Castle Aviation is a

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 ...

and private passenger airline based in North Canton,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. It offers charter cargo and private passenger services, but primarily provides priority freight service for the Canadian parcel post service Purolator. Its only base is the Akron–Canton Airport.

History

The airline was established and started operations in January 1986. In April 2004 it started operating the first freight version of the Saab 340A aircraft.

Fleet

The Castle Aviation fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of October 2023):

Previously operated

Accidents / Incidents

* On December 10, 2021, Castle Air Flight 921 (N54GP), a Castle Aviation owned and operated Swearingen Merlin flying from Essex County Airport in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

to Manchester–Boston Regional Airport, crashed into a wooded area in

Bedford, New Hampshire Bedford is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 23,322, reflecting a growth of 10% from 2010. Bedford is a suburb of Manchester, New Hamps ...

on the banks of the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

while on short final to runway 6. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed upon impact. * On February 10, 2016, a Castle Aviation owned and operated Cessna C208B Super Cargomaster slid off of a runway at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in winter weather conditions. This runway excursion resulted in the closing of a runway and several flights being diverted. * On December 5, 2007, a Castle Aviation owned and operated Cessna C208B Super Cargomaster (N28MG) was flying from

Rickenbacker International Airport Rickenbacker International Airport is a civil-military public airport south of downtown Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, near Lockbourne, Ohio, Lockbourne in southern Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The south end of the ...

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Buffalo Niagara International Airport is in Cheektowaga (town), New York, Cheektowaga, New York (state), New York, United States. The airport serves Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, New York in the United States, and the southern Golden H ...

when it crashed less than one minute after takeoff. The NTSB report indicated the probable cause of the crash was the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and collision avoidance with terrain due to spatial disorientation, with low cloud ceiling and night conditions contributing to the accident. The pilot and a passenger died in the crash. Also noteworthy is another Castle Aviation Super Cargo Master (N27MG) was at the departure airport stuck in the snow where it had departed the pavement while taxiing for takeoff ahead of N28MG. N28MG taxied past the stuck N27MG and departed after

deicing De-icing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only de-ice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or pr ...

. * On October 8, 1998, a Aslte Aviation owned and operated Piper Chieftain (N3453A) was flying from

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its Metro Detroit, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, Michigan, Romulus, a Detroit suburb ...

to Portage County Airport when it was destroyed after a forced landing in a wooded area near Ravenna, Ohio, approximately 5 miles from the destination airport due to fuel starvation. The airplane had been suffering issues with the landing gear status lights during the trip which caused a circuit breaker to open. The pilot flew four more legs with the airplane in this condition, not realizing the fuel gauges were also disabled by that circuit breaker.

References

External links

Castle Air
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Cargo airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1986 Airlines based in Ohio 1986 establishments in Ohio Stark County, Ohio