TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar
Not to be confused with TAM Airlines.
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| Founded | 1945 | |||
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| Hubs |
El Alto International Airport Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport El Trompillo Airport | |||
| Focus cities |
Trinidad Rurrenabaque | |||
| Fleet size | 8 | |||
| Destinations |
4 Regular Service Charter Routes (by request) | |||
| Parent company | Bolivian Air Force | |||
| Headquarters | La Paz, Bolivia | |||
| Key people | Walter Arze Rojas | |||
| Website | www.tam.bo | |||
TAM – Transporte Aéreo Militar (Military Air Transport) is an airline based in La Paz, Bolivia. It is owned by the Bolivian Air Force, and was established to offer flights to rural communities where commercial airlines could not operate profitably. Today it also operates in competition with commercial airlines on many of Bolivia's trunk domestic routes.[1]
History
TAM begins operations on June 15, 1945 with the acquisition of new planes Douglas C-47s. In 1955, the squadron of the Bolivian Air Transport normed TAM to begin activities with commercial character.
"El Grupo Aéreo "71" (the Air group "71") known by the civil populace as Transporte Aéreo Militar (TAM), is an essential part of the structure of the Bolivian Air Force and the fundamental element for the development and integration of the populations in the distant parts of the national territory."—TAM website, Historical summary/review.[2]
The original name (from 1944) was "El Escuadrón de Transporte Aéreo" (ETA). In 1953 the name was changed to Transporte Aéreo Militar. This heritage is reflected in the words "Grupo Aéreo 71" appearing as part of the TAM logo.
Destinations
Transporte Aéreo Militar services the following destinations:[3]
- Apolo - Apolo Airport
- Baures - Baures Airport
- Bella Vista - Bella Vista Airport
- Cobija - Captain Aníbal Arab Airport
- Cochabamba - Jorge Wilstermann International Airport
- El Alto - El Alto International Airport
- Guayaramerín - Guayaramerín Airport
- Huacaraje - Huacaraje Airport
- Ixiamas - Ixiamas Airport
- Magdalena - Magdalena Airport
- Oruro - Juan Mendoza Airport
- Potosí - Captain Nicolas Rojas Airport
- Puerto Suárez - Puerto Suárez International Airport
- Reyes - Reyes Airport
- Riberalta - Riberalta Airport
- Rurrenabaque - Rurrenabaque Airport
- San Borja - Capitán Germán Quiroga Guardia Airport
- San Ignacio de Moxos - San Ignacio de Moxos Airport
- San Joaquín - San Joaquín Airport
- San Ramón - San Ramón Airport
- Santa Ana - Santa Ana del Yacuma Airport
- Santa Ana de Huachi - Santa Ana de Hachi Airport
- Santa Cruz:
- Santa Rosa
- Sucre - Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport
- Tarija - Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport
- Trinidad - Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport
- Uyuni - Uyuni Airport
- Yacuiba - Yacuiba Airport
Fleet
Xian MA60 of Transporte Aéreo Militar at El Alto International Airport.
The TAM fleet consists of the following aircraft:[1]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 727 | 1 | 0 | |
| Boeing 737 | 6 | 0 | |
| British Aerospace 146 | 6 | 0 | |
| CASA C212 | 2 | 0 | |
| Convair CV-580 | 1 | 0 | Stored at La Paz |
| Douglas C-47 | 1 | 0 | Preserved at La Paz |
| Fokker F27 | 1 | 0 | |
| Xian MA60 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 |
Accidents and incidents
- On 11 September 1962 Captain Walter Arze Rojas was taking off and the service of an airport of a very small town in Bolivia confused and gave his plane truck gasoline, he did everything to land the plane safely but he couldn't.
- On 12 February 1970, Douglas DC-3 TAM-11 crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Laja Airport. The aircraft was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight. All five people on board survived.[4]
- On 14 July 1970, Douglas DC-3 TAM-17 was damaged beyond repair in an accident at El Alto International Airport, La Paz.[5]
- On 4 May 1971, Douglas C-47 TAM-22 crashed shortly after take-off from El Alto Airport, La Paz on a cargo flight to El Jovi Airport.[6]
- On 25 September 1972, Douglas C-47A TAM-24 was reported to have been damaged beyond economic repair in an accident at Caranavi Airport.[7]
- On 19 January 1974, Douglas DC-3 TAM-30 was damaged beyond economic repair in a wheels-up landing at Laia.[8]
- On 11 November 1974, Douglas DC-3 TAM-34 crashed near the Sorata Mountain shortly after take-off from El Alto Airport.[9]
- On 27 October 1975, a CV-440 crashed into the Cerro Colorado volcano during takeoff, killing all 4 crew and 63 passengers on board. The aircraft was carrying military officers and their families.
- On March 18, 2011, a Xian MA60 (with Bolivian registration FAB-96) with 33 passengers and crew aboard, performed an emergency landing without locked nose landing gear in the airport of the touristic Amazonian village of Rurrenabaque, on arrival from La Paz. No injuries were reported.[10][11]
- On January 9, 2012 a Xian MA60 (with Bolivian registration FAB-96) with 16 passengers and 5 crew aboard performed an emergency landing without landing gear lowered at Guayaramerin on arrival from Riberalta. No injuries occurred, but the aircraft was substantially damaged.[12]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scmitz, Sebastian (February 2014). Airliner World (Key Publishing). pp. 32–37. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ TAM.bo.
- ↑ http://www.tam.bo/
- ↑ "TAM-11 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ↑ "TAM-17 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ↑ "TAM-22 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- ↑ "TAM-24 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ↑ "TAM-30 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ↑ "TAM-34 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ↑ Avión aterriza de panza sin causar daños, Periódico Los Tiempos, retrieved on March 18, 2011
- ↑ "TAM Bolivia MA60 at Rurrenabaque on Mar 18th 2011, could not extend nose gear, rests on belly". Air Crash Observer, retrieved on March 20, 2011.
- ↑ "TAM Bolivia MA60 at Guayaramerin on Jan 9th 2012, gear up landing". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Transporte Aéreo Militar. |
- www.tam.bo Página Oficial de Transporte Aéreo Militar. (In Spanish)
- Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (The website of the FAB, the Bolivian Air Force).
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