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Mohawk Airlines

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Mohawk Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
MO MO MOHAWK
Founded1945;79 years ago(1945)
as Robinson Airlines
Ceased operations1972;52 years ago(1972)
Fleet sizeSee fleet About 42 aircraft in service at acquisition byAllegheny Airlinesin 1972[1]
DestinationsAlbany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Erie, Glens Falls, Ithaca, New York, Newark, Hartford, Harrisburg, Montreal, Rochester, Syracuse, Toronto, Utica, Washington
HeadquartersIthaca, New York
After 1958,Utica, New York
Key peopleCecil Robinson
Robert Peach
Employees2,200
Postcard showing the 1960sBAC 1-11livery
Postcard showing the 1970sBAC 1-11livery

Mohawk Airlineswas alocal service carrieroperating in theMid-Atlantic regionof theUnited States,mainly in New York andPennsylvania,from the mid-1940s until its acquisition byAllegheny Airlinesin 1972. At its height, it employed over 2,200 personnel and pioneered several aspects of regional airline operations,[2]including being the first airline in the United States to hire anAfrican Americanflight attendant,in 1958. The airline was based atIthaca Municipal AirportnearIthaca, New York,until 1958, when it moved toOneida County AirportinWhitestown, New York.[3][4]

History

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The airline was founded in 1945 asRobinson Airlinesby aerial photographerC. S. Robinsonas a unit ofRobinson Aviation,completing its first passenger flight on 6 April. The operation was based out of Ithaca Municipal Airport near Ithaca, New York, flying single-engine, three-passengerFairchild F-24s.After the end ofWorld War II,the Fairchilds were supplemented with twoCessna T-50s,and in 1946, the entire fleet was replaced withBeechcraft Model 18s.[1]

To keep the airline flying, Robinson secured investments from a variety of local sources, notably Ithaca Enterprises, a nonprofit organization responsible for bringing new businesses to Ithaca, and the Cooperative Grange League Federation Exchange (now part ofAgway), a farmers cooperative that had been organized by members ofThe Grange,andCornell University.Most significant was the involvement ofEdwin Albert Link,creator of theLink Trainer.Link lent the airline $75,000 to purchase three usedDouglas DC-3s— but also removed control of the company from Robinson, making pilotRobert Peachits general manager.[5]In 1948, theCivil Aeronautics Boardcertified the airline as a local service carrier, awarding a variety of routes in theMohawk Valley region.The airline adopted the sloganRoute of the Air Chiefs,and painted a blue and red "air chief" on the tails of its planes.[1]

In 1952 Robert Peach purchased a controlling share of the airline, and Robinson removed himself from day-to-day operations. The board adopted the name Mohawk Airlines; in 1953 it carried 2 million passengers between 15 airports and had revenue of $24.3 million.[5]The following summer it experimented briefly with helicopter service, connectingNewark, New Jersey,andGrossinger's Resortin theCatskill Mountainswith aSikorsky S-55.(The July 1954 OAG shows 13 flights a week each way between Newark and Liberty Airport41°48′N74°42′W/ 41.80°N 74.70°W/41.80; -74.70;fare $18 one way plus tax.) More successfully, the airline introducedConvair 240son 1 July 1955, becoming the first local service carrier with pressurized aircraft.[1]In 1956, having outgrown its facilities in Ithaca, it moved its corporate offices toUtica.[1]

When hired by Mohawk Airlines in December 1957,Ruth Carol Taylorbecame the firstAfrican-Americanflight attendant in the United States.[6]Six months after breaking one historic barrier, Ruth Taylor's career ended due to another barrier: the airline's marriage ban, a common practice among airlines of the day. Airlines often dismissed flight attendants who married or became pregnant.[7]

Mohawk's golden age was the late 1950s and early 1960s; it acquired theConvair 440in 1958, andMartin 4-0-4sin 1960. In 1961, Mohawk was the first airline to use a centralized computer-based reservation service, and in 1965, the first regional airline to useflight simulators.[2]Mohawk upgraded its fleet with theBAC One-Elevenin 1965, becoming the first regional airline to fly jets.[citation needed]

Fairchild Hiller FH-227at New York-JFKin September 1970

The last DC-3 flights were in 1962; Mohawk ended Convair piston flights in 1969 and mainly flew the BAC One-Eleven and theFairchild Hiller FH-227turboprop.Like other local service airlines, Mohawk was subsidized; in 1962 operating "revenues" totaled $23.3 million including $4.6 million "federal subsidy".[8]

In May 1968, Mohawk served 38 airports, from Boston and Washington, D.C. to Detroit. Between 1968 and 1971, labor and economic issues bled Mohawk financially. Unable to pay creditors at the end of that period, Mohawk began merger discussions withAllegheny Airlines,[9]and merged into Allegheny on 12 April 1972. Allegheny changed its name to USAir in 1979, and later toUS Airways.Following bankruptcies and a later merger withAmerica West Airlinesin 2005, US Airways purchasedAmerican Airlinesin 2015 and assumed operations under the American Airlines name and logo.[10]

Destinations

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Convair CV-240 "Air Chief Pasquat" circa 1959
BAC 1-11"Quebec" circa 1972
FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" circa 1970

Airports marked with an asterisk (*) are not now served by any scheduled airline.

Fleet

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From top to bottom:[12][unreliable source?]

Historical fleet

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Mohawk Airlines historical fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Remark
BAC One-Eleven 200 24 1965 1972 [13]
Convair CV-240 21 1955 1967 [14]
Convair CV-440 Metropolitan 5 1959 1971 [15]
Convair CV-580 2 1964 1967 [15]
Convair CV-640 1 1958 1965 [15]
Douglas DC-3 7 1948 1963 [16]
Douglas C-47 Skytrain 6 1952 1963 [16]
Fairchild Hiller FH-227B 23 1966 1972 [17]
Martin 4-0-4 16 1961 1965 [18]

Accidents and incidents

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4 September 1950
A Robinson Airlines DC-3 crashed shortly after taking off from theOneida County AirportnearUtica, New York,killing 11 passengers and three crew members.[19]
16 October 1961
AtBradley Fieldin Windsor Locks, Connecticut, a Mohawk twin-engine Convair performed a belly landing when the pilot failed to put the wheels down before landing. None of the 12 passengers or 3 crew members were injured.[20][21]
2 July 1963
AtRochester, New York,Mohawk Airlines Flight 121(aMartin 4-0-4) attempted to take off into a thunderstorm. Its wing-tip hit the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled; 7 died, 36 were injured.
1 March 1964
AtBroome County Airport,a Mohawk Airlines twin-engined plane crashed during landing and was heavily damaged when the pilot accidentally retracted the landing gear. The 44 occupants escaped the plane through emergency exits without injury.[22]
23 June 1967
Mohawk Airlines Flight 40(aBAC 1-11) flying fromElmira, New York,toWashington, D.C.,suffered a fire in the rear of the aircraft that destroyed the vertical tail, causing all loss of pitch control. The cause was a non-return valve failure in theAPUunit, resulting inhydraulic fluidigniting. The aircraft crashed nearBlossburg, Pennsylvania;all 34 people on board died.
19 November 1969
Mohawk Airlines Flight 411(aFairchild-Hiller FH-227B) crashed into Pilot Knob on the east shore ofLake George, New York,on approach toWarren County Airport, Glens Falls, New York;all 14 on board died.
26 January 1972
Mohawk Airlines Flight 452 from Albany toLaGuardia Airportin New York City was hijacked and diverted toWestchester County Airport.The hijacker permitted the 42 passengers aboard to disembark there while he negotiated his demand for $200,000 cash. After several hours on the ground with the hijacker holding a flight attendant at gunpoint, Mohawk met his demands and the crew then flew the FH-227 airplane with the hijacker toDutchess County Airport,landing after 3 a.m.[23][24]As the 45-year old hijacker attempted to flee the airport in a getaway car, he was killed instantly by a shotgun blast from an FBI agent.[25]
3 March 1972
Mohawk Airlines Flight 405(another FH-227) crashed into a house inAlbany, New York,on approach toAlbany 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; 16 of the 48 people in the aircraft, and one person on the ground, died. The lone surviving crew member was a stewardess, Sandra Quinn.
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In music

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  • OnChicago'salbum,Chicago III(1971), the group recorded the song "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, theTraveling Wilburys', first album,Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1(1988), 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."

In television

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  • During the eighth season ofBewitched,in season 8, episode 12, "The Eight Year Itch Witch" (1971), a woman telephonesDarrin's Albany hotel room posing as a Mohawk Airlines reservation agent and tells him the 11 o'clock flight is cancelled because of fog.[26]
  • Mohawk has been a recurring plot point in theAMCseriesMad Men.In season 2, episode 1, "For Those Who Think Young"(2008) the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency worked on a campaign for Mohawk Airlines. In season 2, episode 2,"Flight 1"(2008), Sterling Cooper resigns the account in order to pursue an account withAmerican Airlines,which is considering changing agencies in the aftermath of the crash ofAmerican Airlines Flight 1in New York. Mohawk Airlines returns to the agency in season 5, episode 3, "Tea Leaves"(2012) and in season 6/episode 7,"Man With a Plan".
  • In the animated sitcomF is for Family,taking place in the early 1970s, the principal character, Frank, works for a parody of the airline, called Mohican Airways.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abcdeLehman, William."US Airways: A Heritage Story".US Airways.RetrievedSeptember 19,2009.
  2. ^abBiographical History."Mohawk Airlines records".Special Collections Research Center.Syracuse University Libraries.RetrievedNovember 19,2013.
  3. ^"World Airline Directory."Flight International.May 6, 1971.637.
  4. ^"Zoning Map."Town of Whitestown.Retrieved on January 21, 2010.
  5. ^abLewis, Walter David, ed. (2000),Airline Executives and Federal Regulation: Case Studies in American Enterprise from the Airmail Era to the Dawn of the Jet Age,The Ohio State University,ISBN0-8142-0833-9
  6. ^Conrad, Don (November 16, 2005)."Alaska's World:" Promoting Diversity: Flight attendants reach out to black community during trip to Harlem "".Alaska Airlines.RetrievedSeptember 19,2009.
  7. ^Higgins, Michelle (March 17, 2012),"63 Years Flying, From Glamour to Days of Gray",New York Times
  8. ^Moody's Transportation Manual 1964
  9. ^"Merger of 2 airlines OK'd".Spokesman-Review.(Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 14, 1971. p. 11,s.
  10. ^Isidore, Chris (February 14, 2013)."US Airways-American Airlines to merge".cnn.com.
  11. ^Sloan, Perry A (November 12, 2006)."Mohawk airlines".Airtimes.RetrievedSeptember 19,2009.
  12. ^Aeromoe."Mohawk".Aeromoe's Flyin'and Rail Grindin' Website!.Geocities.Archived fromthe originalon October 22, 2009.RetrievedSeptember 19,2009.
  13. ^"BAC 1-11".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  14. ^"Convair CV-240".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  15. ^abc"Convair CV-440".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  16. ^ab"Douglas DC-3".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  17. ^"Fairchild F-27".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  18. ^"Martin 404".rzjets.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  19. ^"Plane Crash Inquiry Opens; Death Toll Now at 14".The Ithaca Journal.Ithaca, New York. September 6, 1950. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^"Nose Gear Collapses In Bradley Landing".Hartford Courant.October 17, 1961. p. 31.RetrievedMay 31,2023– via newspapers.com.
  21. ^"Plane's Owner Gets $200,000".Democrat and Chronicle.Rochester, New York. July 18, 1963. p. 2C.RetrievedMay 26,2023– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^"44 Escape in Runway Accident".Democrat and Chronicle.Rochester, New York. Associated Press. March 2, 1964.RetrievedMay 26,2023– via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^Charlton, Laura (January 27, 1972)."Hijacker with 3 Flees, then Lands and is Shot Dead".New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 17,2019.
  24. ^Database, Aviation Safety Network, January 26, 1972.Retrieved September 17, 2019
  25. ^Koerner, Brendan I.(2013).The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking.New York: Crown. p. 90.ISBN978-0307886101.
  26. ^"Season 8, Episode 12 The Eight Year Itch Witch".Bewitched.IMDb. December 8, 1971.

References

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