Grand Canyon Airlines
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| Founded | 1927 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Grand Canyon, Boulder City | |||
| Fleet size | 19 | |||
| Destinations | 4 | |||
| Company slogan | With Grand Canyon Airlines, Your Memories are Cleared for Takeoff! | |||
| Parent company | Grand Canyon Airlines | |||
| Headquarters | Tusayan, Arizona, USA | |||
| Key people | Charles Bassett, Mike McComb, Craig Sanderson | |||
| Website | http://www.grandcanyonairlines.com/ | |||
Grand Canyon Airlines is an FAR Part 135 airline headquartered on the grounds of Grand Canyon National Park Airport in the Tusayan census-designated place in unincorporated Coconino County, Arizona, United States.[1][2] It operates sightseeing tours over the Grand Canyon. Its headquarters and main operation center is Grand Canyon National Park Airport.[3]
It is owned by Elling Halvorson and has 70 employees (at March 2007).[3] Grand Canyon Airlines introduced commercial airline service to Boulder City Airport on June 15, 1936.[4]
History
The airline was started in 1927 as Scenic Airways by J. Parker Van Zandt at Grand Canyon, Arizona with a Stinson SM-1 Detroiter and Ford Trimotor aircraft. Scenic Airways changed its name to Grand Canyon Airlines in 1930, and Grand Canyon Airlines is believed to be the world's oldest air tour company in continuous operations.
Two Grand Canyon Airlines pilots were the first to spot the wreckage left by the 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, between United and TWA Airlines aircraft. Pilots Henry and Palin Hudgen had been flying a scheduled service around the area at the time.[5]
On March 19, 2009 Grand Canyon Airlines moved its operations at the Boulder City Municipal Airport into the company's new Boulder City Aerocenter, a 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) terminal.[6]
Destinations
Scheduled flight destinations
Scheduled sightseeing destinations
- Grand Canyon
- Grand Canyon West
- Monument Valley
Fleet
As of January 2009 the Grand Canyon Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[7]
- 16 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- 3 Cessna 208B Caravan
Accidents and incidents
- On June 18, 1986, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 of the airline collided with a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter operated by Helitech Helicopters. Both aircraft were operating scenic air tour flights over the Grand Canyon when the collision occurred near Crystal Rapids. The collision killed all 25 people on both aircraft.[8]
- On September 27, 1989, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 of the airline crashed while performing a go-around. Both crew members and eight of 19 passengers died.[9]
References
- ↑ "Our Location." Grand Canyon Airlines. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Tusayan CDP, Arizona." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 87.
- ↑ Boulder City - The Magazine
- ↑ Blind Trust, by John J. Nance, William Morrow & Co., Inc. (USA), 1986, ISBN 0-688-05360-2, PP 96-97
- ↑ Spillman, Benjamin (2009-03-20). "Happy landings in Boulder City". Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ↑ retrieved 3 March 2009.
- ↑ "N76GC accident description page". Aviation-Safety.net. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
- ↑ "N75GC accident description page". Aviation-Safety.net. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grand Canyon Airlines. |