Air East was a commuter
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
based at
Johnstown–Cambria County Airport,
Johnstown,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
History
It was established in 1967. On April 26, 1970, Air East inaugurated six daily passenger flights under the
Allegheny Commuter
Allegheny, Alleghany or Allegany may refer to:
Places Geologic and geographic features
* Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York
* Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir ...
brand. In 1974, Air East's commercial certificate was revoked by the FAA.
The Johnstown, Pennsylvania-based Air East appears to be unrelated to the family run airline that operated out of Farmingdale, New York under "Air East" brand from 1982 through the end of 2011, when it merged with Ventura, an airline that remains in operation as of July, 2016.
Yet another commuter airline using the name "Air East" was operating flights between
and
Lafayette, LA
Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...
in 1970.
Fleet
The airline operated
Beechcraft Model 99
The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier B ...
,
British Aerospace Jetstream 31
The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British ...
commuter turboprop aircraft.
Accidents and incidents
* On January 6, 1974, an Air East
Beechcraft 99A crashed short of the runway at
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...
after it failed to maintain flying speed and made a premature descent below the safe approach slope for reasons undetermined. Of the 15 passengers and two crew members on board, 11 passengers and one crew member were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board released its findings regarding the crash on January 15, 1975. It concluded the probably cause was "A premature descent below a safe approach slope followed by a stall and loss of aircraft control. The reason for the premature descent could not be determined, but it was probably the result of: (1) A deliberate descent below the published minimum descent altitude to establish reference with the approach lights and make the landing, (2) a visual impairment or optical illusion created by the runway/approach lighting systems, and (3) downdrafts near the approach end of the runway.".
* On March 7, 1974 the Federal Aviation Administration revoked Air East, Inc.'s operator's certificate stating "By reason of numerous violations, unsafe practices, policies, and coercing tactics... Air East, Inc., has demonstrated that it does not possess the judgement, responsibility or compliance disposition required of a holder of an air taxi commercial operators certificate."
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United States
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed
Airlines established in 1967
Companies based in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Airlines based in Pennsylvania
1967 establishments in Pennsylvania
American companies established in 1967
Airlines disestablished in 1974
1974 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Defunct regional airlines of the United States