Air America (airline) - Wikipedia

Air America was an American passenger and cargo airline established in 1946 and covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from ... AirAmerica(airline) FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch CIAcovertairlinefrom1950to1976 Thisarticleneedsadditionalcitationsforverification.Pleasehelpimprovethisarticlebyaddingcitationstoreliablesources.Unsourcedmaterialmaybechallengedandremoved.Findsources: "AirAmerica" airline – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July2012)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) AirAmerica IATA ICAO Callsign - - AIRAMERICA Founded1946Ceasedoperations1976Hubs Saigon,SouthVietnam Vientiane,KingdomofLaos Udorn,Thailand Fleetsize80+Destinations2(?)ParentcompanyAmericanAirdaleCorporationHeadquartersWashington,DC AirAmericawasanAmericanpassengerandcargoairlineestablishedin1946andcovertlyownedandoperatedbytheCentralIntelligenceAgency(CIA)from1950to1976.ItsuppliedandsupportedcovertoperationsinSoutheastAsiaduringtheVietnamWar,includingprovidingsupportfordrugsmugglinginLaos.[1][2][3] Contents 1Earlyhistory:CivilAirTransport(CAT) 2OperationsduringtheVietnamWar(SecondIndochinaWar) 2.1Drugsmuggling 3Afterthewar 4Fleet 4.1Fixedwing 4.2Helicopters 5AirAsia 61980srevivalofname 7Accidentsandincidents 8Seealso 9References 10Furtherreading 11Externallinks Earlyhistory:CivilAirTransport(CAT)[edit] Mainarticle:CivilAirTransport AirAmericaBell205helicopterleavingaHmongfiresupportbaseintheLaotianPlainofJars,c.1969 CATwascreatedbyClaireChennaultandWhitingWillauerin1946asChineseNationalReliefandRehabilitationAdministration(CNRRA)AirTransporttoairliftsuppliesandfoodintowar-ravagedChina.ItwassoonpressedintoservicetosupportChiangKai-shekandhisKuomintangforcesinthecivilwarbetweenthemandthecommunistsunderMaoZedong.ManyofitsfirstpilotswereveteransofChennault'sWorldWarIIcombatgroups,popularlyknownasFlyingTigers.By1950,followingthedefeatofChiang'sforcesandtheirretreattoTaiwan,theairlinefacedfinancialdifficulties.InAugust1950,theCIAboughtoutChennaultandWillauer,continuingtooperateasCAT,until1959,whenitchangeditsnametoAirAmerica. AirAmerica'ssloganwas"Anything,Anywhere,Anytime,Professionally".[4]: xix AirAmericaaircraft,includingtheCurtissC-46Commando,PilatusPC-6Porter,deHavillandCanadaDHC-4Caribou,LockheedC-130Hercules,andFairchildC-123Provider,alongwithUH-34D,Bell204B,Bell205,andBoeingCH-47CChinookhelicopters,flewmanytypesofcargotocountriessuchastheRepublicofVietnam,theKingdomofLaos,andCambodia.ItoperatedfrombasesinthosecountriesandalsofrombasesinThailandandasfarafieldasTaiwanandJapan.Italsoonoccasionflewtop-secretmissionsintoBurmaandthePeople'sRepublicofChina. OperationsduringtheVietnamWar(SecondIndochinaWar)[edit] AirAmericaU-10DHelioCourieraircraftinLaosonacovertmountaintoplandingstrip(LS)"Limasite" From1959to1962theairlineprovideddirectandindirectsupporttoUSSpecialForces"Ambidextrous","Hotfoot",and"WhiteStar",whichtrainedtheregularRoyalLaotianarmedforces.After1962asimilaroperationknownasProject404fieldednumerousUSArmyattachés(ARMA)andairattachés(AIRA)totheUSembassyinVientiane.[citationneeded] From1962to1975,AirAmericainsertedandextractedUSpersonnel,providedlogisticalsupporttotheRoyalLaoArmy,theHmongArmyundercommandofRoyalLaoArmyMajorGeneralVangPaoandcombatantThaivolunteerforces,transportedrefugees,andflewphotoreconnaissancemissionsthatprovidedintelligenceonVietCongactivities.Itscivilian-markedcraftwerefrequentlyused,underthecontroloftheSeventh/ThirteenthAirForce,tolaunchsearchandrescuemissionsforUSpilotsdownedthroughoutSoutheastAsia.AirAmericapilotsweretheonlyknownprivateUScorporateemployeestooperatenon-FederalAviationAdministration-certifiedmilitaryaircraftinacombatrole. Bymid-1970,theairlinehadtwodozentwin-enginetransportaircraftaswellasBoeing727andBoeing747jetsplustwodozenfixedwingshort-takeoff-and-landingaircraftinadditionto30helicoptersdedicatedtooperationsinBurma,Cambodia,Thailand,andLaos.Thereweremorethan300pilots,copilots,flightmechanics,andairfreightspecialistsbasedinLaos,Vietnam,andThailand.During1970,AirAmericadelivered46millionpounds(21,000metrictons)offoodinLaos.Helicopterflighttimereachedmorethan4,000hoursamonthinthesameyear.[5][4] AnAirAmericaPilatusPC-6Porter AirAmericaflewcivilians,diplomats,spies,refugees,commandos,sabotageteams,doctors,warcasualties,drugenforcementofficers,andevenvisitingVIPslikeRichardNixonalloverSoutheastAsia.Itsnon-humanpassengerswereevenmorebizarreonoccasion.PartoftheCIA'ssupportoperationsinLaos,forinstance,involvedlogisticalsupportforlocaltribesfightingtheNorthVietnameseforcesandthePathetLao,theirlocalopponents.Forceddrafturbanizationpolicies,suchasthewidespreadapplicationofAgentOrangetoVietnamesefarmlandcreatedadisruptioninlocalfoodproduction,sothousandsoftonsoffoodhadtobeflownin,includinglivechickens,pigs,waterbuffalo,andcattle.[dubious–discuss]Ontopofthefooddrops(knownas"ricedrops")camethelogisticaldemandsforthewaritself,andAirAmericapilotsflewthousandsofflightstransportingandair-droppingammunitionandweapons(referredtoas"hardrice"[4]): 7 tofriendlyforces. WhentheNorthVietnameseArmyoverranSouthVietnamin1975,AirAmericahelicoptersparticipatedinOperationFrequentWindevacuatingbothUSciviliansandSouthVietnamesepeopleassociatedwiththeSaigonregime.[6][7]Thefamousphotographdepictingthefinalevacuation,byDutchphotographerHubertvanEs,wasanAirAmericahelicoptertakingpeoplefromanapartmentbuildingat22GiaLongStreetusedbyUSAIDandCIAemployees.[8][9] Drugsmuggling[edit] Seealso:AllegationsofCIAdrugtrafficking AirAmericaplanescarrieddrugsduringtheCIA'ssecretwarinLaos,thoughthereisdebateaboutwhetherAirAmericaandtheCIAwereactivelyinvolvedormerelyallowedotherstotransportdrugs.Duringthiswar,theCIAusedtheMeo(Hmong)populationtofightPathetLaorebels.BecauseofthewaragainstPathetLaorebels,theHmongdependeduponpoppycultivationforhardcurrency.ThePlainofJarshadbeencapturedbyPathetLaorebelsin1964whichresultedintheLaotianAirForcenotbeingabletolandtheirC-47transportaircraftonthePlainofJarsforopiumtransport.TheLaotianAirForcehadalmostnolightplanesthatcouldlandonthedirtrunwaysnearthemountaintoppoppyfields.Havingnowaytotransporttheiropium,theHmongwerefacedwitheconomicruin.AirAmericawastheonlyairlineavailableinnorthernLaos."AirAmericabeganflyingopiumfrommountainvillagesnorthandeastofthePlainofJarstoGenVangPao'sheadquartersatLongTieng."[10] AirAmericawereallegedtohaveprofitedfromtransportingopiumandheroinonbehalfofHmongleaderVangPao,[11][12]orof"turningablindeye"totheLaotianmilitarydoingit.[1][2]ThisallegationhasbeensupportedbyformerLaosCIAparamilitaryAnthonyPoshepny(akaTonyPoe),formerAirAmericapilots,andotherpeopleinvolvedinthewar.ItisportrayedinthemovieAirAmerica.However,UniversityofGeorgiaaviationhistorianWilliamM.LearywritesthatAirAmericawasnotinvolvedinthedrugtrade,citingJosephWestermeyer,aphysicianandpublichealthworkerresidentinLaosfrom1965to1975,that"American-ownedairlinesneverknowinglytransportedopiuminoroutofLaos,nordidtheirAmericanpilotseverprofitfromitstransport."[13]AviationhistorianCurtisPeeblesalsodeniesthatAirAmericaemployeeswereinvolvedinopiumtransportation.[14] HistorianAlfredW.McCoystatedthat: Inmostcases,theCIA'sroleinvolvedvariousformsofcomplicity,toleranceorstudiedignoranceaboutthetrade,notanydirectculpabilityintheactualtrafficking...[t]heCIAdidnothandleheroin,butitdidprovideitsdruglordallieswithtransport,arms,andpoliticalprotection.[3] Afterthewar[edit] AfterpullingoutofSouthVietnamin1975,therewasanattempttokeepacompanypresenceinThailand.Afterthisfellthrough,AirAmericawasdissolvedonJune30,1976.AirAsia,thecompanythatheldalloftheAirAmericaassets,waslaterpurchasedbyEvergreenInternationalAirlines.[4]Allproceeds,asumbetween20and25milliondollars,werereturnedtotheUSTreasury.Theemployeeswerereleasedunceremoniouslywithnoaccoladesandnobenefitsevenforthosewhosufferedlong-termdisabilities,nordeathbenefitsforfamiliesofemployeeskilledinaction. Suchbenefitsaswereaffordedcamefromworker'scompensationinsurancerequiredbycontractswiththeUSAirForcethatfewknewabout.Thebenefitswerenotawardedeasily.ManydisabledpilotswereultimatelycompensatedunderthefederalLongshoremen'sActafterlengthybattleswithCIAbureaucratswhodeniedtheirconnectiontotheairlineforyears.Manydiedoftheirinjuriesbeforetheycouldbecompensatedadequately.Accidentreportsweresaidtohavebeenfalsified,redacted,andstonewalledbyCIAofficialswhocontinuedtodenyanyrelationshiptotheeventsdescribedinthem. AirAmericapilotshaveattemptedtohavetheirfederalpensionsenhanced.[15] Fleet[edit] DuringitsexistenceAirAmericaoperatedadiversefleetofaircraft,themajorityofwhichwereSTOLcapable.[16]Therewas"fluidity"ofaircraftbetweensomecompaniessuchasAirAmerica,BounOumAirways,ContinentalAirServices,Inc,andtheUnitedStatesAirForce.ItwasnotuncommonforUSAFandUnitedStatesArmyAviationunitstolendaircrafttoAirAmericaforspecificmissions.AirAmericatendedtoregisteritsaircraftinTaiwan.TheyoperatedinLaoswithouttheB-nationalityprefix.USmilitaryaircraftwereoftenusedwiththe"lastthree"digitsofthemilitaryserialasacivilmarking.ThefirsttwotransportsofAirAmericaarrivedinVientiane,Laos,onAugust23,1959.TheAirAmericaoperationsatUdorn,Thailand,werecloseddownonJune30,1974.AirAmerica'soperatingauthoritywascancelledbytheCABonJanuary31,1974. Fixedwing[edit] Beech18ex-militaryC-45Expeditors VolparBeech18 –Volparconverted14aircrafttoturboproppowerwithGarrettAiResearchTPE-331engines;modifiedaircraftwerecalledVolparTurboBeechesandalsohadafurtherincreaseinMTOWto10,286 lb(4,666 kg).[17]TheywerecalledVolparsinAirAmericaservice.[18] BeechBaron Boeing727-92C Boeing747-100AirAmericaBell205sbeingevacuatedaboardUSSHancock,in1975. ConsolidatedPBY-5ACatalina CurtissC-46 deHavillandDH.89ADragonRapide deHavillandCanadaDHC-2Beaver deHavillandCanadaDHC-4Caribou deHavillandCanadaDHC-6TwinOtter300 DornierDo28Skyservant DouglasB-26Invader(OnMarkMarksmanconversion) DouglasC-47 DouglasDC-4 DouglasDC-6A/B FairchildC-119FlyingBoxcar FairchildC-123BAndKProvider HelioCourierandSuperCourier HelioTwinCourier LockheedL.1049HConstellation LockheedC-130A/EHercules PilatusTurbo-Porter(includingFairchildHillerversion) PiperApache Helicopters[edit] Bell47 Bell204B Bell205 Boeing-VertolCH-47CChinook Hughes500D HughesOH-6ACayuse SikorskyS-55/H-19 SikorskyH-34andSikorskyS-58T SikorskyCH-54Skycrane AirAsia[edit] Mainarticle:AirAsia(RepublicofChina) AirAsiawasawhollyownedsubsidiaryofAirAmericawhichprovidedtechnical,management,andequipmentservicesforCivilAirTransportofFormosa.AirAsiawasheadquarteredinTaipeianditsmainfacilitieswereinTainan,Taiwan.[19]ItisnowlocatedintheTainanAirport.ItistheonlysurvivingmemberofthePacificCorporation,butcurrentlyitisownedbyTaiwanAerospaceCorporationandisnolongerrelatedtotheCentralIntelligenceAgency. 1980srevivalofname[edit] Inthe1980s,LosAngeles–basedTotalAir[20]revivedtheAirAmericaname.[better source needed]TherevivedAirAmericaoperatedLockheedL-1011TriStarwidebodyjetlinerswithflightsservingBaltimore(BWI),Detroit(DTW),Honolulu(HNL),London(LGW)andLosAngeles(LAX).[21][better source needed] Accidentsandincidents[edit] OnMay5,1954,aC-119crashedinLaosafterbeinghitbygroundfire.PilotJamesB.McGovernJr.andWallaceBufordwerekilled.[McGovern'sremainswereidentifiedinSeptember2006].[22] OnSeptember5,1963,aC-46aircraftwashitbygroundfireandcrashedabouttwokilometersfromTcheponeintheSavannakhetProvince.AmericanEugeneDeBruin,ChineseY.C.To,andthethreeThainationals,PisidhiIndradat,PrasitPromsuwan,andPrasitThaneeparachutedtosafety,butwereimmediatelycapturedbythePathetLao.JosephC.CheneyandCharlesHerrickwerekilledinthecrash.DeBruin,To,Promsuwan,andThaneearestillmissinginaction.PisidhiIndradatwaslaterrescuedinJanuary1967. OnAugust20,1965,aUH-34crashedandsankintotheMekongRiver.Thethreecrewmembers,PilotBobbyNunez,deadheadingpilotCalhounandFlightMechanicSteveNichols,managedtoescapewhilethefourpassengersdrowned.Surnamesareonlymentionedonthemanifestforbothcrewandpassengers.Thedeadheadingpilot,Mr.Calhoun,wasinvolvedinahulllossofanotherUH-34earlierthatdaywhenthehelicopterperformedagroundloop.[23][24] OnSeptember27,1965,aC-45wasshotdownbysmallarmsfireasitattemptedtolandnearBaoTraiAirstrip,HauNghiaProvince,Vietnam.PilotJohnJohnLerdoOyer,andJackJackJWellswerekilledinthecrash. OnJanuary12,1968anAirAmericaBellUH-1DhelicopterpilotedbyTedMoore,withGlenWoodsas"kicker",shotdownanAn-2sbiplane("AnAirCombatFirst")duringtheBattleofLimaSite85.[25] OnJanuary16,1969,aDouglasC-47A"949"crashedintheHaiVanPass,18miles(29 km)southofHuế,SouthVietnam.TheaircraftwasonadomesticcargoflightfromPhuBaiInternationalAirporttoDaNangInternationalAirport.All12passengersandcrewwerekilled.[26] OnFebruary22,1970aH34HelicopterhadjustfinisheddeliveringsuppliestoMeoforcesdefendingXiengKhousangairfield,VientlaneLaos,whenitwasfireduponbysniperfire;PilotR.C.MaerklofFtWorthTexaswaskilled;co-pilotJohnFordtookcontrolofhelicopterandlandedataUSGovernmentairstrip.[27] OnDecember27,1971aC-123KfromUdornAirfield,KingdomofThailand,headedforXienhomDistrict,XaignabouliProvince,Laos.[28]TheaircraftwasonaroutineresupplymissionforU.S.AgencyforInternationalDevelopmentandwaslastheardfromwhentheywerenortheastofSayaboury.Laos.Theplaneandfourcrewmenweremissing.OnSeptember25,2018theremainsofpilotGeorgeL.Ritter;[29]co-pilotRoyF.Townley[30]andcrewmanEdwardJ.Weissenback[31]havebeenaccountedfor. Inthespringof1972,aC-7ACaribouloadedwithNationalistLaoTroopsexperiencedasimultaneoustwinenginefailureonfinalapproach.Bothpilotswereseriouslyinjured.Sabotagewassuspected. OnDecember29,1973,aDouglasC-53DEM-3overrantherunwayonlandingatDalatAirport,SouthVietnam.Theaircraftwassubstantiallydamagedandwasnotsalvagedduetothepresenceoflandminesinthearea.Itwasoperatinganon-scheduledpassengerflight.Allninepeopleonboardsurvived.[32] OnApril29,1975,aDouglasVC-47A084crashedonlandingatU-TapaoRoyalThaiNavyAirfield,Sattahip,Thailand.TheaircraftwasonaflightfromTanSonNhatInternationalAirport,Saigon,Vietnam.[33] Seealso[edit] AirAmericaPilot'sCap ListofdefunctairlinesoftheUnitedStates 1stAmericanVolunteerGroup,aWorldWarIIunitknownas"TheFlyingTigers" BattleofLimaSite85 LaoVeteransofAmerica EugeneDeBruin PisidhiIndradat Frontorganization NorthVietnameseinvasionofLaos PathetLao EvergreenInternationalAirlines NorthwestOrientAirlines References[edit] ^abRobbins,Christopher(1985).TheRavens.NewYork:Crown.p. 94.ISBN 0-9646360-0-X. ^ab"AirAmericaandDrugsinLaos".LosAngelesTimes.RetrievedJuly16,2013. ^abThePoliticsofHeroin:CIAComplicityintheGlobalDrugTrade,byMcCoy,withCathleenB.ReadandLeonardP.AdamsII,2003,p.385ISBN 1-55652-483-8 ^abcdRobbins,Christopher(2005).AirAmerica;fromWorldWarIItoVietnam(4th ed.).Bangkok:AsiaBooks.ISBN 974-8303-51-9. ^Nichols,Stephen(June3,2013).AirAmericainLaos:TheFlightMechanics'Stories.nichols/martin.ISBN 978-0615742595. ^"AirAmerica:PlayedaCrucialPartoftheEmergencyHelicopterandFixedWingEvacuationofSaigon".HistoryNet.June12,2006.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJune11,2011.RetrievedApril29,2011. ^"AirAmericaAssociation–Articles".Air-america.org.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJuly20,2011.RetrievedApril29,2011. ^VanEs,Hubert(April29,2005)."ThirtyYearsat300Millimeters".TheNewYorkTimes.RetrievedDecember17,2012. ^Butterfield,Fox;Haskell,Kari(April23,2000)."Gettingitwronginaphoto".NewYorkTimes.RetrievedApril23,2010. ^McCoy,Alfred(1972).ThePoliticsofHeroininSoutheastAsia.Harper&Row.pp. 263–264.ISBN 0060129018.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonOctober17,2014.RetrievedFebruary13,2015.AirAmericabeganflyingopiumfrommountainvillagesnorthandeastofthePlainofJarstoGen.VangPao'sheadquartersatLongTieng. ^"OpiumThroughoutHistory".PBS.RetrievedJuly15,2013. ^Cockburn,Alexander;JeffreySt.Clair(1998)."9".Whiteout,theCIA,drugsandthepress.NewYork:Verso.ISBN 1-85984-258-5. ^Leary,WilliamM.(1998)."CIAAirOperationsinLaos,1955-1974"(PDF).StudiesinIntelligence.42(2):51–68.Archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)onOctober18,2020.RetrievedAugust5,2020. ^Peebles,Curtiss(2005).TwilightWarriors:CovertAirOperationsAgainsttheUSSR.pp. 254–255.ISBN 1591146607. ^"PilotsWhoFlewForAirAmericaInVietnamFightForPensions".NPR.org.RetrievedJune4,2019. ^"AirAmericaInc".Vietnam.ttu.edu.April1,1976.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJune8,2011.RetrievedApril29,2011. ^"AirAmerica:Beech/VolparTurboBeech18".ArchivedOctober29,2008,attheWaybackMachineUniversityofTexas,Dallas,2006.Retrieved:August12,2008. ^P.31WingsofAirAmerica,APhotoHistorybyTerryLove ^"AirAmericaInc".Vietnam.ttu.edu.April1,1976.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJune8,2011.RetrievedApril29,2011. ^http://www.timetableimages.com,Dec.1,1986TotalAirsystemtimetable ^http://www.timetableimages.com,Dec.1,1986AirAmericasystemtimetable ^"CIAPilotmissinginactionfromVietnamisidentified"(PDF).Archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)onMarch1,2009.RetrievedMarch1,2019. ^"MonthlyReport:Aug/Sept1965"(PDF).FreedomofInformationAct.RetrievedNovember11,2015. ^"Archivedcopy"(PDF).Archivedfromtheoriginal(PDF)onApril18,2016.RetrievedSeptember11,2017.{{citeweb}}:CS1maint:archivedcopyastitle(link) ^"AnAirCombatFirst".CentralIntelligenceAgency.RetrievedOctober28,2016. ^"949AccidentDescription".AviationSafetyNetwork.RetrievedJanuary23,2011. ^PittsburghPost-GazetteFebruary23,1970page1.AccessedJuly2,2019 ^"Monday27December1971".AviationSafetyNetwork. ^DPAA.MilMarch1,2019 ^DPAA.milJanuary23,2019 ^DPAA.milJanuary23,2019 ^"Accidentdescription".AviationSafetyNetwork.RetrievedAugust26,2010. ^"084Accidentdescription".AviationSafetyNetwork.RetrievedAugust21,2010. Furtherreading[edit] Cockburn,Alexander&St.Clair,Jeffrey.Whiteout:TheCIA,DrugsandthePress.(Verso,1998)ISBN 1-85984-258-5 Conboy,Kenneth&Morrison,James.AlternateAirlines:CIACivilAirliftContractsinLaos.AirEnthusiastNo.83September–October1999,pp. 2–5.ISSN 0143-5450 Conboy,Kenneth&Morrison,James.ShadowWar:TheCIA'sSecretWarinLaos.BoulderCO:PaladinPress,1995. DaleScott,Peter.Drugs,Oil,andWar:TheUnitedStatesinAfghanistan,ColumbiaandIndochina(RowmanandLittlefield,2003)ISBN 0-7425-2522-8 Leary,WilliamM.PerilousMissions:CivilAirTransportandCIACovertOperationsinAsia.(TheUniversityofAlabamaPress,1984)ISBN 0-8173-0164-X Love,Terry.WingsofAirAmerica:APhotoHistory(SchifferPublishingLtd.,1998)ISBN 0-7643-0619-7 Parker,JamesE.Jr.CovertOps:TheCIA'sSecretWarinLaos(StMartin'sPress,1995)ISBN 0-312-96340-8 Robbins,Christopher.AirAmerica(Corgi,1988)ISBN 0-552-12821-X Robbins,Christopher.AirAmerica:TheTrueStoryoftheC.I.A.'sMercenaryFliersinCovertOperationsfromPre-warChinatoPresentDayNicaragua(Corgi;Newedition1991)ISBN 0-552-13722-7 Robbins,Christopher.TheRavens:PilotsoftheSecretWarofLaos(AsiaBooksCo.,2000)ISBN 974-8303-41-1 VietnamMagazine,August2006 HonorDenied:TheTruthaboutAirAmericaandtheCIAbyAllenCates(iUniverse)ISBN 9781462057481 AirAmericainLaosbyStephenI.Nichols(Amazon)ISBN 9780615742595 Leeker,JoeF.(August24,2015)."AirAmericainThailand-sincethedaysofCAT"(PDF).UniversityofTexasatDallas. Externallinks[edit] WikimediaCommonshasmediarelatedtoAirAmerica. AirAmericadocumentsreleasedbyCIAthroughFOIA CIACATactivityelsewhereintheAsiantheaterisdiscussedinthecontextofAgencyofficersJohnT.DowneyandRichardFecteau,shotdownandimprisonedinChinain1952–1973. AirAmericaAssociationwebsite OnlineMaterialsaboutAirAmericaintheVietnamArchiveatTexasTech[permanentdeadlink] AirAmerica:HelioH-500TwinCouriers AirAmericainLaos AirAmerica C-47 Portals:UnitedStatesPoliticsAviation vteAirlinesoftheUnitedStatesMainline AlaskaAirlines AllegiantAir AmericanAirlines AveloAirlines BreezeAirways DeltaAirLines EasternAirlines FrontierAirlines HawaiianAirlines JetBlue NorthernPacificAirways SouthwestAirlines SpiritAirlines SunCountryAirlines UnitedAirlines RegionalAffiliated AirWisconsin CommutAir EndeavorAir EnvoyAir GoJetAirlines HorizonAir MesaAirlines PiedmontAirlines PSAAirlines RepublicAirways SkyWestAirlines Independent AdvancedAir AirChoiceOne AirFlamenco AirSunshine BeringAir BoutiqueAir CapeAir ContourAirlines DenverAirConnection EliteAirways EmpireAirlines EvertsAir ExpressJet GrandCanyonAirlines GrantAviation IslandAirways JSX KenmoreAir KeyLimeAir MokuleleAirlines NewEnglandAirlines PenobscotIslandAir ReliantAir SanJuanAirlines SeaborneAirlines ServantAir SilverAirways SouthernAirwaysExpress StarMarianasAir SurfAir TaquanAir TradewindAviation TropicOceanAirways UltimateAirShuttle ViequesAirLink Warbelow'sAirVentures WrightAirService Cargo ABXAir AirCargoCarriers AirTransportInternational AirNetExpress AlaskaCentralExpress AlohaAirCargo AlpineAirExpress AmazonAir Ameriflight AmerijetInternational AmeristarJetCharter AsiaPacificAirlines AtlasAir BaronAviationServices BemidjiAirlines CastleAviation CorporateAir CSAAir EmpireAirlines EvertsAirCargo FedExExpress FreightRunnersExpress KalittaAir KalittaChartersII LyndenAirCargo Martinaire MerlinAirways MountainAirCargo NationalAirlines NorthernAirCargo PolarAirCargo RoyalAirFreight RyanAirServices SkyLeaseCargo Transair UPSAirlines USAJetAirlines WestAir WesternGlobalAirlines WigginsAirways Charter AirCharterBahamas AirstreamJets AlerionAviation BerryAviation BighornAirways ChoiceAirways ContourAviation DeltaPrivateJets ExcelAire GreatLakesAir GryphonAirlines HillwoodAirways IAeroAirways IBCAirways L-3FlightInternationalAviation NetJets OmniAirInternational PacificCoastJet PentastarAviation PhoenixAir PlaneSense PresidentialAirways RegionalSky SierraPacificAirlines Skymax SuperiorAirCharter SuperiorAviation TailwindAirService TalkeetnaAirTaxi WorldAtlanticAirlines XOJET Airtaxiandtours GemAir GrandCanyonScenicAirlines GriffingFlyingService UtahAirways Airambulance AirEvacLifeteam AirMedInternational AirMethods CriticalAirMedicine LifeFlightNetwork Lifestar PetroleumHelicoptersInternational Government Comco Janet JPATS PatriotExpress Listofairlineholdingcompanies Listofairlinemergersandacquisitions ListofdefunctairlinesoftheUnitedStates AuthoritycontrolGeneral VIAF 1 WorldCat Nationallibraries UnitedStates Other SUDOC(France) 1 Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Air_America_(airline)&oldid=1077398124" Categories:Airlinesestablishedin1950Airlinesdisestablishedin1976CentralIntelligenceAgencyfrontorganizationsDefunctairlinesoftheUnitedStatesDefuncthelicopterairlinesVietnamWarLaotianCivilWarPrivatemilitarycontractorsHiddencategories:WebarchivetemplatewaybacklinksCS1maint:archivedcopyastitleArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionisdifferentfromWikidataUsemdydatesfromJuly2013ArticlesneedingadditionalreferencesfromJuly2012AllarticlesneedingadditionalreferencesAllarticleswithunsourcedstatementsArticleswithunsourcedstatementsfromJuly2019AllaccuracydisputesArticleswithdisputedstatementsfromJuly2019AllarticleslackingreliablereferencesArticleslackingreliablereferencesfromJuly2019CommonscategorylinkisonWikidataAllarticleswithdeadexternallinksArticleswithdeadexternallinksfromJune2017ArticleswithpermanentlydeadexternallinksArticleswithVIAFidentifiersArticleswithWORLDCATIDidentifiersArticleswithLCCNidentifiersArticleswithSUDOCidentifiers Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Inotherprojects WikimediaCommons Languages ČeštinaDeutschEsperantoFrançaisItalianoMagyarNederlands日本語NorskbokmålPolskiРусскийSuomi Editlinks