Air America - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1950 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

's (CIA) Special Activities Division

Special Activities Division

The Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...

from 1950 to 1976. It supplied and supported United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

covert operations in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

Organization

In August 1950, the CIA secretly purchased the assets of Civil Air Transport

Civil Air Transport

Civil Air Transport was a Chinese airline, later owned by the CIA, that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia...

(CAT), an airline that had been started in China in 1946 by Gen. Claire Lee Chennault

Claire Lee Chennault

Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault , was an American military aviator. A contentious officer, he was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fight-interceptor aircraft during the 1930s when the U.S. Army Air Corps was focused primarily on high-altitude bombardment...

(of Flying Tigers

Flying Tigers

The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...

fame) and Whiting Willauer.

In 1951, the parent company of Air America's forerunner, Civil Air Transport (CAT), was reorganized. The owner, Chennault, was approached by the CIA, who bought out the company through a holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

, the American Airdale Corporation

Pacific Corporation

The Pacific Corporation , was a holding company that the Central Intelligence Agency used to control several aviation front companies.Former US Army pilot George Doole created Pacific as a Delaware corporation in 1950...

. Under this agreement, CAT was allowed to keep its initials and the company was reorganized as Civil Air Transport, Inc.

On 7 October 1957, American Airdale was reorganized to add another layer of obfuscation to its ownership. The new Pacific Corporation

Pacific Corporation

became a holding company for Air Asia Company (Air Asia (Taiwan)), Ltd; Air America, Inc; Civil Air Transport, Inc; Southern Air Transport

Southern Air Transport

-Southern Air Transport :The first Southern Air Transport, based in Dallas, Texas, formed on February 11, 1929 when businessman A. P. Barrett consolidated Texas Air Transport and several other small aviation companies...

; Intermountain Aviation

Intermountain Airlines

Intermountain Airlines, also known as Intermountain Aviation and Intermountain Airways, was a CIA airline front company. Intermountain performed covert operations for the CIA in Southeast Asia and elsewhere during the Vietnam War era....

; Bird and Sons (known as BirdAir

BirdAir

BirdAir was an airline owned by the construction company Bird & Sons, Inc which served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.Bird & Sons, Inc was a San Francisco heavy construction company operating in Vietnam and Laos....

); and Robinson Brothers. CAT attempted to change its name to Air America at the same time, but objections from Air France

Air France

Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...

and American Airlines

American Airlines

American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

delayed the name change for two years.

Air America's slogan was "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, Professionally". Air America aircraft, including the de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...

and Fairchild C-123 Provider

C-123 Provider

The C-123 Provider was an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and subsequently built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United States Air Force...

, flew many types of cargo to countries such as the Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos

Kingdom of Laos

The Kingdom of Laos was a sovereign state from 1953 until December 1975, when Pathet Lao overthrew the government and created the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Given self-rule in 1949 as part of a federation with the rest of French Indochina, the 1953 Franco-Lao Treaty finally established a...

, and Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. It operated from bases in those countries and also from bases in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

and as far afield as Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It also on occasion flew top-secret missions into Burma and the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.
Air America's headquarters moved several times during its existence, 808 17th St. NW, (1964), 801 World Center Bldg, (late 1964), 815 Connecticut Ave NW, (July 1968), and 1725 K Street NW, (1972), all in Washington, DC. Marana, Arizona was the principal continental United States maintenance base for Air America of which was located at Pinal Airpark

Pinal Airpark

Pinal Airpark is a county-owned, public-use airport located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Marana, in Pinal County, Arizona, United States....

Operations during the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War)

From 1959 to 1962 the airline provided direct and indirect support to CIA Operations "Ambidextrous", "Hotfoot", and "White Star

Operation White Star

Operation White Star was the code name for a United States military advisory mission to Laos during the first years of the Second Indochina War, which would eventually become known in the United States as the Vietnam War...

", which trained the regular Royal Laotian armed forces. After 1962 a similar operation known as Project 404
Project 404
Project 404 was the code name for a covert United States Air Force advisory mission to Laos during the later years of the Second Indochina War, which would eventually become known in the United States as the Vietnam War...

fielded numerous U.S. Army attaché

Attaché

Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...

s (ARMA) and air attaché

Air attaché

An air attaché is an Air Force officer who is part of a diplomatic mission; this post is normally filled by a high-ranking officer.An air attaché typically represents the chief of his home air force in the foreign country where he serves. The day-to-day responsibilities include maintaining contacts...

s (AIRA) to the U.S. embassy in Vientiane

Vientiane

-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...

.

From 1962 to 1975, Air America inserted and extracted U.S. personnel, provided logistical support to the Royal Lao Army

Royal Lao Army

The Royal Lao Army was the armed forces of the Kingdom of Laos. Its predecessor was the National Laotian Army - NLA of the French Union, created in 1947 from 'maquis', or guerrilla units gathered by French commandos. It was created in 1954 after the French granted Laos complete autonomy...

, Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

army under command of Royal Lao Army

Royal Lao Army

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

Vang Pao

Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...

, and combatant Thai "volunteer" forces, transported refugees, and flew photo reconnaissance missions that provided valuable intelligence on NLF activities. Its civilian-marked craft were frequently used, under the control of the Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force

Seventh/Thirteenth United States Air Force

The Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force was organized on 6 January 1966 and stationed at Udon Thani, Thailand. It was an independent air division that took orders from two different commands...

to launch search and rescue missions for U.S. pilots downed throughout Southeast Asia. Air America pilots were the only known private U.S. corporate employees to operate non-Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Aviation Administration

The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...

-certified military aircraft in a combat role, although many of them were actually military personnel who had been transferred to the airline.

By the summer of 1970, the airline had some two dozen twin-engine transport aircraft, another two dozen short-take off-and-landing aircraft

STOL

STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...

, and 30 helicopters dedicated to operations in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. There were more than 300 pilots, copilots, flight mechanics, and airfreight specialists based in Laos and Thailand. During 1970, Air America delivered 46 million pounds (21,000 metric tons) of food in Laos. Helicopter flight time reached more than 4,000 hours a month in the same year.
Air America flew civilians, diplomats, spies, refugees, commandos, sabotage teams, doctors, war casualties, drug enforcement officers, drugs, and even visiting VIPs like Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

all over Southeast Asia. Its non-human passengers were even more bizarre on occasion; part of the CIA's support operations in Laos, for instance, involved logistical support for local tribes fighting the North Vietnamese forces and the Pathet Lao

Pathet Lao

The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...

, their local opponents. Forced draft urbanization

Forced draft urbanization

Forced draft urbanization was a policy elaborated by Samuel P. Huntington in a 1968 article "The Bases of Accommodation" published in the journal Foreign Affairs, which described a strategy of carpet-bombing and defoliating the rural villages and jungles of Vietnam, so that peasants there would be...

policies, such as the widespread application of Agent Orange

Agent Orange

Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...

to Vietnamese farmland created a disruption in local food production, so thousands of tons of food had to be flown in, including live chickens, pigs, water buffalo and cattle. On top of the food drops (known as 'rice drops') came the logistical demands for the war itself, and Air America pilots flew thousands of flights transporting and air-dropping ammunition and weapons (referred to as "hard rice") to friendly forces.

When the North Vietnamese Army overran South Vietnam in 1975, Air America helicopters participated in Operation Frequent Wind

Operation Frequent Wind

Operation Frequent Wind was the evacuation by helicopter of American civilians and 'at-risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, on 29–30 April 1975 during the last days of the Vietnam War...

evacuating both US civilians and South Vietnamese people associated with the regime from Saigon. The iconic photograph depicting the final evacuation from the "U.S. Embassy" by Dutch photographer Hubert van Es

Hubert van Es

Hubert van Es was a Dutch photographer and photojournalist who took the well-known photo on 29 April 1975, which shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a CIA Air America helicopter during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon...

was actually an Air America helicopter taking people off of an apartment at 22 Gia Long Street

22 Gia Long Street

22 Gia Long Street , now 22 Lý Tự Trọng Street, is a building in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, made famous during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. A Dutch photographer, Hubert van Es, working for UPI, captured the last chaotic days of the Vietnam War, and most people believed that it showed desperate...

building used by USAID and CIA employees.

Alleged Drug Smuggling

Air America allegedly transported opium

Opium

Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...

and heroin on behalf of Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

leader Vang Pao

Vang Pao

Vang Pao was a Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army. He was an ethnic Hmong and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States.-Early life:...

. This allegation has been supported by former Laos CIA paramilitary Anthony Poshepny

Anthony Poshepny

Anthony Alexander Poshepny , known as Tony Poe, was a CIA paramilitary officer in what is now called Special Activities Division...

(aka Tony Poe), former Air America pilots, and other people involved in the war.

University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

historian William M. Leary claims that this was done without the airline employees' direct knowledge (except for those employees that said they did know about it), and that the airline itself did not trade in drugs (only transported them). Curtis Peebles

Curtis Peebles

Curtis Peebles is an aerospace historian for the Smithsonian Institution and the author of several books dealing with aviation and aerial phenomena....

denies the allegation, citing Leary's study as evidence.

After the war

After pulling out of South Vietnam in 1975, there was an attempt to keep a company presence in Thailand; after this fell through, Air America officially disbanded on June 30, 1976, and was later purchased by Evergreen International Airlines

Evergreen International Airlines

Evergreen International Airlines is a cargo airline based in McMinnville, Oregon, USA. It operates contract freight services, offering charters and scheduled flights, as well as wet lease services. It operates services for the U.S. military and the United States Postal Service, as well as ad hoc...

, which continues to provide support for U.S. covert operations.

Airfleet

During its existence Air America operated a diverse fleet of aircraft, the majority of which were STOL

STOL

capable. There was "fluidity" of aircraft between some companies like Air America, BAA

Boun Oum Airways

Boun Oum Airways or BOA, was a Laotian Airline owned by Prince Boun Oum of Laos. After 1965 BOA expanded using aircraft on loan from Continental Air Services, Inc . BOA's aircraft did not carry any logo or titles and their Thai pilots were integrated with CASI by early 1967.-History:The CIA created...

, CASI

Continental Air Services, Inc

Continental Air Services, Inc, better known as CASI, was a subsidiary airline of Continental Airlines set up to provide operations and airlift support in Southeast Asia. CASI was formed as the South-East Asia Division of Continental in April 1965 with operations starting in September 1965 using...

and the USAF. It was not uncommon for USAF and US Army aviation units to loan aircraft to Air America for specific missions. Air America tended to register its aircraft in Taiwan, operating in Laos without the B- nationality prefix. Ex US military aircraft were often used with the "last three" digits of the military serial as a civil marking, sometimes with a B- prefix. The first two transports of Air America arrived in Vientiane, Laos on 23 August 1959. The Air America operations at Udorn, Thailand were closed down on 30 June 1974. Air America's operating authority was cancelled by the CAB on 31 January 1974.

Fixed wing

Beech 18 ex-military C-45 Expediters
- Volpar Beech 18 – Volpar converted 14 aircraft to turboprop
  Turboprop
  A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
  
  power with Garrett AiResearch TPE-331
  Garrett AiResearch TPE-331
  |-See also:-External links:* * *...
  
  engines; modified aircraft were called Volpar Turbo Beeches and also had a further increase in MTOW to 10286 lb (4,665.7 kg). They were called Volpars in Air America service
Beech Baron
Twin Beechcraft
Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

-92C
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
Curtiss C-46
De Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...
de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...

300
Dornier Do28 Skyservant
Dornier Do 28
The Dornier Do 28 Skyservant is a twin-engine STOL utility aircraft, manufactured by Dornier Flugzeugbau GmbH. It served with the Luftwaffe and Marineflieger and other air forces around the world in the communications and utility role....
Douglas B-26 Invader – On Mark
On Mark Engineering
On Mark Engineering was an aircraft remanufacturing company established in 1954 at Van Nuys Airport in California. Its most significant products were rebuilding military surplus A-26 Invaders into executive transports - the Marketeer with an unpressurized fuselage and the Marksman with fuselage...

Marksman
On Mark Marksman
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Francillon, René. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume I. London: Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-87021-428-4....

conversion
Douglas C-47
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport 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 the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...

A/B
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute...
Fairchild C-123B And K Provider
C-123 Provider
The C-123 Provider was an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and subsequently built by Fairchild Aircraft for the United States Air Force...
Helio Courier
Helio Courier
The Helio Courier is a light C/STOL utility aircraft designed in 1949.Around 500 of these aircraft were manufactured in Pittsburg, Kansas from 1954 until 1974 by the Helio Aircraft Company. During the early 1980s, new owners made an attempt to build new aircraft with direct-drive Lycoming engines,...

and Super Courier
Helio Twin Courier
Helio Twin Courier
-References:*Taylor, John W. R. . Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1965-66. London:Sampson Low, Marston, 1965.* Probert Encyclopaedia* All Metal Plane...
Lockheed L.1049H Constellation
Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
Lockheed C-130A/E Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
Pilatus Turbo-Porter
Pilatus PC-6
|-See also:-References:* Lambert, Mark. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–1994. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Data Division, 1993. ISBN 0 7106 1066 1.* Taylor, John W. R. Janes's All The World's Aircraft 1965–66. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1965....

includes Fairchild Hiller version
Piper Apache

Helicopters

Bell 47
Bell 47
The Bell 47 is a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Based on the third Model 30 prototype, Bell's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young, the Bell 47 became the first helicopter certified for civilian use on 8 March 1946...
Bell 204B
Bell 205
Boeing-Vertol CH-47C Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
Hughes 500D
MD Helicopters MD 500
The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is an American family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. The MD 500 was developed from the Hughes 500, a civilian version of the US Army's OH-6A Cayuse/Loach...
OH-6A Cayuse
Sikorsky S-55/H-19
Sikorsky S-58T
Sikorsky CH-54 Skycrane
CH-54 Tarhe
|-See also:-External links:* *...
Sikorsky H-34

Air Asia

Air Asia was a wholly owned subsidiary of Air America which provided technical, management and equipment services for Civil Air Transport

Civil Air Transport

Civil Air Transport was a Chinese airline, later owned by the CIA, that supported United States covert operations throughout East and Southeast Asia...

of Formosa. Air Asia was headquartered in Taipei and its main facilities were in Tainan, Taiwan.

Accidents and incidents

On 16 January 1969, Douglas C-47A 949 crashed in the Hai Van Pass
Hai Van Pass
The Hải Vân Pass , is an approximately 2 mile long mountain pass on National Road 1A in Vietnam. It traverses a spur of the larger Annamite Range that juts into the South China Sea, on the border of Đà Nẵng and Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, near Bach Ma National Park. Its name refers to the mists that...

, 18 miles (29 km) south of Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...

, South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

. The aircraft was on a domestic cargo flight from Phu Bai International Airport to Da Nang International Airport
Da Nang International Airport
Da Nang International Airport is located in Da Nang, the largest city in central Vietnam. It is the third international airport in the country, besides Noi Bai International Airport and Tan Son Nhat International Airport , and is an important gateway to access central Vietnam.In addition to its...

. All 12 passengers and crew were killed.
On 29 December 1973, Douglas C-53D EM-3 overran the runway on landing at Dalat Airport, South Vietnam. The aircraft was substantially damaged and was not salvaged due to the presence of land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....

s in the area. It was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight. All nine people on board survived.
On 29 April 1975, Douglas VC-47A 084 crashed on landing at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield is a military airfield of the Royal Thai Navy located approximately southeast of Bangkok, near Sattahip on the Gulf of Siam...

, Sattahip, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. The aircraft was on a flight from Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is Vietnam's largest international airport in terms of area . It has a handling capacity of 15-17 million passengers per year, compared with the capacity of Hanoi - Noi Bai airport of 8 million passengers and Da Nang's 2 million passengers...

, Saigon, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

.

External links

CIA CAT activity elsewhere in the Asian theater is discussed in the context of Agency officers John T. Downey
John T. Downey
John T. 'Jack' Downey was a CIA operative who was held captive in China for twenty years.-Early life:Originally from New Britain, Connecticut, Downey graduated from The Choate School and in 1951 Yale University....

and Richard Fecteau, shot down and imprisoned in China in 1952–1973.
Air America Association web site
Online Materials about Air America in the Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech
Special Forces Roll of Honour – Air America
Robbins, Christopher. Air America
Robbins, Christopher. The Ravens, Pilots of the Secret War in Laos
Air America: Helio H-500 Twin Couriers

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