Airlift International was an American cargo airline that operated from 1945 to 1991, initially under the name Riddle Airlines. It was certificated as a scheduled freight airline in 1951 by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transport. Airlift's headquarters were at Miami International Airport, Florida.[1]
John Paul Riddle incorporated Riddle Airlines in Florida on 28 May 1945[2] in Miami, Florida.[3] The carrier was initially a nonscheduled or irregular air carrier, but in 1951 the CAB certificated it as a scheduled freight airline between New York and Miami on the one hand and Puerto Rico on the other.[4] In 1955, the CAB awarded Riddle further certification for a portion of the north–south domestic cargo routes previously awarded to defunct U. S. Airlines.[5]
In November 1963, Riddle Airlines shareholders voted to rename the company to Airlift International,[6] a measure approved in March 1964 by the CAB.[7] In 1966, Airlift acquired the assets of defunct Slick Airways to ensure continuity of charter operations for the military.[8] In 1968, Airlift acquired the scheduled route authority of Slick.[9]
The first flights were between Miami and Puerto Rico using Curtiss C-46 and Douglas DC-4 aircraft. In 1951 it expanded services to serve New York City. Then the route system was expanded to include Chicago and Detroit. In 1960 two Douglas DC-7 were added to the fleet and with those aircraft were used for charter flights to Europe, including charters for the military.
The freight schedule was augmented by charter flights to South America and the military but by 1981 Airlift International went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy for reorganization. Following the reorganization the DC-8-54, the Fairchild FH-227 and F-27 models were used.
Due to financial problems during 1990 and 1991, Airlift International ceased operations in June 1991.[10]
17 December 1955: A Riddle C-46F disintegrated in flight over South Carolina with the loss of both pilots, the only people on board. The cause was traced to nonconforming elevator parts installed as part of conversion performed overseas by a contractor which created its own parts, which had left the aircraft ineligible for an airworthiness certificate.[13]
20 December 1957: A Riddle C-46R on departure from Miami suffered a hydraulic line rupture with subsequent fire in the right engine. The aircraft safely returned to Miami but was extensively damaged due to failure of the emergency fuel shutoff system, insufficient fire barriers and an inoperable fire bottle.[14] The aircraft had been rebuilt from the wreckage of an earlier accident (with another operator) that killed 26 people in 1951.[15]
30 March 1959: A Riddle C-46R suffered an intense inflight fire, over Georgia, with the subsequent crash fatal to both pilots on board, the only occupants. The probable cause was ignition of cargo in the aft belly compartment from an unguarded lightbulb.[16]
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