Aviation in Puerto Rico

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Aviation in Puerto Rico has a complex and long history, almost as long as the history of aviation itself. Puerto Rican aviation history has been filled with events, well-known characters and airline companies which have shaped the country's transportation services and the way people travel between cities and to other countries.

History of aviation in Puerto Rico

Before aviation became a popular means of travel in Puerto Rico, most Puerto Ricans and foreigners in the Puerto Rican archipelago did their travel to cities on the Puerto Rican islands by train [1] (and sometimes by horse or carriages), except when boats were needed (such as travel to the island-cities of Culebra and Vieques) from around the 1870s to around 1926.

Félix Rigau Carrera, a Puerto Rican, became the first Hispanic pilot in the United States Marine Corps and is considered to be the first Puerto Rican airplane pilot.[2]

During 1911, Ted Schrive and George Smith, two American pilots, landed an airplane in Puerto Rico, becoming the first two pilots to land a plane in the Caribbean country.[3]

On February 2, 1928, American pilot

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[4]

U.S. Army Air Corps, which led to her letting the Air Corps build an airport at her Dorado property, the Dorado Airport.[5]
Dorado Airport later became a commercial airport that received airline flights by Caribair and by Crown Air (later to become Dorado Wings). During the 2000s, Dorado Airport was bulldozed and an aviation-themed community park exists in the area now, which commemorates Ms. Livingston and the area's past as a commercial airport.

In 1936,

Guanica and Guayama), and to other nearby islands, using a hydroplane for water landings.[6]

By 1938, Dennis Powelson, who was a company pilot for the famed Don Q Puerto Rican rum brand, had established his own airline, Powelson Airlines (the later to be known as Caribair). The airline would provide Aerovías Nacionales (ANPRI) with stiff competition; from May 15 to May 21, 1938, the

Mercedita Airport in Ponce
, won the race for the Powelson Airlines.

Iberia and Delta
flew to Isla Grande airport.

In 1937, Amelia Earhart made a stop at Isla Grande airport, which had yet to be known by that name.[5] Earhart spent the night at her friend Livingston's Dorado property.

In 1939, an air field was inaugurated in Aguadilla, at Puerto Rico's northwest coast. This air field would become the

Rafael Hernandez Airport
.

Isla Grande airport handled propeller-driven aircraft that were in use during the 1930s and 1940s, but it was not prepared to receive jet aircraft such as the

Aerolineas Argentinas and KLM
started services to the island.

Pan Am used Isla Verde airport as a hub; starting in 1969, Puerto Rico's unofficial flag carrier,

Diaz Aviation (also known as Air Puerto Rico and by other names) and TWA
.

Meanwhile, one year after Isla Verde Airport was inaugurated in the northern city of San Juan, to the south, at Puerto Rico's second largest city, the city of

Mercedita Airport
was inaugurated in 1955. Mercedita airport became an international airport in 1990.

In 1983, Eastern Airlines opened a major terminal at Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport which it would use as a major operations center for Eastern's and Eastern Metro Express Airlines' operations from Puerto Rico to the United States and some Caribbean nations, and to domestic destinations in Puerto Rico. In 1987, American Airlines would obtain that terminal from Eastern and American and American Eagle Airlines used the terminal in the same role as Eastern had before.

During the early 1990s, a group of enthusiasts dedicated themselves to find one of

Delta Airlines's five original DC-3s to restore it to flying conditions and found one, Delta Ship 41, (the airline's second DC-3) in Puerto Rico flying for Diaz Aviation (under the name Air Puerto Rico). Delta bought the airplane back and it was returned to the airline in June 1993.[7] During 2018, Delta celebrated its 65th year of non-stop services to Puerto Rico, which had become the Latin American spot that had received Delta services non-stop for the longest time in the airline's history.[8]

Commercial airports

Puerto Rico has a number of commercial airports located through the archipelago. Below is a list of those:

Closed commercial airports

Major accidents and incidents

Puerto Rico has been the scene of a number of aviation accidents and incidents. The following is a list of some of the most notable ones:

  • A Douglas DC-2 of the USAAF crashed into a mountain in the city of
    Juana Diaz. All 22 occupants perished.[9]
  • Pan Am Flight 526A - 52 people were killed on April 11, 1952, when a Pan Am Douglas DC-4 airplane crashed minutes after taking off from Isla Grande on their way to Idlewild International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) in New York City, New York. 17 occupants survived.[10]
  • NTSB investigation found that an air traffic controller at the airport mistakenly thought the aircraft was near San Juan when it actually was near Fajardo instead.[11]
  • Prinair Flight 191: On 24 June 1972, Prinair Flight 191, flown on a DeHavilland DH-114 aircraft, which took off from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed while attempting to land at Mercedita Airport. Two crew and three passengers of the 20 on board died.[12][13]
  • DC-7 crashed soon after takeoff from Isla Verde during a relief flight bound for Nicaragua. Neither the bodies of the victims (except for the pilot's) nor the plane's wreckage was ever found.[14]
  • 1977 Vieques Air Link crash: On December 19, 1977, five people died and five survived when a Vieques Air Link plane from St. Croix ditched at sea near Vieques when it was about to run out of fuel.
  • Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, after a domestic flight, when it crashed into Barrio Obrero, near Residencial Las Casas, killing all 6 on board. The plane fell on top of a bar, injuring several bar clients, including mechanic Luciano Rivera. Wake turbulence from an Eastern Airlines L-1011 which was also landing was found to be the accident's main cause.[15]
  • CASA C-212
    crashed while landing at Mayaguez on May 8, 1987, killing two and damaging the airport perimeter fence.
  • American Eagle Flight 5456: On June 7, 1992, a CASA C-212 aircraft of American Eagle Airlines, flying from San Juan, crashed one mile short of runway 9 in Mayaguez, killing all five people on board.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-01-27. Retrieved 2022-10-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Wayback Machine
  3. ^ INICIOS DEL CORREO AEREOEN EL CARIBE Y PUERTO RICOPor Luis Gonzбlez La aviaciуn tiene sus orнgenes para el siglo XVII utilizand
  4. ^ "The Man Who Crossed the Seas: Charles Lindbergh's Goodwill Tour, 1927-1928".
  5. ^ a b "Ms. Clara Livingston | National Air and Space Museum".
  6. ^ "Aerovias NPR - Aerovias Nacionales Puerto Rico".
  7. ^ "DC-3 Ship 41".
  8. ^ "Delta celebrates 65 years connecting Puerto Rico to the world".
  9. ^ Gero, D. (1999). Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. United Kingdom: Patrick Stephens Limited. pp 21-22.
  10. Aviation Safety Net
  11. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland DH-114 Heron 2D N563PR San Juan". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  12. ^ "Prinair Flight 191 Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Aircraft Accident Report – Puerto Rico International Airlines (Prinair), Inc., DeHavilland DH-114, N554PR, Ponce, Puerto Rico, 24 June 1972" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 17 December 1975. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  14. ^ Karan, Tim. "21 Facts You May Not Know About Roberto Clemente on the Anniversary of His Debut". Bleacher Report.
  15. ^ "Accident Beechcraft D18S N500L, 26 Sep 1978".
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