View source for Mohawk Airlines

{{Short description|US airline 1945–1972 that merged into Allegheny}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Mohawk Airlines
| logo = mohawk_air.png
| logo_size = 150
| IATA = MO
| ICAO = MO
| callsign = MOHAWK
| parent = 
| founded = {{start date and age|1945}}<br/>as Robinson Airlines
| headquarters = [[Ithaca, New York]]<br/>After 1958, [[Utica, New York]]
| key_people = Cecil Robinson<br />[[Robert Peach]]
| ceased = {{end date and age|1972}}
| hubs = 
| frequent_flyer = 
| lounge = 
| alliance = 
| fleet_size = ''[[#Fleet|See fleet]]''
About 42 aircraft in service at acquisition by [[Allegheny Airlines]] in 1972 <ref name="lehman">{{cite web | url=http://www.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/history/mohawk.html| access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=US Airways: A Heritage Story | first=William | last=Lehman | publisher=[[US Airways]]}}</ref>
| destinations = Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, Erie,  Glens Falls, Ithaca, New York, Newark, Hartford, Harrisburg, Montreal, Rochester, Syracuse, Toronto, Utica, Washington
| num_employees = 2,200
}}
[[File:Mowhak Postcard 1960s.jpg|thumb|Postcard showing the 1960s [[BAC 1-11]] livery]]
[[File:Mowhak Postcard 1970s.jpg|thumb|Postcard showing the 1970s [[BAC 1-11]] livery]]

'''Mohawk Airlines''' was a [[local service carrier]] operating in the [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic region]] of the [[United States]], mainly in New York and [[Pennsylvania]], from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by [[Allegheny Airlines]] in 1972. At its height, it employed over 2,200 personnel and pioneered several aspects of regional airline operations,<ref name=records>{{cite web|last=Biographical History|access-date=November 19, 2013|title=Mohawk Airlines records|url=http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/m/mohawk_air.htm|work=Special Collections Research Center|publisher=Syracuse University Libraries}}</ref> including being the first airline in the United States to hire an [[African American]] [[flight attendant]], in 1958.<!--Sourced below--> The airline was based at [[Ithaca Tompkins International Airport|Ithaca Municipal Airport]] near [[Ithaca, New York]], until 1958, when it moved to [[Oneida County Airport]] in [[Whitestown, New York]].<ref>"World Airline Directory." ''[[Flight International]]''. May 6, 1971. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1971/1971%20-%200722.html?search=%22Mohawk%20Airlines%22  637].</ref><ref>"[http://town.whitestown.ny.us/content/Departments/View/7:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/92.pdf Zoning Map]." [[Whitestown, New York|Town of Whitestown]]. Retrieved on January 21, 2010.</ref>

==History==
The airline was founded in 1945 as '''Robinson Airlines''' by aerial photographer [[Cecil Robinson|C. S. Robinson]] as a unit of '''Robinson Aviation''', completing its first passenger flight on 6 April. The operation was based out of Ithaca Municipal Airport near Ithaca, New York, flying single-engine, three-passenger [[Fairchild F-24]]s. After the end of [[World War II]], the Fairchilds were supplemented with two [[Cessna T-50]]s, and in 1946, the entire fleet was replaced with [[Beechcraft Model 18]]s.<ref name="lehman" />

To keep the airline flying, Robinson secured investments from a variety of local sources, notably Ithaca Enterprises, a nonprofit organization responsible for bringing new businesses to Ithaca, and the Cooperative Grange League Federation Exchange (now part of [[Agway]]), a farmers cooperative that had been organized by members of [[The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry|The Grange]], and [[Cornell University]]. Most significant was the involvement of [[Edwin Albert Link]], creator of the [[Link Trainer]]. Link lent the airline $75,000 to purchase three used [[Douglas DC-3]]s— but also removed control of the company from Robinson, making pilot [[Robert Peach]] its general manager.<ref name="lewis">{{citation|title=Airline Executives and Federal Regulation: Case Studies in American Enterprise from the Airmail Era to the Dawn of the Jet Age|editor-last=Lewis|editor-first=Walter David|year=2000|publisher=The Ohio State University|isbn=0-8142-0833-9}}</ref> In 1948, the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] certified the airline as a local service carrier, awarding a variety of routes in the [[Mohawk Valley region]]. The airline adopted the slogan ''Route of the Air Chiefs'', and painted a blue and red "air chief" on the tails of its planes.<ref name="lehman" />

In 1952 Robert Peach purchased a controlling share of the airline, and Robinson removed himself from day-to-day operations. The board adopted the name Mohawk Airlines; in 1953 it carried 2 million passengers between 15 airports and had revenue of $24.3 million.<ref name="lewis" /> The following summer it experimented briefly with helicopter service, connecting [[Newark, New Jersey]], and [[Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel|Grossinger's Resort]] in the [[Catskill Mountains]] with a [[Sikorsky S-55]]. (The July 1954 OAG shows 13 flights a week each way between Newark and Liberty Airport {{coord|41.80|-74.70|display=inline}}; fare $18 one way plus tax.) More successfully, the airline introduced [[Convair 240]]s on 1 July 1955, becoming the first local service carrier with pressurized aircraft.<ref name="lehman" /> In 1956, having outgrown its facilities in Ithaca, it moved its corporate offices to [[Utica, New York|Utica]].<ref name="lehman" />

When hired by Mohawk Airlines in December 1957, [[Ruth Carol Taylor]] became the first [[List of African-American firsts|African-American]] flight attendant in the United States.<ref name="First">{{Cite web | url=http://www.alaskasworld.com/NEWS/2005/11/16_black_fa.asp | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Alaska's World: "Promoting Diversity: Flight attendants reach out to black community during trip to Harlem" | date=November 16, 2005| first=Don | last=Conrad| publisher=[[Alaska Airlines]]}}</ref> Six months after breaking one historic barrier, Ruth Taylor's career ended due to another barrier: the airline's marriage ban, a common practice among airlines of the day. Airlines often dismissed flight attendants who married or became pregnant.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/us/63-years-flying-from-glamour-to-days-of-gray.html|title=63 Years Flying, From Glamour to Days of Gray|last=Higgins|first=Michelle|work=New York Times|date=March 17, 2012}}</ref>

Mohawk's golden age was the late 1950s and early 1960s; it acquired the [[Convair CV-240 family|Convair 440]] in 1958, and [[Martin 4-0-4]]s in 1960. In 1961, Mohawk was the first airline to use a centralized computer-based reservation service, and in 1965, the first regional airline to use [[flight simulator]]s.<ref name=records /> Mohawk upgraded its fleet with the [[BAC One-Eleven]] in 1965, becoming the first regional airline to fly jets.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

[[File:Fairchild FH.227B N7808M Mohawk JFK 17.09.70 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Fairchild Hiller FH-227]] at New York-[[JFK International Airport|JFK]] in September 1970]]

The last DC-3 flights were in 1962; Mohawk ended Convair piston flights in 1969 and mainly flew the BAC One-Eleven and the [[Fairchild Hiller FH-227]] [[turboprop]]. Like other local service airlines, Mohawk was subsidized; in 1962 operating "revenues" totaled $23.3 million including $4.6 million "federal subsidy".<ref>Moody's Transportation Manual 1964</ref>

In May 1968, Mohawk served 38 airports, from Boston and Washington, D.C. to Detroit. Between 1968 and 1971, labor and economic issues bled Mohawk financially. Unable to pay creditors at the end of that period, Mohawk began merger discussions with [[Allegheny Airlines]],<ref name=mrgsrapok>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hu9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=7226%2C5110660 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Merger of 2 airlines OK'd |date=November 14, 1971 |page=11,s }}</ref> and merged into Allegheny on 12 April 1972. Allegheny changed its name to USAir in 1979, and later to [[US Airways]]. Following bankruptcies and a later merger with [[America West Airlines]] in 2005, US Airways purchased [[American Airlines]] in 2015 and assumed operations under the American Airlines name and logo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/02/14/news/companies/us-airways-american-airlines-merger/|title=US Airways-American Airlines to merge|first=Chris|last=Isidore|website=cnn.com|date=February 14, 2013}}</ref>

==Destinations==
* '''Connecticut'''
** Hartford ([[Bradley International Airport]])
* '''Illinois'''
** Chicago ([[Chicago Midway Airport]])
* '''Massachusetts'''
** Bedford ([[Hanscom Field]])*
** Boston ([[Logan International Airport]])
** Martha's Vineyard ([[Martha's Vineyard Airport]])
** Nantucket ([[Nantucket Memorial Airport]])
** Worcester ([[Worcester Regional Airport]])
* '''Michigan'''
** Detroit ([[Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport]])
* '''Minnesota'''
** Minneapolis-St. Paul ([[Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport]])

[[Image:Mohawk N1018C.png|thumb|Convair CV-240 "Air Chief Pasquat" circa 1959]]

* '''New Hampshire'''
** Keene ([[Dillant–Hopkins Airport]])*
** Lebanon ([[Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire)|Lebanon Municipal Airport]])
** Manchester ([[Manchester–Boston Regional Airport|Grenier Field]])
* '''New Jersey'''
** Atlantic City ([[Atlantic City International Airport]])
** Newark ([[Newark Liberty International Airport]])
* '''New York'''
** Albany ([[Albany International Airport]])
** Alexandria Bay (Maxson Airfield)*
** Binghamton ([[Greater Binghamton Airport]])
** Buffalo ([[Buffalo Niagara International Airport]])
** Elmira/Corning ([[Elmira-Corning Regional Airport]])
** Glens Falls ([[Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport]])*
** Islip ([[Long Island MacArthur Airport]])
** Ithaca/Cortland ([[Ithaca Tompkins International Airport]])
** Jamestown ([[Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport]])
** Massena ([[Massena International Airport]])
** New York ([[John F. Kennedy International Airport]])
** Oneonta/Cooperstown ([[Oneonta Municipal Airport]])*
** Plattsburgh ([[Clinton County Airport]])
** Poughkeepsie ([[Hudson Valley Regional Airport|Dutchess County Airport]])*
** Rochester ([[Greater Rochester International Airport]])
** Utica/Rome ([[Oneida County Airport]])*
** Saranac Lake ([[Adirondack Regional Airport]])
** Syracuse ([[Syracuse Hancock International Airport]])
** Watertown ([[Watertown International Airport]])
** White Plains ([[Westchester County Airport]])

[[Image:Mohawk N1122J.png|thumb|[[BAC 1-11]] "Quebec" circa 1972]]

* '''Ohio'''
** Cleveland ([[Cleveland Hopkins International Airport]])
* '''Ontario''', Canada
** Toronto ([[Toronto Pearson International Airport]])
* '''Pennsylvania'''
** Erie ([[Erie International Airport]])
** Philadelphia ([[Philadelphia International Airport]])
** Pittsburgh ([[Pittsburgh International Airport]])

[[Image:Mohawk N7823M.png|thumb|FH-227B "The City of Glens Falls" circa 1970]]

* '''Quebec''', Canada
** Montreal ([[Montréal–Trudeau International Airport|Montréal–Dorval International Airport]])
* '''Rhode Island'''
** Providence ([[T. F. Green Airport]])
* '''Vermont'''
** Burlington ([[Burlington International Airport]])
** Rutland ([[Rutland–Southern Vermont Regional Airport|Rutland State Airport]])
* '''Virginia'''
** Arlington ([[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]])<ref name="Timetables">{{Cite web| url=http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/usb/mohawk.htm | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Mohawk airlines | date=November 12, 2006 | first=Perry A | last=Sloan | publisher=[[Airtimes]]}}</ref>

''Airports marked with an asterisk (*) are not now served by any scheduled airline.''

==Fleet==
[[Image:Mohawk-fleet.png|thumb|300px|left]]
From top to bottom:<ref name="Fleet">{{Cite web | url=http://www.geocities.com/~aeromoe/fleets/mohawk.html | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Mohawk | author=Aeromoe | work=Aeromoe's Flyin'and Rail Grindin' Website! | publisher=[[GeoCities]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022183911/http://geocities.com/~aeromoe/fleets/mohawk.html|archive-date=October 22, 2009}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=September 2009}}
* [[Douglas DC-3]] (in Robinson Airlines livery)
* [[Douglas DC-3]] (in Mohawk Airlines livery)
* [[Convair 240]]
* [[Martin 4-0-4]]
* [[Convair 440]]
* [[BAC One-Eleven]] (''initial livery'')
* [[Fairchild Hiller FH-227]]B
* [[Boeing 727|Boeing 727-200]] (''ordered but never delivered or operated'')
* [[BAC One-Eleven]] (''in final livery before [[Allegheny Airlines]] acquisition'')
{{Clear}}

===Historical fleet===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Mohawk Airlines historical fleet
|-
!Aircraft
!Total
!Introduced
!Retired
!Remark
|-
| [[BAC One-Eleven 200]] || 24 || 1965 || 1972 || <ref>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=29&frstatus=3 | title = BAC 1-11 | publisher = rzjets | access-date = 12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Convair CV-240 family#Civil variants|Convair CV-240]] || 21 || 1955 || 1967 || <ref>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=263&frstatus=3 | title = Convair CV-240 | publisher = rzjets | access-date = 12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Convair CV-240 family#Civil variants|Convair CV-440 Metropolitan]] || 5 || 1959 || 1971 || <ref name =convair>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=228&frstatus=3 | title = Convair CV-440 | publisher = rzjets | access-date = 12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Convair CV-240 family#Civil variants|Convair CV-580]] || 2 || 1964 || 1967 || <ref name =convair/>
|-
| [[Convair CV-240 family#Civil variants|Convair CV-640]] || 1 || 1958 || 1965 || <ref name =convair/>
|-
| [[Douglas DC-3]] || 7 || 1948 || 1963 || <ref name=douglasdc3>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=275&frstatus=3 | title = Douglas DC-3 | publisher = rzjets | access-date =  12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] || 6 || 1952 || 1963 || <ref name=douglasdc3/>
|-
| [[Fairchild F-27|Fairchild Hiller FH-227B]] || 23 || 1966 || 1972 || <ref>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=112&frstatus=3 | title = Fairchild F-27 | publisher = rzjets | access-date =  12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|-
| [[Martin 4-0-4]] || 16 || 1961 || 1965 || <ref>{{cite web | url = https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?parentid=2365&typeid=283&frstatus=3  | title = Martin 404 | publisher = rzjets | access-date =  12 August 2019}}</ref> 
|}

==Accidents and incidents==
*4 September 1950: A Robinson Airlines DC-3 crashed shortly after taking off from the [[Oneida County Airport]] near [[Utica, New York]]; 11 passengers and three crew members died.<ref>{{cite news| title = Plane Crash Inquiry Opens; Death Toll Now at 14 | work = The Ithaca Journal | location = Ithaca, New York | date = 6 September 1950 | page = 3 | url =  https://www.newspapers.com/image/255835139/ | via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

*16 October 1961: At [[Bradley International Airport|Bradley Field]] in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, a Mohawk twin-engine Convair performed a belly landing when the pilot failed to put the wheels down before landing.  None of the 12 passengers or 3 crew members were injured.<ref>{{cite news | title = Nose Gear Collapses In Bradley Landing | work = Hartford Courant | date = 17 October 1961 | accessdate = 31 May 2023 | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/370859171/ | via = newspapers.com | page = 31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/137561058/ | via = Newspapers.com | accessdate = 26 May 2023 | date = 18 Jul 1963 | page = 2C | title = Plane's Owner Gets $200,000 | last = | first =  | work = Democrat and Chronicle | location = Rochester, New York}}</ref>

*2 July 1963: At [[Rochester, New York]], [[Mohawk Airlines Flight 121]] (a [[Martin 4-0-4]]) attempted to take off into a thunderstorm. Its wing-tip hit the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled; 7 died, 36 were injured.

*1 March 1964: At [[Broome County Airport]], a Mohawk Airlines twin-engined plane crashed during landing and was heavily damaged when the pilot accidentally retracted the landing gear.  The 44 occupants escaped the plane through emergency exits without injury.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/137736514/ | via = Newspapers.com | title = 44 Escape in Runway Accident | work = Democrat and Chronicle | location = Rochester, New York | date = 2 Mar 1964 | accessdate = 26 May 2023 | agency = Associated Press}}</ref>

*23 June 1967: [[Mohawk Airlines Flight 40]] (a [[BAC 1-11]]) flying from [[Elmira, New York]], to [[Washington, D.C.]], suffered a fire in the rear of the aircraft that destroyed the vertical tail, causing all loss of pitch control. The cause was a non-return valve failure in the [[Auxiliary power unit|APU]] unit, resulting in [[hydraulic fluid]] igniting. The aircraft crashed near [[Blossburg, Pennsylvania]]; all 34 people on board died.

*19 November 1969: [[Mohawk Airlines Flight 411]] (a [[Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B]]) crashed into Pilot Knob on the east shore of [[Lake George (lake), New York|Lake George, New York]], on approach to [[Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport|Warren County Airport, Glens Falls, New York]]; all 14 on board died.

*26 January 1972: Mohawk Airlines Flight 452 from Albany to [[LaGuardia Airport]] in New York City was hijacked and diverted to [[Westchester County Airport]]. The hijacker permitted the 42&nbsp;passengers aboard to disembark there while he negotiated his demand for $200,000 cash. After several hours on the ground with the hijacker holding a flight attendant at gunpoint, Mohawk met his demands and the crew then flew the FH-227&nbsp;airplane with the hijacker to [[Dutchess County Airport]], landing after 3&nbsp;a.m.<ref>{{cite news|author=Charlton, Laura|title=Hijacker with 3 Flees, then Lands and is Shot Dead|work=[[New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/27/archives/hijacker-with-3-flees-then-lands-and-is-shot-dead-craft-leaves.html|date=January 27, 1972|access-date=September 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19720126-1 Database,&nbsp;Aviation Safety Network, January 26, 1972]. Retrieved September 17, 2019</ref> As the 45-year old hijacker attempted to flee the airport in a getaway car, he was killed instantly by a shotgun blast from an FBI agent.<ref>{{cite book|author=Koerner, Brendan I.|author-link=Brendan I. Koerner|title=The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfBabDxG6HYC&pg=PA90|publisher=Crown|location=New York|year=2013|isbn=978-0307886101|page=90}}</ref>

*3 March 1972: [[Mohawk Airlines Flight 405]] (another FH-227) crashed into a house in [[Albany, New York]], on approach to [[Albany International Airport|Albany County Airport]]. The crew had difficulty getting the cruise lock to disengage in one of the engines. While the crew attempted to deal with the problem, the aircraft crashed short of the airfield; 16 of the 48 people in the aircraft, and one person on the ground, died. The lone surviving crew member was a stewardess, Sandra Quinn.

== See also ==
* [[List of defunct airlines of the United States]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References ==
* {{Cite web| url=http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch=Mohawk%20Airlines&distinct_entry=true | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Mohawk Airlines aircraft at Airliners.net | publisher=[[Airliners.net]]}}
* {{Cite web | url=http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/m/mohawk_air.htm | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Mohawk Airlines Records| publisher=[[Syracuse University]]}}
* {{Cite book | url=http://www.kamienski.net/mohawk/about.html | access-date=September 19, 2009 | title=Mohawk Memories - A Personal Account of a Mechanic at Mohawk Airlines | first=Richard | last=Kamienski | publisher=[[Richard Kamienski]] | edition=online | archive-date=May 17, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517233219/http://www.kamienski.net/mohawk/about.html | url-status=dead }}
* {{Cite web | url=http://www.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/history/mohawk.html | access-date=January 21, 2010 | title=US Airways: A Heritage Story | publisher=US Airways}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Mohawk Airlines}}
* {{cite web |last1=Coulthart |first1=Jim |title=Mohawk Valley Airlines 1945-1972 with Jim Coulthart |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9cX63LKC7c |website=youtube.com |publisher=Oneida County History Center|language=en |format=video |date=December 10, 2022}} [Despite the title, this video is in fact about Mohawk Airlines]

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[[Category:Airlines established in 1945]]
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