Cascade Airways

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Cascade Airways
120px
IATA ICAO Callsign
CZ CCD CASCADE
Founded 1969
Commenced operations June 9, 1969[1]
Ceased operations 1986
Hubs Seattle, WA
Destinations 14
Headquarters Spokane, WA

Cascade Airways was an airline in the United States which flew primarily regional air routes out of Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1969, it operated for 17 years and shut down in 1986.[1][2][3]

Operations

Headquartered in Spokane, Washington, Cascade Airways served the northwest U.S., primarily Seattle, Spokane, Salt Lake City, Portland, Pasco, Pullman, Boise, and Yakima.

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Cascade Airways Beechcraft 99 Airliner at Los Angeles International Airport in 1973

Other points served included Wenatchee, WA, Moses Lake, WA, Walla Walla, WA (which was the location of Cascade's main maintenance base), Lewiston, ID, Idaho Falls, ID, Pocatello, ID, Kalispell, Missoula, Helena, and Butte in Montana, and Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Also served were Eugene, OR, Medford, OR; Reno, NV; Twin Falls, ID, Olympia, WA and Richland, WA (via Pasco).

When Horizon Air began operating in 1981, Cascade was competing against a better financed airline that eventually acquired Air Oregon and Transwestern Airlines. The airline was forced to get help from Horizon[4][5] but subsequently Horizon backed out of the deal and Cascade was forced to cease operations.[3][6][7][8]

Cascade introduced British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven twinjet aircraft into its fleet in the fall of 1984. The BAC One-Eleven was the first and only jetliner ever operated by the regional airline. Cascade was also operating Hawker Siddeley HS 748, Beechcraft 1900C and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (Metro III) turboprop aircraft at this same time.

Destinations in 1984 and 1985

According to its system timetables dated October 15, 1984 and April 4, 1985, Cascade was serving the following destinations. Those destinations appearing in bold typeface received BAC One-Eleven jet service. Most of the destinations that received jet service were also served with turboprop aircraft by the airline. Other destinations were served with turboprop aircraft only:[9]

  • Boise, ID (BOI) – Focus city
  • Butte, MT (BTM)
  • Calgary, AB Canada (YYC) – only international destination served by Cascade
  • Eugene, OR (EUG)
  • Helena, MT (HLN)
  • Idaho Falls, ID (IDA)
  • Kalispell, MT (FCA)
  • Lewiston, ID/Clarkston, WA (LWS)
  • Medford, OR (MFR)
  • Moses Lake, WA (MWH)
  • Olympia, WA (OLM)
  • Pasco, WA (PSC)
  • Pocatello, ID (PIH)
  • Portland, OR (PDX) – Focus city
  • Pullman, WA/Moscow, ID (PUW)
  • Reno, NV (RNO)
  • Seattle, WA (SEA) – Hub
  • Spokane, WA (GEG) – Focus city and headquarters
  • Walla Walla, WA (ALW) – location of the airline's jet and turboprop maintenance base
  • Wenatchee, WA (EAT)
  • Yakima, WA (YKM)

Prior to the above referenced time frame, Cascade previously served the following destinations with turboprop aircraft: Astoria, OR (AST), Missoula, MT (MSO), Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) and Twin Falls, ID (TWF).[10]

Fleet

File:N1014T at GEG.jpg
A Metro III at Spokane in 1983.

Cascade Airways operated the following aircraft types over the years:

Accidents and incidents

On January 20, 1981, Cascade Airways Flight 201, Beech 99 N390CA, operating Seattle-Yakima-Spokane, crashed at 11:27 am PST in fog during its approach to Spokane International Airport. Seven were killed: five passengers and the cockpit crew, Captain David Weinberger and First Officer Paul Davis. Two passengers survived the crash and fire, Steven Tarnoff and James Eagle.[12] It crashed into a wooded hillside 4.5 miles (7 km) southwest of the airport, the NTSB investigation resulted in a determination of pilot error due to the crew using an incorrect frequency for a navigational aid and subsequently descending below the Minimum Descent Height for that approach to the airport.[13]

At the time of the crash, Cascade operated 12 Beech 99s and 3 Embraer Bandeirantes to 18 cities in the Pacific Northwest. This was the first and only fatal accident in Cascade's 15-year history.

Cascade had previously acquired Richland, Washington-based Columbia Pacific Airlines in November 1978,[14] following a fatal crash of a Columbia Pacific Beech 99. Flight 23 over-rotated and stalled on take-off from the Richland Airport on February 10, 1978, killing both pilots and all 15 passengers.[15][16]

On February 18, 1972, Cascade Airways Flight 325, a Beech 99 operating Seattle-Walla Walla-Pullman-Spokane, crashed in fog at 9:42 pm PST during its instrument approach to Spokane International Airport, and came to rest in a muddy field less than 2 miles (3 km) southwest of the runway. Two passengers and two crew were aboard, and all survived with minor injuries. The pilot, Lee M. Leslie of Spokane, walked from the crash site to a nearby service station to report it.[17] The crash site was about 200 yards (180 m) from the Medical Lake exit (#272) of Interstate 90 and the landing gear of the plane was extended.[18] Due to fog the flight had stopped in Pasco rather than Walla Walla.[17]

On June 20, 1969, less than two weeks after commencing flights, Cascade Airways Beech 99 N2550A, operating on a cargo flight with no passengers lost power on takeoff and crashed at Pasco Airport, killing both crew members. The pilot was company vice president Vaughn Gundlach, age 35, and the co-pilot was Doug Thomson, 24.[18][19][20]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ http://www.cascadeairways.com, Oct. 15, 1984 & April 4, 1985 Cascade Airways system timetables
  10. ↑ http://www.departedflights.com, July 15, 1982 Cascade Airways route map
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-81-11, July 21, 1981
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ NTSB Accident Report NTSB-AR-78-15, December 21, 1978
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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