View source for Aeronica

{{Short description|Defunct Nicaraguan airline}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline          = Aeronica
| image            = Aeronica.png
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| IATA             = RL <ref name="atdb">{{Cite web|url=http://www.aerotransport.org/|title=ATDB.aero aerotransport.org AeroTransport Data Bank|website=www.aerotransport.org}}</ref>
| ICAO             = ANI
| callsign         = AERONICA
| founded          = 1981
| commenced        = 1981
| ceased           = 1992
| aoc              = 
| bases            = 
| hubs             = [[Augusto C. Sandino International Airport]]
| secondary_hubs   = 
| focus_cities     = 
| frequent_flyer   = 
| lounge           = 
| alliance         = 
| subsidiaries     = 
| fleet_size       = 
| destinations     = 
| parent           = 
| headquarters     = [[Managua, Nicaragua]]
| key_people       = 
| revenue          = 
| operating_income = 
| net_income       = 
| profit           = 
| assets           = 
| equity           = 
| website          = 
}}

'''Aerolíneas Nicaragüenses S.A.''', operating as '''Aeronica''', was an airline based in [[Nicaragua]]. Headquartered in the capital [[Managua]], it operated scheduled passenger flights within Central America, as well as to Mexico City and the United States from its [[airline hub|hub]] at the city's [[Augusto C. Sandino International Airport]].<ref name="atdb" />

==History==
Aeronica was founded in 1981,<ref name="atdb" /> as a consequence of the demise of [[LANICA]] in earlier that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vE5fqYH5IQ4C&q=lanica+1981&pg=PA839|title = Economic Decisions of the Civil Aeronautics Board}}</ref> Between 1985 and 1990, when the [[United States embargo against Nicaragua]] was in effect, the airline was banned from serving the important United States market. Further, [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-built Tupolev TU-154M were introduced into the Aeronica fleet as spare parts for US-made aircraft such as the [[Boeing 707]], [[Boeing 720B]], and [[Boeing 727]] could not be acquired.<ref>{{cite news | title=US Policy: Economic Embargo: The War Goes On | url =http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/2695 | work =Revista Envío | access-date = 2007-12-25 }}</ref> In the early 1990s, Aeronica came under economic, laboral, and political pressure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=is8iqKJFPaoC&q=aeronica+1992&pg=PA7|title = Nicaragua|year = 1992}}</ref> Many of the airline's workers organized a strike in February 1992, over the privatization of their national airline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac3d3c.html|title = Refworld &#124; Nicaragua: Information on a strike at Aeronica in 1992}}</ref> On February 28, 1992, [[TACA Airlines|TACA]] acquired a 49 percent stake in the company, resulting in the loss of many jobs in Nicaragua.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8141&context=noticen|author=Deborah Tyroler|title=Nicaragua: Strike By Aeronica Employees, Summary of Developments, February 10 - 24|date=February 28, 1992|publisher=Noticen}} </ref> In the same year, the [[Air Operator's Certificate|airline license]] of Aeronica was revoked and in 1993 the airline shut down. Existing Aeronica airport infrastructure was then repurposed by [[Grupo TACA]] for use in their associated animal-transportation firm.<ref name="atdb" />

In 1994, [[Grupo TACA]] reestablished the airline as '''[[Nicaragüense de Aviación|NICA Airlines]]''', with new colors and fleet. Ten years afterwards, TACA shut down the airline, due to marketing strategies in order to consolidate under the '''TACA Airlines''' branding in the region.

==Destinations==
[[File:Boeing 707-120B Aeronica, SNN Shannon (Limerick), Ireland PP1043951469.jpg|thumbnail|A [[Boeing 707-120B]] of Aeronica, shown stored at [[Shannon Airport]] in 2003]]
During the 1980s, Aeronica offered scheduled international passenger flights to the following destinations:<ref name="timetables">{{Cite web|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/rl3.htm|title=Aeronica - Aerolineas Nicaraguenses|website=www.timetableimages.com}}</ref>
;Costa Rica
*[[San José, Costa Rica|San José]] - [[Juan Santamaría International Airport]]
;El Salvador
*[[San Salvador]] - [[Cuscatlan International Airport]]
;Guatemala
*[[Guatemala City]] - [[La Aurora International Airport]]
;Mexico
*[[Mexico City]] - [[Mexico City International Airport]]
;Nicaragua
*[[Managua]] - [[Augusto C. Sandino International Airport]] '''(hub)'''
;Panama
*[[Panama City]] - [[Tocumen International Airport]]
;United States
*[[Miami]] - [[Miami International Airport]]

==Fleet==
Over the years of its existence, Aeronica operated the following aircraft types:<ref name="atdb" />
{{incomplete list|date=November 2011}}
{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse;text-align:center"  	
|+
|-
!Aircraft
!Introduced
!Retired
|-
|[[Antonov An-26]]
|
|
|-
|[[Antonov An-32]]
|
|
|-
| [[Boeing 707]] / [[Boeing 720B]]
|
|
|-
|[[Boeing 727-100]] / [[Boeing 727-200]]
|
|
|-
|[[CASA C-212 Aviocar]]
|
|
|-
|[[Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando]]
|
|
|-
|[[Douglas DC-6]]
|
|
|-
|[[Fokker F27 Friendship]]
|
|
|-
|[[Tupolev Tu-154M]]
|
|
|-
|}

==Accidents and incidents==
*On 12 December 1981, a bomb exploded inside the passenger cabin of a parked Aeronica [[Boeing 727-100]] ([[aircraft registration|registered]] YN-BXW) at [[Mexico City International Airport]], tearing a hole into the fuselage. The captain, two flight attendants, and a ground worker were injured. They had been on board the aircraft for pre-departure checks for a scheduled passenger flight to [[San Salvador]] and onwards to [[Managua]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19811212-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-25 YN-BXW Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*On 10 May 1982, two hijackers demanded a [[Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando]] to leave its [[Bluefields]]-[[Corn Islands|Big Corn Island]] route and land in [[Costa Rica]] instead. The pilots obeyed and landed at [[Limón]], where the perpetrators surrendered.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19820510-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Curtiss C-46F Commando YN-BRG Puerto Limón Airport (LIO)|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*On 29 June 1983, an Aeronica [[CASA C-212 Aviocar]] (registered YN-BYZ) was damaged beyond economical repair in a crash landing at [[Augusto C. Sandino International Airport]], which happened because the copilot had accidentally applied [[reverse thrust]] rather than the [[Flap (aircraft)|flaps]] immediately before landing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19830629-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident CASA C-212 Aviocar 200 YN-BYZ Managua-Augusto C. Sandino Airport (MGA)|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*On 20 April 1985, a problem was encountered with the additional fuel tanks that a [[Fokker F27 Friendship]] (registered YN-BZF) had been fitted with for the delivery flight to Aeronica from Europe to Nicaragua. The pilots decided to return to [[Kulusuk Airport]] in [[Greenland]], the place of their most recent fuel stop, but failed to do so. The aircraft crashed on a snow-covered strip, killing two of the five occupants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850420-1|title=ASN Aircraft accident Fokker F-27 Friendship 100 YN-BZF Kulusuk|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*On 28 December 1987 at 14:36 local time, an Aeronica [[Douglas DC-6]] lost its inner right engine whilst en route a cargo flight from Managua to [[Panama City]]. Debris had also damaged the outer right engine, forcing the pilots to execute a [[water landing]] in a river in [[Costa Rica]], which all six persons on board survived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19871221-1|title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6BF YN-BFO Boca San Carlos|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*The worst accident in the history of Aeronica happened on 26 May 1988, when another DC-6 (registered YN-CBE) crashed near Limón in Costa Rica, killing the six occupants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19880526-1|title=ASN Aircraft accident registration unknown|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
*On 10 November 1991, an Aeronica Boeing 727-100 (registered YN-BXW, the same aircraft that had been damaged in a bomb explosion in 1981) was destroyed in a fire at Managua Airport, which had arisen from an ignited [[oxygen]] leak during maintenance work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911110-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-25 YN-BXW Managua Airport (MGA)|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Portal|Nicaragua|Aviation}}

[[Category:Defunct airlines of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1981]]
[[Category:Airlines disestablished in 1992]]