Evergreen International Airlines
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1975[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | November 28, 1975 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | December 31, 2013 | ||||||
| Hubs | Hong Kong International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Destinations | 11 | ||||||
| Parent company | Evergreen International Aviation | ||||||
| Headquarters | McMinnville, Oregon | ||||||
Evergreen International Airlines was a cargo airline based in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. It operated contract freight services, offering charters and scheduled flights, as well as wet lease services. It operated services for the U.S. military and the United States Postal Service, as well as ad hoc charter flights. Its crew base was at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York.[2]
Evergreen also maintained a large aircraft maintenance and storage facility at the Pinal Air Park in Marana, Arizona that the company acquired from the CIA's Air America fleet.[3][4][5]
History
The airline was established by Delford Smith (founder and owner) and began operations in 1960 as Evergreen Helicopters. It acquired the operating certificate of Johnson Flying Service and merged it with Intermountain Airlines from Pacific Corporation (a CIA front company) in 1975 to form Evergreen International Airlines. The holding company, Evergreen International Aviation, formed in 1979, wholly owns the airline.[2]
One of Evergreen's Boeing 747 airplanes (registered N473EV, which suffered an in-flight engine separation in 1993) starred in the 1990 action film Die Hard 2. Additionally, Evergreen Boeing 727's were featured in numerous films including Donnie Brasco with Al Pacino, and The Rookie with Clint Eastwood.
On November 9, 2013, it was announced that Evergreen Airlines would close on November 30, 2013 due to financial troubles.[6][7] This information was denied by Evergreen shortly after,[8] however "Evergreen International Airlines flew its last flight Monday [December 2, 2013] Mike Hines, chairman of its parent company board, acknowledged..."[9]
Evergreen also owned a museum and waterpark, called the Evergreen Wings and Waves Waterpark. This remains open, despite the company's bankruptcy. One of Evergreen's 747-100s is mounted on the roof of the waterpark, serving as the housing for the top of one of the Waterpark's slides.
On December 31, 2013, Evergreen International Airlines filled a Chapter 7 petition in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware. The bankruptcy filing lists seven entities as submitting the Chapter 7 petition: Evergreen Aviation Ground Logistics Enterprise, Evergreen Defense and Security Services, Evergreen International Airlines, Evergreen International Aviation, Evergreen Systems Logistics, Evergreen Trade, and Supertanker Services.[10]
Destinations
Evergreen International Airlines operated the following freight services (as of December 2012):
- Domestic scheduled destinations: Anchorage, New York, Chicago.
- International scheduled destinations: Nagoya, Hong Kong, Shanghai.
Fleet
.jpg)
The Evergreen International Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of December 2012):[11]
| Aircraft | In Fleet | Orders | Stored | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 747-100SF | 11 | Supertanker 1 stored at VCV | ||
| Boeing 747-200C | 2 | |||
| Boeing 747-200B/SF | 6 | |||
| Boeing 747-200F/SCD | 1 | |||
| Boeing 747-400BDSF | 1 | |||
| Boeing 747-400BCF | 2 | |||
| Boeing 747-400F | 1 | Operated for Saudia | ||
Evergreen previously operated three Boeing Dreamlifters to transport the Boeing 787 parts to Boeing, but the contract was given to Atlas Air in September 2010. This was due to Boeing's rescheduled delivery of the Boeing 747-8Fs ordered by Atlas Air to increase their current fleet. The "Dreamlifter" is the logistic support aircraft for Boeing's global Boeing 787 Dreamliner production.[12] The company was also scheduled to operate the SOFIA Boeing 747SP aircraft for NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA (in the silicon valley near San Jose).[13]
The airline modified a Boeing 747-100 for aerial firefighting, receiving final certification from the FAA in October 2006.[14] Compared to existing large water bombers and airtankers, the Evergreen Supertanker was planned to offer at least seven times more fire retardant capacity.[15] In December, 2010, Israel hired Evergreen's fire-fighting aircraft to assist in firefighting efforts of the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire.[16]
In August 2007, Evergreen announced that it had ordered 3 Boeing 747-400BCF to upgrade its commercial operations, with deliveries in summer 2009.[17] In March 2010, the orders have not yet been delivered. In December 2012, Evergreen ceased operations of the last three 747-200s; they are parked at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease.
Retired fleet
As of August 2006, Evergreen International Airlines previously operated the following aircraft:
- Boeing 727-100F
- Boeing 747-100F
- Douglas DC-8-33F
- Lockheed L-188A Electra
- Lockheed P-2 Neptune
- McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32CF
A division of Evergreen, Evergreen Airspur, also operated de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL aircraft in scheduled commuter airline operations in southern California.[18]
Accidents and incidents
- March 18, 1989: Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17, a DC-9 was on a cargo flight from Kelly Air Force Base outside San Antonio to Tinker Air Force Base outside of Oklahoma City, with a stop at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. As the plane was departing, the cargo door on the plane opened; the pilot immediately requested emergency return to Carswell. As the plane was approaching on base leg, the cargo door fully opened, which caused the plane to yaw to the left and right, and then roll, until crashing near Saginaw in an inverted position. Both pilots on board were killed. The investigation found that when closing the cargo door, the copilot did not close it fully, but since the locked and latched indicators were applied incorrectly, the copilot thought the door was fully locked.[19]
- March 31, 1993: lee waves were believed responsible for the in-flight separation of the #2 engine on an Evergreen Boeing 747-100, registration: N473EV, near Anchorage, Alaska.[20] The plane involved was used in the movie Die Hard 2. The plane was since repaired, then flew until 2001.
References
- ↑ Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. pp. 79–80.
- ↑ Evergreen Maintenance Center, Inc.
- ↑ Thomas, Evan (April 7, 1986). "American Scene, In Arizona: A Spymaster Remembered". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ↑ Long, James; Lauren Cowen (1988-08-14). "The Evergreen Story, Part 1". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
- ↑ Montesano, Nicole (November 8, 2013). "Evergreen Airlines to close". Statesman-Journal.
- ↑ Read, Richard (November 9, 2013). "Evergreen ran out of runway; Company closing down after struggling with rising fuel prices and runaway debt". The Oregonian. p. B7. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Official press release
- ↑ Montesano, Nicole (December 6, 2013). "Evergreen lands its last flight". Yamhill Valley News-Register. p. 1. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
- ↑ Francis, Mike (January 1, 2014). "Evergreen International Airlines files voluntary Chapter 7 petition on New Year's Eve". The Oregonian. Portland, OR. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
- ↑ Evergreen International Airlines Fleet
- ↑ "Boeing News Release".
- ↑ "The SOFIA Boeing 747SP".
- ↑ "Giant jet unlikely to attack California fire".
- ↑ "Supertanker Contract Could Land Firefighting Jet in Area".
- ↑ "Evergreen Supertanker on its way to Israel - Israel News, Ynetnews". Ynetnews.com. 1995-06-20. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
- ↑ "Evergreen orders 747-400BCFs" Flight Global, 14/08/07
- ↑ http://www.airliners.net, photo of Evergreen Airspur DHC-6 Twin Otter at LAX
- ↑ ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-33RC N931F Saginaw, TX
- ↑ "NTSB Report DCA93MA033".
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Evergreen International Airlines. |
| ||||||||||
evergreenair.com/uusa/iuam/000q///d8298876838y6hjjgjd