Ameristar Air Cargo, Inc. is an American

passenger A passenger 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. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

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, airli ...

based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, United States. 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, Texas, Addison, in Dallas County, Texas, 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 197 ...

in north Dallas, with hubs at

Willow Run Airport Willow Run Airport is an airport in Van Buren Township, Michigan, Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Ypsilanti Charter Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States, that serves freight, cor ...

and El Paso International Airport.

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 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 as a T-43.

Fleet

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 * 3 Falcon 20F Previously operated by Ameristar Jet Charters: * 1 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 * 2 Boeing 737-200 * 1 Beechcraft 90 * 5 Learjet 25 * 10 Learjet 24

Accidents and incidents

On August 24, 2001, an Ameristar Jet Charter Learjet 24, registration number N153TW, crashed after takeoff from Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport 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 Learjet 24, performing Flight 982 from El Paso International Airport to Del Rio International Airport 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 Learjet 24, performing Flight 878 from Laredo International Airport to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport impacted terrain while on descent towards its destination, killing both pilots on board. On March 8, 2017, an Ameristar Jet Charter McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (the same aircraft pictured above) performing Flight 9363 from

to Washington Dulles International Airport 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 Rotation or rotational/rotary motion is the circular movement of an object around a central line, known as an ''axis of rotation''. A plane figure can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise sense around a perpendicular axis intersect ...

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

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

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