Skycraft Air Transport Inc. was a Canadian airline based at Oshawa Municipal Airport in Oshawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, that operated between 1979 and 1994.

History

Skycraft Air Transport was created as a charter airline targeting the express air freight needs of the North American automotive industry. It was based in Oshawa, Ontario, where its biggest customer,

General Motors Canada General Motors of Canada Company (french: La Compagnie General Motors du Canada), commonly known as GM Canada, is the Canadian subsidiary of US-based company General Motors. It is headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. In the aftermath of the ...

, operated two large car assembly plants. Its principal competitive advantages were its diverse fleet, with different aircraft that could economically carry different sized loads, and its ability to dispatch aircraft to virtually any North American destination within one hour of a customer request. By the late 1980s the airline was operating a flying school and had diversified into the

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

, passenger charter and scheduled service markets. Its scheduled services included flights from Oshawa Municipal Airport to Ottawa;

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

;

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...

; and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. The airline was notable for changing the type of aircraft operated on its passenger services to match the number of passengers booked for each flight. Skycraft's colour scheme consisted of having the lower part of the fuselage painted in white or silver, the middle part painted with the red title of 'Skycraft', and the tail painted in white or silver, with a large letter 'S' in red and the Canadian flag. Skycraft filed for court protection in 1992. It subsequently obtained new financing and continued operations with a reduced fleet, but the new business plan was not successful. The airline finally shut down operations in February 1994.

Fleet

Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante, Skycraft Air Transport AN1662193

Its fleet consisted of the following 32 aircraft:Canadian Civil Aircraft Register: History Search Result
/ref> * 1

Beechcraft Duchess The Beechcraft Model 76 Duchess is an American twin-engined monoplane built by Beechcraft intended partly as a low cost introduction to twin-engine aircraft. Development Developed as Model PD289 (Preliminary Design 289), the prototype was u ...

(Model 76) * 2

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 ...

* 5

Cessna 150 The Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 22-23. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. In 19 ...

* 5

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American four-to-six-seat, low-wing, twin-engine monoplane produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engine aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II. Development The 310 first fle ...

* 1

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

* 1 Cessna Citation I (500) * 5 Douglas DC-3 * 4

Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max ...

* 1

Piper PA-23 The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origi ...

(PA-23-250 Aztec) * 1

Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

* 2 Piper PA-31 Navajo * 2

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

* 1

Waco F series The Waco F series is a series of American-built general aviation and military biplane trainers of the 1930s from the Waco Aircraft Company. Development The Waco 'F' series of biplanes supplanted and then replaced the earlier 'O' series of 1927 ...

(YMF)

Accidents and incidents

*On 22 June 1983, a Douglas DC-3, C-GUBT crashed on approach to Toronto International Airport while on an international cargo flight from

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is an international airport in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the primary airport serving Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, the largest and busiest airport in the state, and the 43rd busiest ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Both crew were killed. *On 9 January 1984, a Douglas DC-3, C-GSCA crashed on take-off from

St. Louis Lambert International Airport St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state o ...

on an international cargo flight to

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

, Canada. Both engines lost power shortly after take-off. It was discovered that the aircraft had been fuelled with

JET-A Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial av ...

instead of

100LL Avgas (aviation gasoline, also known as aviation spirit in the UK) is an aviation fuel used in aircraft with spark-ignited internal combustion engines. ''Avgas'' is distinguished from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles, ...

. One of the two crew members was killed. *On 6 June 1985 Beech 18 C-FFLC on route from Oshawa to Cleveland. One crew member on board was killed when the aircraft was lost in

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

. Weather was not a factor. Cause of accident unknown.

References

{{Defunct airlines of Canada Airlines established in 1979 Airlines disestablished in 1989 Airlines established in 1994 Airlines disestablished in 2003 Airlines established in 2004 Airlines disestablished in 2007 Defunct airlines of Canada Companies based in Oshawa

History

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

See also

References