In 1967,Conrad "Connie" Kalitta started the airline asConnie Kalitta Services,[5] a business carrying car parts using a twin engineCessna 310 that he piloted. The airline's name would later becomeAmerican International Airways in 1984. At this point, the fleet consisted ofBoeing 747,Lockheed L-1011,Douglas DC-8, Twin Beech, andLearjet aircraft, for air freight, air ambulance, and charter passenger operations.
DC-9 of earlier American International atDetroit 1984An American Intl' Airways Douglas DC-8-62CF landing at MiamiA Learjet 25 of the subsidiary Kalitta ChartersOne of the famous Kalitta Charters II 727s at LouisvilleThe Kalitta Air headquarters inYpsilanti Township,MichiganA former Kalitta AirDouglas DC-9 atWillow Run Airport in 1989A former American International AirwaysDouglas DC-8 in 1993. This aircraft was involved in anon-fatal accident atLeeward Point Field the same year.
TheAmerican International Airwaysbrand name was also used by a charter and scheduled passenger airline which in 1981 was operating a hub located at thePhiladelphia International Airport with nonstop service to Atlantic City, Boston,Chicago Midway, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Norfolk, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Tampa, and West Palm Beach flown withMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 andMD-80 jets. The airline declared bankruptcy on July 19, 1984, and ceased operations in September.[6][7] Kalitta, however, continued using the AIA name, as "Kalitta|American International Airways" for cargo-only flights until 1997.
During the late 1980s, the Kalitta brand name continued to appear on many of the company's cargo aircraft. In 1990 and 1991, AIA flew 600 missions in support ofOperations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
In 1997, AIA merged with Kitty Hawk Inc., and Conrad Kalitta resigned to start Kalitta Leasing for buying, selling, and leasing large aircraft. In April 2000,Kitty Hawk International (the former AIA) ceased operations. Kalitta decided to rescue it and the new airline, Kalitta Air, began operations in November 2000, using the operating certificate and assets of the former airline.
On April 21, 2017, Kalitta Air retired its final Boeing 747-200F from service. This was one of the relatively few then remaining in service. Twenty-six other Boeing 747 aircraft are still active in Kalitta's fleet.
In 2020, theUnited States Department of State employed Kalitta Air to evacuate U.S. nationals fromWuhan at the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Citing instructions from the State Department, director of operations Pete Sanderlin declined to give theDetroit Free Press comment.[8] TheNational Museum of American Diplomacy's collection of artifacts includes a commemorative patch honoring the "Wuhan Evac Team" featuring a Kalitta Air plane. It has the dates "01-27-20 to 02-08-20" and fourN-numbers, N705CK, N706CK, N708CK, and N713CK.[9]
On August 18, 1993,American International Airways Flight 808, aDouglas DC-8-61 (N814CK) with three crew members on board struck level terrain 1,400 feet west of the approach end of the runway while landing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The aircraft approached from the south and was making a right turn for runway 10 with an increasing angle of bank in order to align with the runway. At 200–300 feet AGL the wings started to rock towards wings level and the nose pitched up. The right wing appeared to stall, the aircraft rolled to a 90-degree angle of bank and the nose pitched down. All three crew members survived with serious injuries, though the aircraft was completely destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire. Probable cause of the accident was attributed primarily to the impaired judgment, decision-making, and flying abilities of the captain and flight crew due to the effects of fatigue resulting from extended flight/duty hours.[19] This accident was also featured in the 19th season ofMayday/Air Crash Investigation in the episode titled "Borderline Tactics".
On October 20, 2004, a Kalitta AirBoeing 747 (N709CK) with five crew members on board experienced mechanical difficulties with one of the four engines and diverted to land safely atDetroit Metropolitan Airport. No one was injured. It was discovered after landing that the number 1 engine had separated from the airplane as it climbed through 16,000 feet overLake Michigan.[20] The engine was later recovered for inspection.
On May 25, 2008, a Boeing 747-209F/SCD (N704CK),[22] operating asFlight 207 overranrunway 20 atBrussels Airport. The aircraft broke in three and came to a complete stop in a field bordering the runway. There were four crew members and one passenger on board, and no injuries were reported.[23][24] The aircraft destined forBahrain International Airport was loaded with 76 tons of goods, half of which was diplomatic mail.[25] Belgian investigators announced that the accident was caused by the decision to reject the take-off 12 knots after passingV1 speed following abird strike.[26][27] The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of theFederal Public Service Mobility and Transport had investigated the accident.[28]
On July 7, 2008, a Boeing 747-209B (N714CK), operating forCenturion Air Cargo asFlight 164 crashed shortly after departing fromEl Dorado International Airport inBogotá at 3:55 a.m. The aircraft was en route toMiami, Florida, with a shipment of flowers. After reporting a fire in the number 4 engine, the crew attempted the return to the airport. However, after engine number 1 failed as well, the aircraft could not maintain altitude and crashed near the village ofMadrid, Colombia. The aircraft'sempennage hit a ranch house, killing a 50-year-old man and his 13-year-old son who lived there. The flight deck separated from the remainder of the aircraft, and the crew of eight survived with light to serious injuries while the rest of the airframe was consumed by fire.[29][30][31][32]
On March 29, 2019, a Boeing 747 (N740CK) departing from Brussels Airport allegedly experienced a compression failure in one of the engines at two minutes into the flight. The aircraft was diverted over the North Sea to burn fuel and landed in Leipzig.[33][34]
On September 30, 2021, a Boeing 747-400 (N741CK) operated as Flight K4330 from Leipzig (Germany) to East Midlands, EN (UK), landed on East Midlands' runway 27 when shortly after touchdown and after engaging spoilers and reverse thrust the #3 engine suffered a compressor stall and emitted a loud bang with flames.[35]
For the 1997 filmAir Force One, the producers rented one of Kalitta's Boeing 747-146 aircraft N703CK and repainted it to replicate the iconic Air Force One livery.[37]
The TV programMythBusters featured one of Kalitta's Boeing 747s (tail number N700CK) in Episode 90: "Supersized Myths”, that originally aired on November 14, 2007. In this myth the build team revisited the myth of "Jet Taxi", the story of ataxi that got stuck behind a jet taking off resulting in the taxi flipping over due to thejet blast. This myth was found to be confirmed, in that a jet could flip a taxi as well as aschool bus and alight aircraft.MythBusters featured another Kalitta Air 747 (tail number N709CK) in the episode "Storm Chasing Myths" that originally aired on October 13, 2010, using the jet exhaust to simulate the wind speed of a tornado.
Global News in Canada carried a story about a Kalitta Air 747 that carried Canadians who were stranded in quarantine on the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California. It landed at CFB Trenton in Ontario on March 10, 2020, where the passengers were quarantined for 14 days due to theCOVID-19 outbreak.[38]
Kalitta's Boeing 747-400F (N716CK) can be seen in the documentaryThe Last Cruise evacuating U.S. citizens stranded aboardDiamond Princess cruise ship during COVID-19 outbreak.[citation needed]
N707CK, a formerKuwait Airways 747-269B, was used for the filming of the movieExecutive Decision. The aircraft was painted into the fictitious "Oceanic Airlines" paint scheme.[citation needed]
^Major overhaul, repair, and maintenance facility, also where retired planes are scrapped and/or Cannibalized for spare parts. It is the formerWurtsmith Air Force Base
^"Global Airline Guide 2025 - Kalitta Air".Airliner World. September 2025. p. 81.
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from the National Transportation Safety Board
