with a control lamp on the landing gear. In doing so, she inadvertently deactivated the autopilot, which caused the aircraft to lose altitude and finally hit the ground (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 401 ) .

• On September 11, 1974, an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-30 (N8984E) crashed just off the runway in Charlotte , North Carolina. 72 of the 82 inmates were killed.

• On June 24, 1975, a Boeing 727-225 (N8845E) flew into the approach lights of the runway at New York-JFK Airport in difficult weather conditions . At the time, there was severe wind shear . A total of 112 people were killed in the accident, 12 survived. There were 116 passengers and 8 crew members on board the machine (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 66 ) .

• On January 1, 1985, a Boeing 727-225 (N819EA) flew into Mount Illimani on approach to La Paz Airport , Bolivia . All 29 occupants were killed (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 980 ) .

kidnapping

The following case was not a flight accident, but an airplane hijacking without damage to property.

• On March 17, 1970, a passenger who could not pay for a ticket for a flight from Newark to Boston entered the cockpit of an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-31 (N8925E) and shot the captain and the first officer. The latter was able to overwhelm him, which also caused the kidnapper to be gunshot. The captain was able to land the machine safely at Logan International Airport in Boston, but the first officer succumbed to the gunshot wound he had suffered (see also Eastern Air Lines flight 1320 ) .

See also

• Former Airlines List (America)

Web links

Commons : Eastern Air Lines  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Web presence of the new Eastern Air Line (English)
• Images of the Eastern Fleet (English) ( Memento of 13 March 2007 at the Internet Archive ) images of the Eastern Fleet (English)
• History of Eastern Air Lines (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Airbus at thirty - Family planning." Flight International , accessed May 20, 2019.
2. ↑ aerotelegraph.com , accessed on January 31, 2014
3. ↑ Eastern Air Lines takes off for Cuba , accessed May 25, 2015
4. ↑ Ch-aviation - Swift Air to acquire Eastern Air Lines , accessed June 24, 2017
5. ↑ Accident Statistics Eastern Air Lines , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 24, 2017.
6. ↑ accident report DC-3 NC33631 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 24 November 2017th
7. ↑ accident report DC-4 NC88814 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 23 November 2017th
8. ↑ Air-Britain Archive: Casualty compendium part 50 (English), September 1993, p. 81.
9. ↑ Accident report DC-4 N88727 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 23, 2017.
10. ↑ accident report L-188A N5533 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 22 October of 2019.
11. ↑ accident report DC-7B N815D , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 5 March of 2019.
12. ↑ Aircraft Accident Report SA-379, File No. 1-0006 from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Internet Archive , accessed November 13, 2018
13. ↑ accident report DC-7B N849D , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 24 November 2017th
14. ↑ accident report L-1049C N6218C , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 22 December of 2019.
15. ↑ Accident report DC-9-31 N8961E , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on February 25, 2019.
16. ↑ accident report DC-9-30 N8984E , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 25 February of 2019.
17. ↑ accident report B 727-200 N8845E , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 24 November 2017th
18. ↑ accident report B 727-200 N819EA , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 24 November 2017th