The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. With its fairly high power-to-weight ratio, huge propellers and very short wings, large Fowler flaps which significantly increased effective wing area when extended, and four-engined design, the airplane had airfield performance capabilities unmatched by many jet transport aircraft even today—particularly on short runways and high altitude airfields. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensive modifications to fix a design defect, no more were ordered. Jet airliners soon supplanted turboprops for many purposes, and many Electras were modified as freighters. Some Electras are still being used in various roles into the 21st century. The airframe was also used as the basis for the Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft.
Trans International Airlines (TIA) started as a United States supplemental air carrier. From 1964, such carriers were simply charter carriers, but until 1964 they also had the ability to fly a limited amount of scheduled service. After US airline deregulation in 1979, it also operated scheduled passenger service flying as Transamerica Airlines as well as passenger and cargo charter flights during its last decade. Its headquarters were at Oakland International Airport (OAK) in Oakland, California.
Saturn Airways was a US supplemental air carrier, overseen by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US air transport. Saturn merged into Trans International Airlines in 1976. From 1965 onward Saturn was majority owned by Howard Korth, who previously controlled AAXICO Airlines, which merged into Saturn in 1965. Originally a Florida company, Saturn moved to Oakland, California in 1967 where its headquarters were located on the grounds of Oakland International Airport.
The Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra was an American civil passenger and cargo aircraft built by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation during the late 1930s. An outgrowth of the earlier Model 10 Electra, the Model 14 was also developed into larger, more capable civil and military versions.
American Airlines Flight 320 was a scheduled flight between Chicago Midway Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport. On February 3, 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra performing the flight crashed into the East River during its descent and approach to LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board. Weather conditions in the area were poor, and the aircraft descended through dense clouds and fog. As it approached the runway, it flew lower than the intended path and crashed into the icy river 4,900 feet (1,500 m) short of the runway. American Airlines had been flying the newly-developed Lockheed Electra in commercial service for only about two weeks before the crash, and the accident was the first involving the aircraft type.
The Trans Service Airlift Lockheed L-188 crash occurred on 18 December 1995 when a Lockheed L-188C Electra owned by Trans Service Airlift crashed near Jamba, Angola, killing 141 of the passengers and crew.
American Airlines Flight 383 was a nonstop flight from New York City to Cincinnati on November 8, 1965. The aircraft was a Boeing 727, with 57 passengers, and 5 crew on board. The aircraft crashed on final approach to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport located in Hebron, Kentucky, United States. Only three passengers and one flight attendant survived the accident.
Universal Airlines was a United States supplemental air carrier that operated from 1966 to 1972, based initially at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and later at Oakland International Airport in California. Universal was a re-naming of Zantop Air Transport. At the time, "supplemental" was the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) term for a charter airline, the CAB being the Federal agency that tightly regulated US carriers in that era.
American Flyers Airline Corporation (AFA) was a United States airline that operated from 1949 to 1971, certificated as a supplemental air carrier by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now defunct Federal agency that, at the time, regulated almost all commercial air transportation in the United States. AFA was owned and operated by aviator Reed Pigman until his death in an AFA accident in 1966. In 1967, ownership passed to a Pennsylvania company, and in 1971, AFA merged into Universal Airlines, another supplemental airline.
Ardmore Municipal Airport is in Carter County, Oklahoma, 12 miles (19 km) northeast of the city of Ardmore, which owns it. It is near Gene Autry, Oklahoma. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation airport.
Northwest Airlines Flight 1, registration NC17389, was a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra aircraft which crashed in eastern Montana on Friday, January 13, 1939, approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southwest of the Miles City Airport. All four on board were killed in the accident.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, disintegrated in-flight and crashed near Cannelton, Indiana on March 17, 1960. The flight carried 57 passengers and six crew members. There were no survivors.
Lineas Aéreas Nacionales S.A. was a Peruvian commercial airline headquartered in Lima, Peru, which was established in 1963. After its last Lockheed Electra crashed on Christmas Eve 1971, LANSA ceased operation, and lost its operating authority on January 4, 1972, when its working capital was exhausted.
Braniff International Airways Flight 542, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, registration N9705C, was a scheduled domestic flight from Houston, Texas, bound for New York with scheduled stops in Dallas and Washington, D.C. On September 29, 1959, 23 minutes into the 41-minute flight from Houston to Dallas Love Field, the aircraft disintegrated in mid-air approximately 3.8 miles (6.1 km) southeast of Buffalo, Texas, killing everyone on board.
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 708 (GA708/GIA708) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight in Indonesia by Garuda Indonesian Airways from Jakarta to Manado, with stopovers in Surabaya and Makassar. On 16 February 1967, while operating the last segment of the flight from Makassar to Manado, the Lockheed L-188C Electra airliner crashed on landing at Mapanget Airport in Manado, killing 22 out of 84 passengers and eight crew on board.
KLM Flight 823 was an air accident in 1961 involving a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft that crashed on approach to Cairo International Airport in Egypt after a flight from Rome in Italy. The crash killed 20 out of 29 passengers and 7 crew on flight 823.
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. The Civil Aviation Act 1971 merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways.
