Rich International Airways was primarily a United States charter and cargo airline founded by aviation pioneer Jean Rich, one of the few women in the U.S. to own and operate an airline. The air carrier was based in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida. The airline ceased operations in 1996, following bankruptcy.

History

Rich International Airways was founded as a

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline ...

in 1969, flying Curtiss C-46 Commando and

Beechcraft Model 18 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to Novem ...

aircraft to the Caribbean. Capacity was steadily increased with the addition of

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

and

Douglas DC-8-60 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Jul ...

freighters. In 1982, the carrier was granted permission to fly passenger charters, and began operations to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. However, losses from the expansion forced the company to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1983. This was followed by scrutiny from the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

, which revoked the airline's operating license due to maintenance irregularities during the DOT “white glove inspections” directed by the Hon. Elizabeth Dole in the spring of 1984. The FAA agreed to return the operating certificate with the addition of new key personnel, Director of Operations, Chief Pilot, Director of Maintenance and Director of Training. Following the restart and new operating approvals, Miami-based George E. Batchelor invested in the company, and by 1991, Rich had successfully exited bankruptcy protection. This period of prosperity was accompanied by more expansion, including the introduction of the

wide-body A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar for flights to

. According to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight st ...

( OAG), in the spring of 1996 Rich was operating scheduled passenger service with L-1011 aircraft nonstop twice a week between Anchorage (ANC) and

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

(HNL). In the wake of the crash of

ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into t ...

in the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

, much media attention was given to the FAA's poor oversight of the ValuJet's rapid, unsustainable growth and multiple safety violations. The

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

then grounded Rich for alleged maintenance irregularities. Operations ceased on September 1, 1996. The US aviation authority FAA wanted to allow flight operations until February 1997, but the

US Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...

refused to approve and made a license dependent on numerous conditions. In February 1997, Rich International announced its bankruptcy and was dissolved. It was no longer able to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Transport economically. The aircraft and the entire inventory were auctioned in July 1997. The following year, the

released findings stating that the grounding of Rich may have been an overreaction, and that minor maintenance issues may have been blown out of proportion in the public hysteria following the ValuJet crash.

Fleet

Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar 1, Rich International Airways AN0694823

The Rich International Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

*February 28, 1994, during takeoff at

Fairbanks International Airport Fairbanks International Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) southwest of the central business district of Fairbanks, a city in the Fairbanks North Star Borough of the United States state of Alaska. Fairban ...

for a ferry flight to

, a Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar (registered N303EA) experienced a mechanical power loss on the number 3 and number 1 engines and an internal fire on the number 1 engine. The takeoff was aborted and during the taxi back, the fire on the number 1 engine was extinguished. None of the 3 occupants on board were injured.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Fleet and Code dataAirliners.net photos
{{Airlines of the United States Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1969 Airlines disestablished in 1997 Companies based in Miami Defunct companies based in Florida