North Central Airlines

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North Central Airlines
LogoNorthCentralAirlines.svg
North Central DC-9 (5990013474) (2) .jpg
IATA code : NC
ICAO code : NC
Call sign : NORTH CENTRAL
Founding: 1944
Operation stopped: 1979
Seat: Minneapolis , Minnesota
Management: Francis Higgins
Fleet size: 63 (March 1979)
Aims: 92
North Central Airlines ceased operations in 1979. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

North Central Airlines was an airline that primarily scheduled flights in the Midwest of the United States carried out. It was founded in Clintonville in 1944 as Wisconsin Central Airlines and in 1947 relocated to Madison . The company was named North Central Airlines in 1952 . In 1979 it merged with Southern Airways to form Republic Airlines , which in turn became Northwest Airlines in 1986 .

history

Origin and foundation

The Four Wheel Drive Automobile Company (FWD), a manufacturer of all-wheel drives and trucks from Clintonville , Wisconsin , swapped a truck for a Waco double-decker at the end of 1939 , which was used for the first time as an in-house business jet to transport executive employees the following year . On May 15, 1944, the business aviation division of FWD became the subsidiary Wisconsin Central Airlines , whose management was transferred to the former FWD advertising manager Francis Higgins. He appointed Hal Carr, only 25, to be his representative. In 1946 the company received an Air Operator Certificate as an "Interstate Carrier" from the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) . In the same year, operations began with two Cessna UC-78s , which initially served six cities within the state of Wisconsin. On December 31, 1946, Wisconsin Central Airlines won a tender for scheduled mail shipments on CAM Route 86 . However, because aircraft and vehicle manufacturers had not been allowed to hold shares in scheduled airlines since the airmail scandal of 1934 , the Four Wheel Drive Automobile Company had to cede its shares to private investors before the mail flights began. Even before the post flight operations commenced, the company commissioned the designer Karl Brocken to create a corporate design that was used until operations ceased in 1979 and was nicknamed Herman the Duck .

On February 24, 1948, Wisconsin Central Airlines opened scheduled flight operations on CAM Route 86 with three Lockheed Electra 10A's , which also allowed passengers to be taken along. This mail flight route from Chicago initially included 13 destinations in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota . At that time, 21 more airfields were under construction in these two states as well as in Michigan , to which Wisconsin Central Airlines had also received route rights. With the opening of these airports, the company was able to continuously expand its route network in the following years. For this purpose, three more Electras were purchased.

1950s to 1970s

In 1950 the company flew from Chicago to 20 destinations in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota as planned. The company took over its first six Douglas DC-3s from Trans World Airlines in the spring of 1951 . Wisconsin Central Airlines moved its headquarters from Wisconsin to Minneapolis in 1952 and changed its name to North Central Airlines at the end of the year . At the same time, Francis Higgins left the company, shortly afterwards his representative Hal Carr. In November 1952, the company served 26 airports west of Lake Michigan year-round , and two more seasonally. The route network ranged from Chicago in the southeast to Fargo and Grand Forks in the west and International Falls in the north. Detroit was added to the flight plan in 1953.

The airline ran into financial difficulties after the renaming, so that Hal Carr was asked in 1954 to take over the line again. Carr led the company out of debt and made it more reliable. In 1958 the company deployed 32 DC-3s and carried 780,000 passengers.

Development concerning passenger traffic in millions of passenger miles
year Passenger miles
1951 15th
1955 67
1960 169
1965 268
1970 778
1975 1029
North Central DC- 9-31 at Toronto Pearson International Airport 1971

In 1959 Omaha and destinations in North and South Dakota were added , Denver in 1969 and a non-stop connection from Milwaukee to LaGuardia Airport in New York City in 1970 . From 1959 the company bought a total of five Convair 340s from Continental Airlines . In 1960, North Central reached the million-passenger mark. In May 1968 she flew to 64 destinations - two of them in Canada . The fleet was also expanded to include Convair 440 .

Like other regional airlines, North Central Airlines was subsidized by the state. In 1962, it contained public funds amounting to 8.5 million US dollars .

In 1963, North Central Airlines won a US government tender worth USD 800,000 , the aim of which was to rehabilitate the economically troubled Bolivian Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano . She then provided technical and organizational support for this airline.

In 1967 North Central Airlines put the first Douglas DC-9-31 into service and had their piston-powered Convair 340 and Convair 440 converted to turboprop-powered Convair 580 , with which the company operated 29 Convair turboprops. The last DC-3 were decommissioned in 1969.

In 1969, North Central Airlines relocated its headquarters to the south of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport . The building is now used by Delta Air Lines .

Basically, the then aviation authority of the USA - the Civil Aeronautics Board - classified North Central Airlines as a regional airline that flies to cities within a region and takes passengers to flights of larger, nationally operating companies. However, North Central also received permits to service a few lines outside of the Midwest . These destinations included Washington National Airport in Washington, DC , LaGuardia Airport in New York City , Logan International Airport in Boston , Stapleton International Airport in Denver, and Tucson International Airport in Tucson . Due to the national deregulation of air traffic in the USA, North Central Airlines was able to expand further and add McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 to its fleet.

Mergers

After the Airline Deregulation Act was passed on October 28, 1978, North Central Airlines bought Atlanta- based Southern Airways in July 1979 and changed its name to Republic Airlines . The next destination was the San Francisco- based Hughes Airwest . The purchase agreement was signed in October 1980 for $ 38.5 million. The airline stumbled in the early 1980s under the weight of two company purchases and new aircraft. As a result, a human version of the mascot Herman the Duck was even introduced. Republic Airlines retained the hubs of North Central Airlines in Minneapolis and Detroit, as well as the hub of the Southern Airways in Memphis. However, within a few years it closed the former Hughes Airwest hub at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix , Arizona and greatly reduced Hughes Airwest's route network in the western United States. It also reduced the locations of North Central Airlines at O'Hare International Airport and Southern Airways at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport . In addition, Republic Airlines reduced activities at smaller airports in the northern Midwest and concentrated its fleets in Minneapolis and Detroit.

In 1986 Republic Airlines merged with Northwest Orient Airlines , which was also headquartered in Minneapolis and had a base in Detroit.

fleet

Two Convair CV-580 of North Central Airlines in Chicago O'Hare in 1973

The company has used the following types of aircraft in the course of its history:

Incidents

The company recorded five serious accidents in which a total of 54 people were killed. In addition, a Douglas DC-9 was hijacked in 1972 and 1978 without any personal injury.

  • On June 24, 1968, a North Central Airlines plane tore a guy rope of a 619 meter high transmission tower of the television station KELO-TV in Sioux Falls . The tower only stood for less than a year and was completely destroyed. The plane landed safely and there were no injuries.
  • On August 4, 1968, a Convair CV-580 ( aircraft registration number N4634S ) collided with a Cessna 150 on North Central Airlines Flight 261 19 km southwest of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee at an altitude of 2,700 feet. The Convair, coming from Chicago , was about to land on runway 07. The Cessna, flying to the northwest, hit the front cargo hold of the Convair. As a result, the Convair lost its electrical energy and the right engine failed due to a damaged propeller . Six minutes later the master of the Convair was able to make a successful emergency landing . All three passengers on the Cessna were killed in the accident and the Convair co-pilot suffered severe leg and head injuries. Another three crew members and eight passengers were uninjured. Among other factors, the severe soiling of the cockpit windows by insects led to the accident.
  • On December 27, 1968, a Convair CV-580 (N2045) crashed into a hangar on North Central Airlines Flight 458 on approach to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago , killing 27 of the 45 occupants and one other person on the ground . Another six people on the ground were injured.
  • On 29 June 1972, a Convair CV-580 collided (N90858) in the North Central Airlines Flight 290 with a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter of Air Wisconsin (N4043B) . Both machines crashed into Lake Winnebago five kilometers east of Neenah . All five occupants of the Convair (three crew members and two passengers) and all eight occupants of the Twin Otter (two crew members and six passengers) were killed in the accident. The collision occurred at an altitude of 2500 feet on a mostly clear but hazy late morning when the CV-580 , coming from Green Bay , approached Wittman Regional Airport with a two hour delay . The Air Wisconsin aircraft was en route from Sheboygan to Appleton and both machines were flying under visual flight rules .
  • On 20 December 1972, a received McDonnell Douglas DC-9 -31 (N954N) in the North Central Airlines Flight 575, the start permission from the air traffic control at O'Hare International Airport while a recently landed Convair 880 of Delta Air Lines ( N8807E) the statement was that slopes to cross and advance to roll. The DC-9 had just lifted off in thick fog when it hit the stern of the CV-880. Ten of the 45 people on board the DC-9 were killed in the collision and 15 people were injured. Two people were slightly injured on board the CV-880.
  • On July 25, 1978, a Convair 580 (N4825C) took off on North Central Airlines Flight 801 in fog at 7:00 a.m. local time from Kalamazoo / Battle Creek International Airport in Michigan . The aircraft had a bird strike immediately after taking off from runway 17 and lost power in the right engine. The machine stayed in the air for 79 seconds, then leaned to the left and crashed into a cornfield east of the airport. Of the forty passengers and crew on board, two passengers and one crew member were seriously injured and there were no deaths. The NTSB report cited a pilot error as the reason for the accident because the master did not follow the correct emergency procedures.

literature

  • JM Gradidge: The Convairliners Story . Air Britain Historians Ltd, 1997, ISBN 0-85130-243-2 , pp. 336 .

Web links

Commons : North Central Airlines  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ FE Bucher, U. Klee: JP airline-fleets International 79 . Editions JP, Zurich 1979, ISBN 3-85758-113-1 , pp. 136 .
  2. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International, April 22, 1978, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Northwest Airlines nwa.com - About Northwest - NWA Up Close. www.nwa.com, accessed June 26, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Aero, edition 82, year 1985, p. 2275 ff.
  5. ^ North Central Airlines, History - Introcution 1 , accessed March 27, 2018
  6. ^ North Central Airlines Aircraft Liveries. hermantheduck.org, 2003, accessed March 29, 2018 .
  7. ^ North Central Airlines, History - Introcution 2 , accessed March 27, 2018
  8. ^ North Central Airlines, route map February 1948 , accessed March 27, 2018
  9. ↑ Wisconsin Central Airlines, flight schedule October 1, 1950 (in English), accessed March 30, 2018
  10. ↑ a b c North Central Airlines, History - Introcution 3 , accessed March 30, 2018
  11. ^ Right off the tape. Article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, February 17, 1953, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  12. ^ Wisconsin Central Airlines, flight schedule November 1, 1952 , accessed March 30, 2018
  13. ↑ Handbook of Airline Statistics . US Civil Aeronautics Board, Office of Carrier Accounts and Statistics, Research and Statistics Division, 1977.
  14. ^ Moody's transportation manual . Moody's Investors Service, New York 1964.
  15. ^ North Central Airlines, History - Introcution 4 , accessed March 30, 2018
  16. ↑ JM Gradidge: The Story Convairliners . Air Britain Historians Ltd, 1997, ISBN 0-85130-243-2 , pp. 336 .
  17. ^ North Central, Southern Airways merger gets final OK from Carter. Article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, June 5, 1979, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  18. ^ Republic looking at Airwest. Article in the Milwaukee Journal, March 12, 1980, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Republic Airlines takes over Hughest Airwest on Oct. Article 1 in Deseret News, September 18, 1980, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Lawrence Sussman: Republic's financial woes leave Milwaukee vulnerable. Article in the Milwaukee Journal, December 15, 1981 accessed on 25 March 2018 .
  21. ↑ Duck the issue? Airline promoters try anything. Article in Free-Lance Star, April 8, 1982, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Lizzie Ehrenhalt: The amazing journey of Herman the Duck, Minnesota's goofiest historic artifact. Article in the Twin Cities Daily Planet, accessed March 19, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Northwest-Republic merger creates third-largest carrier. Article in Miami News, August 1, 1986, accessed March 25, 2018 .
  24. ^ Statistics from North Central Airlines. Aviation Safety Network , March 4, 2012, accessed March 30, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Our History: 1960 - 1969. (No longer available online.) KELO-TV, archived from the original on March 26, 2018 ; accessed on March 24, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.keloland.com
  26. ↑ Midair crash kills 3 near Mitchell Field. Article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, August 5, 1968, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  27. ^ Accident Report NTSB-AR-69-04. (PDF) National Transportation Safety Board, July 8, 1969, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  28. ↑ Bugs hurt visibility, air crash pilot says. Article in the Milwaukee Journal, August 6, 1968 accessed on 24 March 2018 .
  29. ↑ Kenneth Roesslein: Heroic pilot confident of safe landing. Article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, August 6, 1968, accessed March 19, 2018 .
  30. ^ Accident Report NTSB-AR-70-27. (PDF) National Transportation Safety Board, November 12, 1970, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  31. ↑ Thomas Lubenow: Why did 2 planes collide over lake? Article in the Milwaukee Journal, June 30, 1972, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Accident Report CV-580 N90858 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on 25 July 2020th
  33. ^ Report Number NTSB-AAR-73-09. (PDF) National Transportation Safety Board, April 25, 1973, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  34. ^ Witnesses describe June air crash. Article in the Milwaukee Journal, September 20, 1972, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  35. ↑ 11 are killed in the crash of the Airliner in Chicago. Article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 21, 1972, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  36. ↑ 43 survive North Central plane crash. Article in the Telegraph-Herald, July 25, 1978, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  37. ↑ 43 survive plane crash. Article in Spokesman Review, July 26, 1978, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  38. ↑ No fatalities in plane crash. Article in the Gadsden Times, July 25, 1978, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  39. ^ Blame pilot in North Central crash. Article in the Milwaukee Sentinel, February 24, 1979, accessed March 24, 2018 .
  40. ^ Accident Report NTSB-AR-79-04. (PDF) National Transporation Safety Board, February 22, 1979, accessed March 24, 2018 .