Capitol Air
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Founded | 1946 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 23 November 1984 | ||||||
Hubs | John F. Kennedy International Airport, Brussels, Belgium and San Juan, Puerto Rico. | ||||||
Destinations | Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Brussels (BRU), Frankfurt (FRA), Paris, France (LBG) Aguadilla (BQN), San Juan (SJU) and Puerto Plata (POP) |
Capitol Air was a
History
Capitol Airways was founded on June 11, 1946[2] by Jesse F. Stallings (1909-1979), an airline captain, and Richmond Mclnnis, his associate. During the first few years, Capitol Airways operated a flight school and aircraft sales agency at Cumberland Field in Nashville, Tennessee.
By the early 1950s Capitol operated a fleet of piston engine transport planes including
In 1963 Capitol Airways was one of the first charter airlines to operate jet aircraft in the form of a new
In 1967 Capitol added "International" to its name and was operating six "straight" DC-8 jets and three "stretched" Super DC-8 versions along with their fleet of piston engine propeller aircraft. In 1971 Capitol International Airways moved to Smyrna, Tennessee,[4] at Sewart Air Force Base. Capitol remained strong as a military contract air carrier.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s it operated international and domestic scheduled passenger service in addition to charter flights.
Capitol Air maintained a large presence in the eastern United States and
Capitol Air also operated many charter flights for the United States military. One major trunk route in the mid-1970s connected
Capitol Air declared bankruptcy in the mid-1980s after George Batchelor, now Capitol's owner, had largely dismantled the airline in favor of his newly acquired venture, Arrow Air, another formerly all-charter air carrier that eventually initiated scheduled passenger airline operations.
Destinations
According to the Capitol Air system timetable dated November 5, 1981, the airline was operating scheduled passenger service to the following domestic and international destinations:[9]
- Boston, Massachusetts(BOS)
- Brussels, Belgium(BRU)
- Chicago, Illinois - O'Hare International Airport(ORD)
- Frankfurt, Germany(FRA)
- LAX)
- Miami, Florida(MIA)
- Newark Airport(EWR)
- New York City, New York - John F. Kennedy International Airport(JFK)
- Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP)
- SFO)
- San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
- Zurich, Switzerland(ZRH)
The above referenced timetable also states that all flights were being operated with stretched, Super Douglas DC-8 series 60 and wide body McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jetliners at this time.
Capitol Air's hub for scheduled passenger operations at this time was New York
Fleet
Capitol operated the following aircraft types during its existence:[11][3]
- Airbus A300B4
- Curtiss C-46 Commando
- Douglas DC-3
- Douglas DC-4
- Douglas DC-8-32
- Douglas DC-8-33
- Douglas DC-8-54CF
- Douglas DC-8-55CF
- Douglas DC-8-61- stretched Super DC-8 model
- Douglas DC-8-63CF- stretched Super DC-8 model
- Lockheed Constellation - fleet included L-749A Constellation and L-1049E, L-1049G and L-1049H Super Constellation models
- Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Incidents and accidents
The airline suffered several accidents with its Curtiss C-46s between 1958 and 1967, with three resulting in fatalities.[12] Two other notable accidents occurred with the airline's Douglas DC-8s:
- On April 28, 1968, a DC-8-31 registered N1802 crashed at Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey on a training flight. The crew was attempting a two-engine approach and touch-and-go, and lost control of the aircraft as they applied power. All four crew members survived.[13]
- On November 27, 1970, Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26, operated by a DC-8-63CF registered N4909C, overran the runway and collided with obstacles and a ditch while attempting to take off at Anchorage International Airport, Alaska on its way to Yokota Air Base in Japan. For reasons that could not be determined in the subsequent investigation, all eight main landing gear wheels remained locked up throughout the takeoff run, preventing the aircraft from reaching a sufficient take off speed. 47 of the 229 passengers and crew on board were killed.[14]
- On October 2, 1977, - Shannon Airport SNN Ireland. DC-8-61 N911CL aborted takeoff on runway 24 as it accelerated for takeoff en route Rome-Shannon-Windsor Locks. There was a failure of tyres on the left main wheel bogie during taxi, and as the aircraft accelerated the tyre shredded and sent tyre fragments up into the wing underside, rupturing the fuel tanks. The escaping fuel ignited and caused a rapid large fire under the left wing. ATC spotted the fire as did the crew of a sister aircraft which was taxiing in after landing. The aircraft was just at the point of V1 when takeoff was abandoned and the DC-8 decelerated and stopped just short of the end of runway 24. The aircraft was evacuated and approximately 50 passengers were injured during the evacuation. The aircraft was seriously damaged but repaired and returned to service a number of months later. Had the aircraft become airborne, it is likely the left wing would have failed and the aircraft would have crashed.
Additionally, on three occasions between May and August 1983, the airline's flight 236 from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami was hijacked to Cuba. In all instances, the hijacker was taken into custody uneventfully.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Information about Capitol Airways at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ a b "Planespotters.net history of Capitol Airways". Archived from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2014-12-15.
- ^ a b "Airlines Remembered" by B.I. Hengi, publisher Midland Publishing
- ^ a b Aerodacious history of Capitol Airways
- ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, Capitol Air timetable
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Capitol Air timetable
- ^ Capitol Air 1979 timetable, at timetableimages.com
- ^ Capitol Airways 1981 timetable and route map, at departedflights.com
- ^ a b http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 5, 1981 Capitol Air system timetable
- ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Dec. 1, 1982 Capitol Air route map
- ^ http://www.airliners.net, photos of Capitol Air and Capitol International Airways aircraft
- ^ a b "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > United States of America > Capitol Airways".
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-31 N1802 Atlantic City International Airport, NJ (ACY)".
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF N4909C Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC)".