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

  • Fairchild F-24 2 1945-1946
  • Cessna T-50 2 1945-1946
  • Beechcraft D-18 4 1946-1948
  • Douglas DC-3 11 1948-1962
  • Convair 240 26 1955-1967
  • Convair 440 7 1958-1971
  • Martin 404 18 1961-1965
  • Fairchild Hiller FH-227 23 1965-1972
  • BAC One-Eleven 24 1965-1972
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
Postcard from Mohawk Airlines showing airline livery in the 1970s
Postcard from Mohawk Airlines showing airline livery in the 1960s

Mohawk Airlines 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 2,200 personnel and pioneered several aspects of regional airline operations,[2] including being the first airline in the United States to hire an African American flight attendant. In 1958 Mohawk moved their headquarters from Ithaca to Oneida County Airport in the Town of Whitestown, New York, near Utica.[3][4]

History

The airline began in 1945, as Robinson Airlines out of Ithaca Municipal Airport near Ithaca, New York, flying single engine, three passenger Fairchild F-24s. In the 1950s all flights were on Douglas DC-3s; the Convair CV-240, CV-440s, and Martin 4-0-4s were added later. The airline tried helicopter service between New York and Catskill Mountains resorts with limited success. (The July 1954 OAG shows 13 flights a week each way between Newark and Liberty Airport 41°48′N 74°42′W / 41.80°N 74.70°W / 41.80; -74.70; fare $18 one way plus tax.)

In August 1953 it scheduled flights to 15 airports, and in May 1968 to 38, from Boston and Washington, D.C. to Detroit.

In 1952 Robert Peach purchased Robinson, and the name became Mohawk Airlines that August after a customer contest. In 1958 the airline moved its headquarters to Utica, NY, in the Mohawk Valley.[citation needed]

When hired by Mohawk Airlines on February 11, 1958, Ruth Carol Taylor, became the first African-American flight attendant in the United States.[5] Six months after breaking one historic barrier, Ruth Taylor's career ended due to another discriminatory barrier: the airline's marriage ban, a common practice among airlines of the day. Airlines often dismissed flight attendants who married or became pregnant.[6]

In 1961 Mohawk was the first airline to use a centralized computer-based reservation service, and in 1965 they were the first regional airline to use flight simulators.[2] Mohawk upgraded their fleet with the British Aircraft Corporation's BAC 1-11 in 1965, becoming the first regional airline to fly jets.

Mohawk Fairchild FH-227 departing from New York JFK in September 1970

By 1969 Mohawk had retired all piston aircraft and flew mainly the BAC 1-11 and turboprop Fairchild Hiller FH-227.

From 1968 to 1971 labor and economic issues bled Mohawk financially. Unable to pay creditors at the end of that period, Mohawk entered merger discussions with Allegheny Airlines, and the merger was completed in 1972. The company became USAir in 1979, changing their name to US Airways in the late 1990s. US Airways merged with America West Airlines in 2005, they chose to continue with the more recognized name: US Airways.

Destinations

Mohawk Airlines Convair CV-240 "Air Chief Pasquat" circa 1959.
Mohawk Airlines British Aircraft Corporation BAC-111 "Quebec" circa 1972.
Mohawk Airlines Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" circa 1970.

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

Fleet

From top to bottom:[8]

  • DC-3 with Robinson Airlines livery
  • DC-3 with Mohawk Airlines livery
  • Convair 240
  • Martin 4-0-4
  • Convair 440
  • BAC 1-11
  • Fairchild Hiller FH-227
  • Boeing 727-200 Ordered but never delivered
  • BAC 1-11 in final livery before Allegheny Airlines acquisition


Accidents and incidents

On July 2, 1963, at Rochester, New York, Mohawk Airlines Flight 121 (a Mohawk Airlines Martin 4-0-4) attempted to take-off into a thunderstorm. Its wing-tip hit the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled, killing seven people.

On June 23, 1967, Mohawk Airlines Flight 40 (a BAC 1-11) flying from Elmira, New York to Washington, D.C., had a fire in the rear of the aircraft that eventually destroyed the vertical tail, causing all loss of pitch control. The cause was a non-return valve failure in the APU unit, resulting in hydraulic fluid's igniting. The aircraft crashed near Blossburg, Pennsylvania, killing all 34 people on board.

On November 19, 1969, Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 (a Fairchild Hiller FH-227B) crashed into Pilot Knob on the east shore of Lake George, New York, on approach to Warren County Airport, Glens Falls, New York, killing all 14 passengers on board.

On March 3, 1972, Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 (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 the 48 people in the aircraft and one person on the ground. The lone surviving crew member was a stewardess, Sandra Quinn.

In popular culture

In music

  • On Chicago’s album, 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, the Traveling 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

  • During the eighth season of Bewitched, in season 8, episode 12, "The Eight Year Itch Witch" (1971), a woman telephones Darrin's Albany hotel room posing as a Mohawk Airlines reservation agent and tells him the 11 o'clock flight is canceled because of fog.[9]
  • In season 2, episode 1, "For Those Who Think Young" (2008) of the AMC series Mad Men, 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 with American Airlines, which is considering changing agencies in the aftermath of the 1962 Flight 1 disaster. Mohawk Airlines returns to the agency in season 5, episode 3, "Tea Leaves" (2012) and in season 6/episode 7, "Man With a Plan".

References

  1. ↑ Lehman, William. "US Airways: A Heritage Story". US Airways. Retrieved September 19, 2009. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Biographical History. "Mohawk Airlines records". Special Collections Research Center. Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved November 19, 2013. 
  3. ↑ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. May 6, 1971. 637.
  4. ↑ "Zoning Map." Town of Whitestown. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.
  5. ↑ Conrad, Don (November 16, 2005). "Alaska's World: "Promoting Diversity: Flight attendants reach out to black community during trip to Harlem"". Alaska Airlines. Retrieved September 19, 2009. 
  6. ↑ NY Times, 17Mar2012
  7. ↑ Sloan, Perry A (November 12, 2006). "Mohawk airlines". Airtimes. Retrieved September 19, 2009. 
  8. ↑ Aeromoe. "Mohawk". Aeromoe's Flyin'and Rail Grindin' Website!. Geocities. Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Season 8, Episode 12 The Eight Year Itch Witch". Bewitched (IMDb). Dec 8, 1971. 
General references
Mainline
Regional
Commuter
Cargo
Charter
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