Presidential Airways (PAW) is a charter

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

and passenger

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

currently based at

Melbourne International Airport Melbourne Orlando International Airport is a public airport northwest of downtown Melbourne, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, and 50 miles southeast of Orlando, located on central Florida's Space Coast. The airport is reached by N ...

serving

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Presidential is now a subsidiary of Aviation Worldwide Services, owned by AAR Corp.

History

Presidential was awarded a US government contract of up to $34 million in 2004 to provide fixed-wing STOL airlift capacity to US forces in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. An aircraft, Blackwater 61, operated by Presidential and owned by its sister company, Blackwater AWS crashed on November 27, 2004 in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

; it had been a contract flight for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

en route from

Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir ...

to Farah. All aboard, three soldiers and three civilian crew members, were killed. Several of the dead's relatives filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Presidential in October 2005. A '' 60 Minutes'' investigation reported that the crash was caused by pilot error but that the company tried to avoid responsibility. After the crash, Presidential was suspended from government operations for one month, but its rights were reinstated thereafter. Presidential went on to win new Central Asia regional airlift contracts in 2007, 2008, and 2010. AAR purchased the company from Xe Services, formerly Blackwater Worldwide, in April 2010. At the time, Presidential and sister company STI Aviation operated 17 fixed wing aircraft and 21 helicopters on deployment. Following the acquisition, the company's base was relocated from Moyock, North Carolina to

. AAR Airlift won another contract for Central Asian airlift capacity in 2014.

Fleet

Presidential operates CASA C-212 and

CASA CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

turboprops. Recent contracts have added

de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier Aerospace, Bombard ...

turboprop aircraft to the fleet. The company also operates turbine powered helicopters including

Bell 214ST The Bell 214ST is a medium-lift, twin-engine helicopter descended from Bell Helicopter's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. Though it shares a type number with the somewhat-related Bell 214, the 214ST is larger and of quite different appearance. Des ...

, Bell 412,

MD Helicopters MD Helicopters, LLC. (formerly McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) is an American aerospace manufacturer. It produces light utility helicopters for commercial and military use. The company was a subsidiary of Hughes Aircraft until 1984, when Mc ...

MD-530, Eurocopter/

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...

and

Sikorsky S-61 The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the SH-3 Sea King military helicopter. It was developed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. The commercial version of the Sea King was developed during the ...

rotorcraft.

References

External links

AAR Fleet and Capabilities: Fixed Wing
copyright 2015 {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Cargo airlines of the United States Companies based in Brevard County, Florida Airlines based in Florida Melbourne, Florida Charter airlines of the United States