Lake Central Airlines
| |||||||
| Commenced operations | 1950 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1968 | ||||||
| Operating bases | Weir Cook Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | Douglas DC-3, Convair 340, Convair 580, Beechcraft Bonanza and Nord 262. | ||||||
| Parent company | Employee owned | ||||||
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | ||||||
Lake Central Airlines was an airline that served points in the midwestern United States from 1950 to 1968, when it merged into Allegheny Airlines.
History
The airline was founded as Roscoe Turner Airlines; it was based at Weir Cook Airport (now Indianapolis International Airport) in Indianapolis, IN. Lake Central's network in the 1950s extended from Chicago to Pittsburgh; in August 1953 it scheduled flights to 21 airports and in May 1968 to 39. It used the Douglas DC-3, Convair 340, Convair 580, Beechcraft Bonanza and the Nord 262.
Like other Local Service airlines, Lake Central was subsidized; in 1962, its operating "revenues" of $10.8 million included $4.2 million "pub. serv. rev."[1]
In February 1955, Lake Central Airlines became the first employee-owned scheduled airline in the history of the air transport industry.[2] 162 employees (65% of the total) bought 97.5% of the outstanding stock, 25% outright and the rest financed over 24 months.
Accidents and incidents
- On March 5, 1967, Lake Central Flight 527, a Convair 580, crashed near Marseilles, Ohio, with the loss of all 38 passengers and crew.[3]
References
- ↑ Moody's Transportation Manual 1964
- ↑ Aviation Week 21 Feb 1955 p111
- ↑ http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR68-AC.pdf