TAVINA

TAVINA Transportes Colombiana de Aviación
IATA code :	QI
ICAO code :	QI
Call sign :
Founding:	29th September 1973
Operation stopped:	Mid 1985
Seat:	Bogotá , Colombia
Home airport :	Barranquilla Airport
IATA prefix code :	713
Fleet size:	6th
Aims:	41 national
TAVINA Transportes Colombiana de Aviación ceased operations in mid- 1985. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation.

TAVINA - Transportes Colombiana de Aviación was a Colombian regional airline based in Bogotá and based at Barranquilla Airport .

TANA - Transportes Aéreos Nacionales was another Colombian regional airline, which with the merger with Tavina represents a significant part of their common history.

history

The foundations

Transportes Colombiana de Aviación - TAVINA was founded on September 29, 1973 by private investors Gabriel and José Antonio Echavarría Obregón and Nora Ocampo. Originally, irregular services were offered from Cartagena with two six-seat Cessna 210s to the areas of Bolívar and Atlántico . After two years the company moved to Barranquilla. Soon two Piper Navajos and in December 1974 two Britten-Norman Trislanders with a capacity of up to 18 passengers and a rather unusual three-engine design were acquired. Regular flights to the entire Caribbean region and to Medellín have started from Barranquilla .

TANA (Transportes Aéreos Nacionales) was founded in September 1971 as Taxi Aéreo Nacional to carry out charter flights with four Beechcraft 18 from Bogotá to all parts of the country or to neighboring countries. The owner was a group of private investors. After the Douglas DC-3 operations at the Avianca base in Cali had ceased, TANA was granted the route rights in 1974. Four DC-3s were purchased for this. The routes connected Cali with the Pacific region and the south of the country. To emphasize the change from the air taxi category to the secondary airline for passengers, cargo and mail, the name was changed to Transportes Aéreos Nacionales, keeping the abbreviation TANA. In 1976, three Douglas DC-4s were purchased. The Beechcraft were replaced by a Beechcraft King Air and an Aero Commander 580 , and in 1977 a Cessna Citation executive jet was hired. At the end of 1977, Avianca bought two DC-3s to replace two old and a fourth DC-4 cargo aircraft.

In April 1978 the Consejo Superior Aeronáutico approved the merger of the TAVINA and TANA companies, which had decided to pool their capital and form a unified company, the TAVINA.

The merger (April 1978)

The idea of ​​the merger came about on the initiative of the owners of both companies, Gabriel Echavarría and Alfredo Sesana, in order to operate the routes on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific.

At the time of the merger, the two companies operated the following fleets:

• TAVINA:
  • 1 × Britten-Norman Trislander
  • 1 × Piper PA-31 Navajo
• TANA:
  • 1 × Beechcraft 65-B90 Queen Air
  • 1 × Aero Commander 690B
  • 2 × Douglas DC-3
  • 4 × Douglas DC-4

In order to completely renew the fleet, the DC-3 and DC-4 were first sold and various types of turboprop aircraft were acquired. The executive air taxi activities were taken over by the new company: Aeroejecutivos SA, also owned by the Echavarría family, who were also the general agent for the aircraft manufacturers Embraer , Britten-Norman and Swearingen .

In December 1978, Tavina received two Swearingen Metro IIs, each with 19 passenger seats , to accommodate new routes to the south and west of the country. From Bogotá there were regular connections to Quibdó , Neiva , Ipiales , Tumaco and Ocaña . This is how the new image of the company emerged, such as B. "TAVINA, the air line from coast to coast". A third Metro II was introduced in early 1979. In February and May 1980, two Trislanders were added to streamline the regular routes from Barranquilla, where a maintenance hangar for fleet maintenance had also been built at the newly opened Ernesto Cortissoz Airport. In 1981 and 1982, two Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante from Brazil with a capacity for 21 passengers each were acquired, with which further new routes were opened.

In 1983, for the tenth anniversary of TAVINAS, the fleet consisted of four DHC-6 Twin Otters and a Metro II. With almost 100 employees, 15 routes were operated daily to various cities on the Atlantic coast. The routes from Bogotá had been abandoned. The new plans included the opening of a route between San Andrés , as a permanent base, and Providencia , which should serve the islanders and tourists. From October 1983, night transport of parcels and mail between Bogotá and Barranquilla was introduced in specially deployed aircraft. In addition, Aeroejecutivos, a subsidiary of Tavina, provided special passenger transport services for multinational companies based in Barranquilla to develop and exploit the coal reserves of El Cerrejón in the La Guajira department .

Shortly after the crash landing of an airplane on the island of Providencia in July 1984, the result of a new study that had just been received was discussed within the company. This had examined the performance of the airline and demonstrated its limited ability to maintain its operations financially. As a result, the Tavina partners decided to liquidate the company in mid-1985.

Destinations

National

Aguachica , Apartadó , Bahía Solano , Barranquilla , Barú , Bogota , Bucaramanga , Cali , Cartagena , Cerrejón , Chivolo , Codazzi , Condoto , Corozal , Cucuta , El Banco , El Difícil , Guamal , Guapi , Ipiales , Lorica , Magangué , Maicao , Medellin , Mompox , Montelíbano , Montería , Neiva , Ocaña , Pivijay , Plato , Providencia , Puerto Asís , Quibdó , Riohacha , San Andrés , San Juan del Cesar , Santa Marta , Tumaco , Turbo , Valledupar .

fleet

Fleet at the end of operations

At the time of cessation of operations, TAVINA operated the following fleet:

• 1 × Britten-Norman Islander
• 5 × de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter

Previously deployed aircraft

Previously, TAVINA and TANA also operated the following aircraft types:

• Aero Commander 580
• Aero Commander 690B
• Beechcraft 18
• Britten-Norman Trislander
• Cessna 210
• Douglas DC-3
• Douglas DC-4
• Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
• Piper PA-31 Navajo
• Swearingen Metro II

Incidents

Up to the cessation of operations in 1985 Tavina suffered three total write-offs of aircraft. There were no fatalities.

• On January 9, 1978, an incident occurred with one of the Trislanders ( aircraft registration HK-1711 ), which was flying the route from Barranquilla to Valledupar with 16 passengers . After an engine failure , it had to be ditched in swampy marshland near Ciénaga Grande . The young captains made a perfect maneuver, in which the aircraft suffered some damage, but all occupants were unharmed. They were rescued by fishermen. The machine had to be scrapped.

• On May 29, 1982, there was an accident involving a gang leader (HK-2743) . The plane with five passengers on board flew from Barranquilla to Corozal . Two minutes after takeoff collided it with a T-33 - combat aircraft of the Colombian Air Force at an approximate altitude of 1500 feet. The fin was damaged by the impact . The pilots succeeded in ditching the Laguna de Malambo . None of the seven inmates on board the Bandeirante was injured. Among the passengers was the writer Manuel Zapata Olivella , who, along with the other occupants of the aircraft, was also rescued by fishermen. The FAC plane landed at Barranquilla Airport. This incident sparked a great deal of controversy as there was no communication between the Barranquilla control center and the facilities at the air force base , which operates at the same airport. In September 1982 a new gang belt was purchased to replace the aircraft lost in Malambo .

• Another incident occurred on July 27, 1984. An Aeroejecutivos Britten-Norman Islander (HK-2822X) , served by Tavina and coming from San Andrés, sagged as it approached Providencia Airport. Apparently the plane struck a house and fell to the ground near the threshold of the runway. Fortunately, there were no victims on that occasion either.

Web links

• Airblog Google Sites - TAVINA Colombia (French)
• airlinefan.com - airline-photos TAVINA-Colombia (English)
• aviacol.net - aerolineas desaparecidas: TAVINA | TANA (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1985 . Zurich 1985, p. 143.
2. ↑ ARTÍCULO 49th Consejo Superior Aeronáutico secretariasenado.gov.co, accessed January 10, 2019 (Spanish).
3. ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1978 . Zurich Airport 1978, p. 115.
4. ^ REG Davies: Airlines of Latin America since 1919. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1997, ISBN 0-85177-889-5 , p. 265.
5. ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1985 . Zurich Airport 1985, p. 143.
6. ↑ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international 1974 to 1985 . Zurich Airport 1974–1985.
7. ↑ Accident statistics Tavina Aviation Safety Network , accessed on January 10, 2019 (English).
8. ↑ Accident report Tavina BN-2 Trislander HK-1711 , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on January 10, 2019 (English).
9. ↑ CRASH of a BRITTEN-NORMAN TRISLANDER in CIÉNAGA GRANDE Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, accessed on January 10, 2019.
10. ↑ La pericia de los pilotos evitó una grave tragedia El Tiempo, accessed on January 10, 2019 (Spanish).
11. ↑ Accident report Tavina EMB-110 HK-2743 , Aviation Safety Network, accessed on January 10, 2019 (English).
12. ↑ Crash of an EMBRAER EMB-110P1 BANDEIRANTE In Barranquilla Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, accessed on January 10, 2019.
13. ↑ Accident report Tavina BN-2 Islander HK-2822X , Aviation Safety Network, accessed on January 10, 2019 (English).
14. ↑ Crash of a BRITTEN-NORMAN ISLANDER in Colombia Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, accessed on January 10, 2019 (English).