Sierra Pacific Airlines
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| Founded | 1971 original Calif. based company, 1976 re-opened in AZ. | ||||||
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| Hubs | Tucson International Airport | ||||||
| Secondary hubs | Yuma International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
| Parent company | Sierra Pacific Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tucson, Arizona, USA | ||||||
Sierra Pacific Airlines is an American airline based in Tucson, Arizona, USA. It operates passenger charters and sub-charters for other airlines, as well as for the United States Forest Service, United States Military and the United States Marshals Service.[2]
History
The airline was initially founded as Trans Sierra Airlines in 1970 by Chris Condon and Allan Silliphant with profits from their box office hit soft X and later R rated 3-D film The Stewardesses.[3] It was renamed Sierra Pacific Airlines when the FAA granted permission to operate aircraft over 12,500 lbs. in 1971. The original aircraft were 8 passenger Cessna 402 aircraft followed by 44 passenger Convair 440 prop airliners. The aircraft were operated out of Burbank Airport in southern California (BUR, now known as Bob Hope Airport). Destinations served included Burbank (BUR), Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX), Fresno (FAT), Bishop (BIH), Mammoth Lakes (MMH) and San Jose (SJC). In 1973 it was purchased by Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. During the winter ski season of 1975-1976, the airline was flying nonstop service from Mammoth Lakes to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Fresno with direct, one stop service to Burbank with 50 passenger Convair 580 turboprops and 19 passenger Handley Page Jetstream turboprops.[4] The air carrier also flew de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft as a scheduled intrastate PUC California airline while also having interstate CAB exemption to cross state lines. In February 1976 it became Mountain West Aviation. It is wholly owned by the Sierra Pacific Group.[2]
Until his death in November 2014, the long-time President of Sierra Pacific was Garfield Thorsrud, the founder of Mountain West Aviation.[5] Thorsrud was a smokejumper early in his career and later served in the CIA, including with Intermountain Aviation.
Fleet
In January 2007, the Sierra Pacific Airlines fleet included:[6]
Other aircraft types operated by Sierra Pacific in the past included the Cessna 402 twin prop, Convair 440 propliner, Convair 580 turboprop, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop and the Handley Page Jetstream (model HP.137) turboprop.[9]
Incidents
On March 13, 1974, a film crew for Wolper Productions filming a Bell Telephone Hour special about Ice Age Neanderthal cavemen filmed at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, was killed when a Convair 440 plane crashed into the nearby crest of the White Mountains during its climb out from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop, California. All 36 on board were killed, including 31 Wolper crew and cast members, although David Wolper was not aboard the aircraft.
The filmed segment was recovered in the tail section wreckage and was broadcast as the television documentary Primal Man. As of July 2012[update], the NTSB has not been able to determine the cause of the crash. There were no indications of technical problems during takeoff, but no plausible explanation of pilot error could be given. It is one of only three uncleared NTSB cases.[10]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flight International 12–18 April 2005
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Official Airline Guide (OAG), Feb. 1, 1976 edition
- ↑ Obituary. Retrieved May 20, 2015
- ↑ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
- ↑ FAA Aircraft Registry: N703S, 13 January 2007
- ↑ FAA Aircraft Registry: N712S, 13 January 2007
- ↑ airliners.net, Sierra Pacific Airlines aircraft photos
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sierra Pacific Airlines. |
