TAME

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TAME

IATA ICAO Callsign EQ TAE TAME
Founded	December 17, 1962
Ceased operations	May 19, 2020
Focus cities	José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	TAME Millas
Subsidiaries	TAME Amazonia TAME Xpress
Fleet size	5
Destinations	16
CEO)
Website	www.tame.com.ec

TAME or TAME EP Linea Aerea del Ecuador was an airline founded in Ecuador in 1962. TAME (pronounced "tah-meh") was the flag carrier and the largest airline of Ecuador. TAME headquarters were in Quito, Pichincha Province and the main hub was Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito. The airline was formed by the Air Force of Ecuador. In 2011, it became a commercial entity and provided domestic, international and charter flights. On May 20, 2020, the Ecuador government decided to cease all the operations and liquidate the airline.^[1]

History

As its business grew, TAME purchased four Lockheed L-188 Electras from Ecuatoriana de Aviación. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, TAME added three Boeing 727-100s. During the mid-1980s and up until 1992, Tame purchased four Boeing 727-200s. In 1986, three Fokker F28 Fellowship 4000s were added. In December 1998, TAME rented a Boeing 757-200.

In December 1992, the governments of Ecuador and Colombia signed the "Frontier Integration Agreement" establishing a Quito, Esmeraldas (Tachina), Cali, Esmeraldas (Tachina), Quito route. In 1995, TAME offered flights from Quito to Bogotá for Air France passengers.

Development during the 2000s

In 2000, TAME began a long process of fleet renewal beginning with the renting of two

In 2011, Tame changed its legal status to a state owned company, no longer under the administration of the Ecuadorian Air Force.

In 2013, TAME incorporated its first and only

On May 19, 2020, Ecuador government decided to liquidate the airline and ceased all operations. The airline, which had been struggling for several years, claimed that its difficulties were compounded by the

TAME's colours were blue, light blue, and gold as a decorative element. The original

As of March 2020, the TAME fleet comprised the following aircraft:[5]^[6][7]

Historical fleet

Since its foundation, the airline's fleet has grown with the following aircraft:^[8][7]

Accidents and incidents

• On September 6, 1969 twelve men and one woman, armed with machine guns, hijacked two TAME
  Douglas C-47s at Mariscal Sucre Airport. The hijackers shot and killed one crewman and wounded another. The hijackers told the passengers that the hijacking was in retaliation for the deaths of several students during anti-government rioting at the University of Guayaquil in May 1969. Both aircraft flew to Tumaco, Colombia for refueling. One aircraft was left behind as the hijackers continued on to Panama's Tocumen International Airport. After a thirty-minute refueling stop, the aircraft continued to Kingston, Jamaica. After a 71-minute refueling stop, the plane left Kingston at 9 p.m., finally landing in Cuba.^[9][10]

• On January 20, 1976, A TAME Hawker Siddeley HS 748 (registered HC-AUE) crashed while flying over mountainous terrain. The plane was flying at 10,000 feet then struck trees with its right wing, lost control and crashed into the side of a mountain. The plane was en route from Loja to Guayaquil's José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport. Six crew members and 28 passengers died. There were eight survivors.

• On May 22, 1981, A TAME de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (registered HC-BAX) crashed into a fog-shrouded mountain near Zumba. It was flying in formation with a Beech 200 (HC-BHG), which also crashed into the mountain. Fifteen passengers and three crew members on board died.

• On July 11, 1983, a Boeing 737-200 crashed while on final approach to Mariscal Lamar International Airport in Cuenca. The crash was caused by the crew's lack of training in the aircraft type. All 119 people on board were killed. This was the most lethal event in the history of Ecuadorian aviation.

• On November 20, 1984, A TAME de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashed into a hill while flying between Loja and Zumba. Twelve passengers and two crew members died.

• On September 12, 1988, A TAME
  Lago Agrio
  airport on a ferry flight to Quito with the "number 2" engine inoperative. Immediately after takeoff, the "number 1" engine exploded causing the aircraft to veer left and crash. Six crew members and one passenger died.

• On April 20, 1998,
  Boeing 727-200 (registered HC-BSU), crashed into the "El Cable" cerro minutes after taking off from Bogota's El Dorado International Airport en route to Quito
  . In bad weather, the crew failed to execute proper departure procedures. Instead of turning, they flew in a straight line into the hill. Fifty-three passengers and crew members died.

• On January 28, 2002,
  Boeing 727-100 (registered HC-BLF), departed from Quito en route to Tulcán. Several minutes outside Tulcán, the control tower lost contact with the aircraft. The aeroplane collided with the Cumbal Volcano
  causing the death of all 94 passengers and crew. The crash occurred because the captain flew too fast into the final turn.

• Ecuatoriana de Aviación
• List of defunct airlines of Ecuador

References

External links

Media related to TAME at Wikimedia Commons

• TAME
• TAME (in Spanish)
• TAME Virtual
• TAME Fleet
• History of TAME's Electras^{[permanent dead link]}
• History of TAME's Color Schemes^{[permanent dead link]}