Mohawk Airlines

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Mohawk Airlines
IATA
MO		 ICAO
n/a		 Callsign
Mohawk
Founded 1945 as Robinson Airlines
Fleet size Type / Number / Service Approx. 42 aircraft in service at acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972 [1]
Destinations Albany, Buffalo, Erie, Glens Falls, Ithaca, New York, Newark, Hartford, Harrisburg, Montreal, Rochester, Syracuse, Toronto, Utica, Washington
Headquarters Ithaca, New York
After 1958, Utica, New York
Key people Robert Peach - founder
Website: n/a

Mohawk Airlines was an airline that operated in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, primarily the states of New York and Pennsylvania from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972. At its height it employed over 2200 personnel and pioneered several technical and social aspects of regional airline operations, including being the first airline in the United States to hire an African American flight attendant.

Contents

The airline began operations in 1945 as Robinson Airlines out of Ithaca Municipal Airport near Ithaca, New York flying single engined, three passenger Fairchild F-24 aircraft.

As it grew in the 1950s, the Douglas DC-3 became its primary aircraft; the Convair CV-240, CV-440's and Martin 4-0-4's were integrated into its fleet later. The airline also experimented with helicopter service between New York and Catskill Mountains resorts with limited success. In 1952, Robinson was purchased by Robert Peach and the name changed to Mohawk Airlines to reflect the Mohawk Valley of New York where the airline originated service.

On February 11, 1958, Ruth Carol Taylor was hired by Mohawk Airlines, becoming the first African-American flight attendant in the United States.

Mohawk Airlines Convair CV-240 "Air Chief Pasquat" circa 1959.
Mohawk Airlines Convair CV-240 "Air Chief Pasquat" circa 1959.

In 1961 it was the first airline to use a centralized computer based reservation service. And in 1965 it was the first regional airline to utilize flight simulators.

Mohawk upgraded its fleet with the British Aerospace Corporation BAC 1-11 in 1965, becoming the first regional airline to inaugurate jet aircraft service.

By 1969 all piston engined aircraft had been retired from its fleet and Mohawk flew mainly BAC 1-11 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 aircraft.

Mohawk Airlines British Aerospace Corporation BAC-111 "Quebec" circa 1972.
Mohawk Airlines British Aerospace Corporation BAC-111 "Quebec" circa 1972.

By 1971 labor issues and several strikes had caused Mohawk to enter merger discussions with Allegheny Airlines.

It was purchased by Allegheny Airlines in 1972, which eventually became USAir in the late 1970s and then changing its name to US Airways in the late 1990s.

Those airports marked with an asterisk (*) are not currently served by any commercial air service.

From top to bottom: [3]

Mohawk Airlines Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" circa 1970.
Mohawk Airlines Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" circa 1970.

Mohawk Airlines had four accidents that involved fatalities.

  • On July 2, 1963 at Rochester, New York, a Mohawk Airlines Martin 4-0-4 attempted to take-off into a thunderstorm. Its wing-tip hit the ground and the aircraft cart-wheeled. Seven people were killed. See Mohawk Airlines Flight 121
  • A bizarre accident occurred on June 23, 1967 when a BAC 1-11 flying from Elmira, New York to Washington, D.C. had a fire in the rear of the aircraft which eventually destroyed the vertical tail causing all loss of pitch control. The cause was a non-return valve failing in the APU unit causing hydraulic fluid to ignite. The aircraft crashed near Blossburg, Pennsylvania killing all 34 people on board. See Mohawk Airlines Flight 40.
  • On March 3, 1972 another FH-227 crashed into a house in Albany, New York on approach to Albany County Airport. The crew had difficulty getting the cruise lock to disengage in one of the engines. While the crew attempted to deal with the problem, the aircraft crashed short of the airfield killing 16 of 48 in the aircraft and one person on the ground. The lone surviving crewmember was a stewardess, Sandra Quinn. The cause of the crash has never been discovered. See Mohawk Airlines Flight 405

On Chicago's 1971 album, Chicago III, the group recorded a song called "Flight 602." Later that year, on the live album, Chicago at Carnegie Hall, the group announced that the title referred to a Mohawk flight from New York to Toronto.

The photo on the back cover of the supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys' first album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 depicts five guitar cases with old-fashioned travel stickers. At the bottom of the guitar case on the right is a travel sticker that says, "Fly Mohawk."

  1. ^ US Airways History. US Airways. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.
  2. ^ AirTimes.com
  3. ^ mohawk fleet. Aeromoe. Retrieved on 2006-07-07.

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