Air Tahoma
Encyclopedia
Air Tahoma was an American cargo airline
(Part 121) based in Columbus, Ohio
, United States. It was established and started operations in 1996 in San Diego then later moved to Indianapolis
in 1998 and to its last location at Rickenbacker International Airport
, Columbus. Air Tahoma operated contract cargo flights internationally to the Caribbean, Mexico, Vietnam, Philippines and the United States. Air Tahoma ceased operations in 2009.
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 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).
Their Air Carrier certificate was revoked in January 2009 after the FAA found many systemic violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
On September 1, 2008 an Air Tahoma Convair 580 crashed in Pickaway County, Ohio
, shortly after taking off from Rickenbacker International Airport
, claiming the lives of the 3 crew members. The FAA and NTSB are investigating. Rickenbacker International Airport is 16 miles (25.7 km) southeast of Columbus, Ohio
. The crash happened around the Noon hour.
NTSB Identification: CHI08MA270
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 1, 2008 in Columbus, OH
Probable Cause Approval Date: 6/22/2009
Aircraft: CONVAIR CV-580, registration: N587X
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
The accident flight was the first flight following maintenance that included flight control cable rigging. The flight was also intended to provide cockpit familiarization for the first officer and the pilot observer, and as a training flight for the first officer. About one minute after takeoff, the first officer contacted the tower and stated that they needed to return to land. The airplane impacted a cornfield about one mile southwest of the approach end of the runway, and 2 minutes 40 seconds after the initiation of the takeoff roll. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) indicated that, during the flight, neither the captain nor the first officer called for the landing gear to be raised, the flaps to be retracted, or the power levers to be reduced from full power. From the time the first officer called "rotate" until the impact, the captain repeated the word "pull" about 27 times. When the observer pilot asked, "Come back on the trim?" the captain responded, "There's nothing anymore on the trim." The inspection of the airplane revealed that the elevator trim cables were rigged improperly, which resulted in the trim cables being reversed. As a result, when the pilot applied nose-up trim, the elevator trim system actually applied nose-down trim. An examination of the maintenance instruction cards used to conduct the last inspection revealed that the inspector's block on numerous checks were not signed off by the Required Inspection Item (RII) inspector. The RII inspector did not sign the item that stated: "Connect elevator servo trim tab cables and rig in accordance with Allison Convair [maintenance manual]...” The item had been signed off by the mechanic, but not by the RII inspector. The card also contained a NOTE, which stated in bold type, "A complete inspection of all elevator controls must be accomplished and signed off by an RII qualified inspector and a logbook entry made to this effect." The RII inspector block was not signed off.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The improper (reverse) rigging of the elevator trim cables by company maintenance personnel, and their subsequent failure to discover the misrigging during required post-maintenance checks. Contributing to the accident was the captain’s inadequate post-maintenance preflight check.
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
(Part 121) based in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, United States. It was established and started operations in 1996 in San Diego then later moved to Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
in 1998 and to its last location at Rickenbacker International Airport
Rickenbacker International Airport
Rickenbacker International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located 10 miles south of the central business district of Columbus, near the village of Lockbourne in extreme southern Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The southern end of the airport extends into northern Pickaway...
, 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, OHAir 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 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).
Their Air Carrier certificate was revoked in January 2009 after the FAA found many systemic violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
Routes
- Miami to CancúnCancúnCancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
to MéridaMérida, MéridaSantiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes... - Miami to GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
to San Pedro SulaSan Pedro SulaSan Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country, in the Valle de Sula , about 60 km south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean. With an estimated population of 638,259 people in the main municipality, and 802,598 in its metro area , it is the second... - Subic BaySubic BaySubic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
to Saigon - Aguadilla (Borinquen) to Port of SpainPort of SpainPort of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
- San JuanSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
to various other countries in the West Indies
Fleet
The Air Tahoma fleet included the following aircraft (as of September 2007) :- 8 Convair CV-580
- 3 Convair CV-240
- 1 BAe 146BAe 146The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
Incidents and accidents
- In October 2003, an Air Tahoma aircraft caught fire upon landing.
- January 7, 2004, one of the Convair 580s lost all oil pressure from one engine and was forced to make an emergency landing while in Memphis.
- Air Tahoma Flight 185Air Tahoma Flight 185Air Tahoma Flight 185 was a scheduled cargo flight from Memphis to the 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 during approach to landing just one mile short of...
crashed during approach to landing just 1 1/4 mile short of the runway at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International AirportCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International AirportCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport , sometimes called the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located in Hebron, unincorporated Boone County, Kentucky, United States and serves the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. Despite being located in Boone County, the airport operations are...
on the 13 August 2004. The crash killed the First Officer Ray Gelwicks and the Captain received minor injuries. NTSB 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.
- Air Tahoma Flight 587
On September 1, 2008 an Air Tahoma Convair 580 crashed in Pickaway County, Ohio
Pickaway County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 52,727 people, 17,599 households, and 13,287 families residing in the county. The population density was 105 people per square mile . There were 18,596 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
, shortly after taking off from Rickenbacker International Airport
Rickenbacker International Airport
Rickenbacker International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located 10 miles south of the central business district of Columbus, near the village of Lockbourne in extreme southern Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The southern end of the airport extends into northern Pickaway...
, claiming the lives of the 3 crew members. The FAA and NTSB are investigating. Rickenbacker International Airport is 16 miles (25.7 km) southeast of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. The crash happened around the Noon hour.
NTSB Identification: CHI08MA270
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, September 1, 2008 in Columbus, OH
Probable Cause Approval Date: 6/22/2009
Aircraft: CONVAIR CV-580, registration: N587X
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
The accident flight was the first flight following maintenance that included flight control cable rigging. The flight was also intended to provide cockpit familiarization for the first officer and the pilot observer, and as a training flight for the first officer. About one minute after takeoff, the first officer contacted the tower and stated that they needed to return to land. The airplane impacted a cornfield about one mile southwest of the approach end of the runway, and 2 minutes 40 seconds after the initiation of the takeoff roll. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) indicated that, during the flight, neither the captain nor the first officer called for the landing gear to be raised, the flaps to be retracted, or the power levers to be reduced from full power. From the time the first officer called "rotate" until the impact, the captain repeated the word "pull" about 27 times. When the observer pilot asked, "Come back on the trim?" the captain responded, "There's nothing anymore on the trim." The inspection of the airplane revealed that the elevator trim cables were rigged improperly, which resulted in the trim cables being reversed. As a result, when the pilot applied nose-up trim, the elevator trim system actually applied nose-down trim. An examination of the maintenance instruction cards used to conduct the last inspection revealed that the inspector's block on numerous checks were not signed off by the Required Inspection Item (RII) inspector. The RII inspector did not sign the item that stated: "Connect elevator servo trim tab cables and rig in accordance with Allison Convair [maintenance manual]...” The item had been signed off by the mechanic, but not by the RII inspector. The card also contained a NOTE, which stated in bold type, "A complete inspection of all elevator controls must be accomplished and signed off by an RII qualified inspector and a logbook entry made to this effect." The RII inspector block was not signed off.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The improper (reverse) rigging of the elevator trim cables by company maintenance personnel, and their subsequent failure to discover the misrigging during required post-maintenance checks. Contributing to the accident was the captain’s inadequate post-maintenance preflight check.