Air Flamenco

Air Flamenco
IATA ICAO Call sign
F4 WAF FLAMENCO
Founded1976
AOC #UOIA831U[1]
Fleet size13
Destinations8
HeadquartersCulebra, Puerto Rico
Websitehttps://www.flyairflamenco.com

Air Flamenco is a commuter airline operated by Air Charter, Inc., based in Puerto Rico.

History

Air Flamenco traces its history to Flamenco Airways, which was founded in 1976 by Rubén Torres.[2] The first aircraft used was the Piper Cherokee 6 with flights between the islands of Culebra and Vieques. Six months after initial operation they acquired their first twin engine Britten-Norman Islander with a capacity of 9 passengers. With this new aircraft their service expanded with more passenger routes and US postal service between the two islands of Vieques and Culebra and the main island of Puerto Rico. Within the following five years, the airline increased its fleet to 6 aircraft expanding its services and charter flights throughout the Caribbean Islands including US and British Virgin Islands.In 2009 the airline acquired 2 other Britten Norman Islanders for cargo flights.

The airline is based at 4 locations: Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport better known as the Isla Grande Airport, San Juan; José Aponte de la Torre Airport, Ceiba, Puerto Rico; Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport, Culebra; and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport, Vieques. Current destinations are cities in Puerto Rico, the Leeward Islands, and the Dominican Republic. Air Flamenco is currently the largest Britten-Norman Islander operator.

Fleet

Air Flamenco Britten-Norman Islander II in Virgin Gorda

Besides being operated in passenger service, versions of all three of types are flown in all-cargo configuration by Flamenco Cargo, a division of Air Flamenco.[3][4]

Accidents

  • N902GD, a Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-27 Islander en route from Mayagüez to Isla Grande Airport, San Juan crashed.[5] The airplane, transporting a bank's financial documents, departed Mayagüez at 18:30 on 29 September 2004. En route the airplane approached and penetrated a level 4-5 rain shower. Control was lost and the plane crashed into the sea. There was one fatality.
  • N909GD, a Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, en route from Ceiba, PR to Culebra crashed on October 6, 2013, near Luis Peña while flying newspapers from the main island. No passengers were on board, however, the pilot did not survive.[6]
  • N821RR, a Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander, crashed during landing at Culebra Airport on February 15, 2022. The aircraft landed hard, and veered off the right side of the runway. The aircraft was written off due to structural failure.[7]
  • N916GD, a Short 360-300, made a gear-up landing at St. Croix on May 14, 2024.[8][9]
  • N915GD, a Short 360-300, landed short of the runway at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport in the British Virgin Islands on November 6, 2024.[10] The aircraft was undamaged, however multiple runway lights and fence posts were destroyed. An investigation by the AAIB was unable to come to a definitive conclusion due to lack of evidence and information.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  2. ^ "Puerto Rico's Air Flamenco to start Orlando, FL operations". ch-aviation.
  3. ^ "Bot Verification". flyairflamenco.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  4. ^ http://www.airliners.net, photos of Air Flamenco Cargo aircraft
  5. ^ "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. March 30, 2005. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Loss of control Accident Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2A-8 Islander N909GD, Sunday 6 October 2013". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  7. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander N821RR, Tuesday 15 February 2022". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  8. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Gear-up landing Incident Shorts 360-200 N916GD, Tuesday 14 May 2024". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  9. ^ Authority, Virgin Islands Port (2024-05-14). "Emergency Cargo Plane Landing Causes HERA Runway Closure". VI Port Authority. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  10. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Serious incident Shorts 360-300 N915GD, Wednesday 6 November 2024". localhost. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  11. ^ "AAIB investigation to Short Bros SD3-60, N915GD". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco_Airways