Northwest Airlink
Northwest Airlink was the trade name of Northwest Airlines' regional airline service, which flew turboprop and regional jet aircraft from Northwest's domestic hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit, and Memphis. Service was primarily to small-to-medium sized cities and towns where larger aircraft might not be economical to operate and also to larger markets to either provide additional capacity or more frequent flights than could be justified using mainline aircraft. Beginning in July, 2009, the Northwest Airlink trade name was phased out, and replaced by the Delta Connection trade name, for Delta Air Lines as part of the Delta/Northwest merger.
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[edit] Service providers
The service was operated by three separate companies:
- Compass Airlines (a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans States Holdings) operates Embraer 175 aircraft throughout the United States. It was formed using the operating certificate previously held by Independence Air.
- Mesaba Airlines (now an independent company owned by Pinnacle Airlines Corporation as of July 1, 2010[1]; formally a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines) operates the Saab 340 turboprop, the CRJ200, and the new CRJ900 aircraft throughout the United States.
- Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. (an independent company owned by Pinnacle Airlines Corporation) operates the CRJ200 and CRJ900 throughout the United States.
Fischer Brothers Aviation, Pacific Island Aviation, Business Express Airlines and Simmons Airlines formerly operated under the Northwest Airlink name.
[edit] Destinations
[edit] Fleet
Northwest Airlink service was operated using 34-seat Saab 340 turboprops and 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft in a single class of service. Mesaba Airlines and Compass Airlines also operated Bombardier CRJ-900s and Embraer E-175s, respectively. Both aircraft were operated in a 76-seat, two-class configuration.
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- March 4, 1987: Northwest Airlink Flight 2268, operating under Fischer Brothers Aviation, a CASA 212 was on a scheduled flight from Mansfield to Detroit with an intermediate stop in Cleveland when it crashed while landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The plane yawed violently to the left about 70 feet above the runway, skidded to the right, hit 3 ground support vehicles in front of Concourse F and caught fire. Out of 19 occupants onboard (16 passengers and 3 crew)), 9 were killed. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error. [2]
- December 1, 1993: Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 being operated by Express Airlines II, a Jetstream 31, was flying a scheduled flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to International Falls with an enroute stop in Hibbing when it crashed while approaching for landing at Chisholm-Hibbing Airport. The plane descended struck the tops of trees and then two ridges and came to rest inverted on its right side. All 18 occupants (16 passengers and 2 crew) died. The cause of the crash was the lack of crew-coordination and loss of awareness of the altitude during a night instrument landing.[3]
- Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 was a Bombardier CRJ200 with a crew of two operating a ferry flight (with no passengers) from Little Rock, AR to Minneapolis, MN. It crashed on October 14, 2004 in a residential area in Jefferson City, MO due to the flight crew pushing the plane past its capabilities and ignoring warnings. The NTSB has since finished its investigation of the accident.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Pinnacle Airlines Corp. Acquires Mesaba Aviation, Inc.
- ^ NTSB report
- ^ NTSB report
- ^ NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, Crash of Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701, October 14, 2004.
[edit] External links
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