Kalitta Air
Kalitta Air is an American cargo airline based in Ypsilanti and maintenance based on the local Willow Run Airport.
History
Kalitta Air was established in April 2000 through the acquisition of Kitty Hawk International in November 2000 and took its flight operations. My home airport is the Willow Run Airport in Michigan. It is named after the company owner Conrad Kalitta ( born 1938, CEO).
In 1967, Conrad Kalitta founded a company for distribution for tested his own auto parts with a twin-engine Cessna 310 From this, the airline " American International Airways " (AIA ) grew. AIA began flight operations in 1984, with several Boeing 747, Lockheed L -1011, Douglas DC-8, Twin Beech and Learjet for air cargo and medical flights and passenger charter flights. 1990 and 1991 AIA flew 600 missions in support of Desert Shield / Desert Storm. In 1997, AIA merged with Kitty Hawk Inc. In April 2000, Kitty Hawk International ceased flight operations. Kalitta decided with the founding of Kalitta Air rescue and began flight operations in November 2000 with the operating license and the assets of the former airline.
Destinations
Kalitta Air operates through global cargo flights in charter and scheduled service. Since 2003 Kalitta Air operate regular routes from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York or the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam or to Nottingham / East Midlands as well as between the U.S. and Hong Kong. Also, Leipzig / Halle is serviced regularly. The flights will be partly carried out by third parties in order, Kalitta Air, for example, worked for the Air Mobility Command and operates aircraft for DHL Aviation.
Fleet
As of October 2013, the fleet of the Kalitta Air consists of 15 cargo aircraft:
- 8 Boeing 747-200FSCD/SF
- 7 Boeing 747-400BCF/ERF (2 operated for DHL Aviation )
Some of the cargo aircraft of the Kalitta Air have been converted from former passenger aircraft, for example, Japan Airlines.
Incidents
Kalitta Air recorded in their history two aircraft losses:
- May 25, 2008 accident at the airport Brussels -Zaventem a Boeing 747- 209f with the identifier N704CK that should carry 76 tons of cargo to Bahrain. The machine went off the runway and broke into three parts. All five crew members were able to bring about the escape slides to safety, four of them were slightly injured in the incident.
- On 7 July 2008, the Boeing 747- 209B crashed with the identifier N714CK shortly after takeoff from Bogotá. She was on behalf of Centurion Air Cargo on the way to Miami. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from a low height on a house, burying at least two residents among themselves. In the subsequent explosion, the cockpit canopy was indeed demolished, yet survived all eight crew members of the flight this disaster almost unharmed.
Trivia
- For the film Air Force One starring Harrison Ford in the lead role was a Boeing 747-146 of American International Airways, the forerunner of Kalitta Air, repainted in the colors of Air Force One and used for corresponding movies. This 747 had the same random identifier ( N703CK ), which after closure by the acquisition of the 747- 212B was used again later.