Ameristar Air Cargo, Inc. is an American

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. Th ...

and

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline ...

based in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, USA. It operates passenger and cargo services in the Americas and acts as a broker to other cargo carriers. Its main base is

Addison Airport Addison Airport is a public airport in Addison, in Dallas County, Texas, United States, north of downtown Dallas., effective 2007-12-20 It opened in 1954 and was purchased by the town of Addison in 1976. It is home to the Cavanaugh Fligh ...

in north Dallas, with hubs at

Willow Run Airport Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation. Due to its very close proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Ai ...

and

El Paso International Airport El Paso International Airport (EPIA, , es, Aeropuerto Internacional de El Paso) is four miles (6 km) northeast of downtown El Paso, in El Paso County, Texas, United States. It is the largest civil airport in West Texas. It handled 3,516,9 ...

History

The airline started operations on 4 September 2000. It is wholly owned by Tom Wachendorfer (airline president), who also owns Ameristar Jet Charter. Passenger operations began with

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

in September 2005. Passengers include sports and entertainment industry celebrities, college athletic teams, and high-wealth individuals. In 2008, an Ameristar 737-200 was painted for use in the film The Kingdom.

Fleet

Ameristar Jet Charter McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N786TW landing at JFK Airport

The Ameristar Charters fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of February 2022): The Ameristar Air Cargo fleet previously included the following aircraft: * 2

Boeing 737-200C The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

* 3 Falcon 20F Previously operated by Ameristar Jet Charters: * 1

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

* 2

* 1 Beechcraft 90 * 5

Learjet 25 The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat (two crew and eight passengers), twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24. Development The first Model 25 flew on August 12, 19 ...

* 10

Learjet 24 The Learjet 24 is an American six-to-eight-seat (two crew and four to six passengers) twin-engine, high-speed business jet, which was manufactured by Learjet as the successor to the Learjet 23. History The Learjet 24 was designed as an improv ...

Accidents and incidents

On August 24, 2001, an Ameristar Jet Charter

, registration number N153TW, crashed after takeoff from

Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport Ithaca Tompkins International Airport is a county-owned airport located in the Town of Lansing, three miles northeast of Ithaca, the county seat and only city in Tompkins County, New York. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 201 ...

destined for Jackson-Reynolds Municipal Airport, killing both pilots. The probable cause of the accident was spatial disorientation due to low visibility night-time flight conditions. On September 29, 2003, an Ameristar Jet Charter

, performing Flight 982 from

Del Rio International Airport Del Rio International Airport is two miles northwest of Del Rio, in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. It is used for general aviation, and, being near Laughlin Air Force Base, it is often used by USAF students. Facilities The airport cov ...

overran the runway on landing. The probable cause of the accident was a higher than recommended landing speed. The plane plunged into flames after exhausting the length of the runway, killing one of two crew members. On January 9, 2007, an Ameristar Jet Charter

, performing Flight 878 from Laredo International Airport to

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla) or simply Guadalajara International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara) , is the main airport ...

impacted terrain while on descent towards its destination, killing both pilots on board. On March 8, 2017, an Ameristar Jet Charter

(the same aircraft pictured above) performing Flight 9363 from

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and F ...

and carrying the University of Michigan basketball band, spirit staff, and team to the Big Ten Tournament overran the runway at Willow Run in Ypsilanti after aborting takeoff in high wind and above V₁ speed. During the takeoff roll, a fault with the elevator system prevented normal takeoff rotation, forcing the takeoff to be rejected at high speed once it became clear that the aircraft could not fly. The aircraft ultimately came to a rest just past a perimeter road with the fuselage intact but with the undercarriage significantly damaged and the nose gear broken off. There was one minor injury sustained.

References

External links

Ameristar Jet Charter
(Geoblocking outside the USA) {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Regional airlines of the United States Airlines established in 2000 Airlines based in Texas Cargo airlines of the United States 2000 establishments in Texas