Air Tahoma was an American

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 ...

(Part 121) based in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, United States. It was established and started operations in 1996 in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

then later moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

in 1998 and to its last location at

Rickenbacker International Airport Rickenbacker International Airport is a civil-military public airport south of downtown Columbus, near Lockbourne in southern Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The south end of the airport extends into Pickaway County. The base was name ...

, Columbus. Air Tahoma operated contract cargo flights internationally to the Caribbean, Mexico, Vietnam, Philippines, and the United States. Air Tahoma ceased operations in 2009.

History

Noel Rude founded the company in 1996, and it was based out of Rickenbacker Airport in Columbus, OH Air Tahoma is a spin-off from Cool Air Inc., which was founded in 1986 by Rude and his father, Bud Rude, who is a veteran of the airline industry and who founded the parent company that originally flew firefighting missions in Washington.

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

contracted with Air Tahoma to fly to cities without enough traffic to support a larger jet. Air Tahoma operated twin-engine turboprop Convairs (either the 580 or the 240). On 13 August 2004 Flight 185 crashed during approach to landing. Based on the September 1, 2008 FAA's post accident inspection report, on Friday November 7, 2008, Air Tahoma was presented with a list of alleged discrepancies on each of its aircraft. The company voluntarily suspended operations. On Monday November 10, Air Tahoma presented 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 ...

(FAA) with a 150-page document answering / dismissing every item in the FAA report. Air Tahoma subsequently resumed operations and requested input from the FAA as to any known safety items so that they could be properly addressed. Assigned FAA inspectors told the carrier it was "business as usual" and their instructions were to continue their daily surveillance as usual. With no new information, the FAA issued an emergency revocation on January 13, 2009, citing many systemic violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The Company appealed the revocation. During the appeal process, the FAA revoked all ferry flights to reposition the company's aircraft to its home base and blocked any attempt by the company to place aircraft with other operators. In exchange for dropping its appeal, the FAA allowed the company to move its aircraft home and agreed not to withhold necessary inspectors from other operators trying to lease Air Tahoma aircraft. The Inspector General also conducted an investigation of Air Tahoma and its management personnel. As part of the investigation,OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL - CASE I09A0000270500 two primary FAA officials with detailed knowledge of Air Tahoma stated: "The First Inspector" read the FAA Enforcement Investigative Report (EIR) that was done after the fatal accident in September 2008, stated if that went to trial, 95% of the items within the EIR would be unsubstantiated. Several issues documented in the EIR concerned NDT (non-destructive testing), declared that Air Tahoma contracted much of its NDT work to outside companies. "The Second Inspector" read the FAA Enforcement Investigative Report (EIR) about Air Tahoma. The EIR mentioned several issues with maintenance aspects and not many issues concerning operational items. stated if the maintenance items in the EIR were addressed individually in court, the items would not stand-up. Additionally, if Air Tahoma had the money to go to court, many aspects of the EIR would not have held-up. did not elaborate on those issues and his opinions. Although, stated agreed with the EIR, it appeared "loaded on." did not elaborate At the conclusion, the Special Agent in charge briefed the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) about the information obtained and the AUSA declined the case for prosecution. Given that Air Tahoma successfully rebutted every item in the November 7, 2008 list of alleged aircraft discrepancies and given that the FAA's own inspectors believed that the Enforcement Investigative Report against Air Tahoma would not hold up in court, it is easy to conclude why the FAA aggressively pressured Air Tahoma into dropping its appeal of the revocation order.

Destinations

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 ...

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

to Mérida *

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 671,460 ...

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Aguadilla Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla i ...

(Borinquen) to

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

* San Juan to various other countries in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

Fleet

The Air Tahoma fleet included the following aircraft (as of September 2007): * 1 - BAe 146-300 * 3 -

Convair CV-240 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

* 8 -

Convair CV-580 Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it ...

Incidents and accidents

*In October 2003, an Air Tahoma aircraft experienced an augmenter fire on the right engine after landing. The fire was contained in the augmenter (as designed) and no damage was sustained to the aircraft. *January 7, 2004, one of the

Convair 580 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

s en route to Memphis lost all oil pressure on the right engine while on approach to the Memphis airport. The aircraft landed without incident. *

Air Tahoma Flight 185 Air Tahoma Flight 185 was a scheduled cargo flight from Memphis to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport conducted by Air Tahoma as part of a contract to freight parcels for courier firm DHL. On August 13, 2004, the flight crashed ...

crashed during approach to landing just 1 mile short of the runway at the

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. It serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time o ...

on the 13 August 2004. The crash killed the First Officer Michael Ray Gelwicks and the Captain received minor injuries.

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

ruled that the crash was due to a dual engine flameout as a result of the Captain being distracted with preflight planning during the flight, Captain didn't follow proper crossfeeding procedures, and Flight Crew didn't monitor the fuel gauges. There was sufficient fuel on board and nothing was wrong with the aircraft systems. *On September 1, 2008, an Air Tahoma

crashed in

Pickaway County, Ohio Pickaway County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,539. Its county seat is Circleville. Its name derives from the Pekowi band of Shawnee Indians, who inhabited the area. (See List of Ohio county ...

, shortly after taking off from

, claiming the lives of the 3 crew members. 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 ...

and

investigated. Rickenbacker International Airport is southeast of

. The crash happened around the Noon hour.

References

External links