Aero León

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Aero León S.A de C.V was a cargo airline based in Mexico City.^[1] Founded by Eucario León, it operated between 1951 and 1984.

History

Aero León cargo airline was founded in 1951 by the captain Eucario León, a former fighter pilot of the Mexican Air Force.^{[citation needed]} It started as a bush operation with a Piper Tri-pacer PA-22 on flights between Tehuacan, Usila Oaxaca, and Teutila Oaxaca.^{[citation needed]} The airline was formally called the airline Aeroleon in 1978.^{[citation needed]}

In March 1980, Aero León received two Douglas DC-8-24 planes and started flights to Central and South America.^[2] By 1983, it was named the greatest Gates Learjet sales representative in the world after it sold 32 aircraft in one single year.^{[citation needed]}

Captain Leon had an accident in 1984, which left him paralytic and led to closure of the airline in 1985.^{[citation needed]} By 1992, he returned into the cargo business again with a new airline, LAMCASA with Convair 340, Airbus A300 and Boeing 727-200 aircraft, which operated from 1994 till 2004, when captain Leon died from brain cancer.^{[citation needed]}

Accidents and incidents

• On April 1983, an Aero León Douglas DC-8 had an incident while it was carrying cattle to Brazil. The aircraft suffered a rapid depressurization event after a bull broke free from its cage. The aircraft would make a emergency landing at an airport, where the cattle was found dead upon landing due to the event. The crew of the DC-8 would later be nicknamed "The greatest bullfighters".^{[citation needed]}
• On May 21, 1981, a Convair CV-440 Metropolitan took off from Puerto Escondido with the destination of Oaxaca de Juárez with 21 passengers and 3 crew on board. While the aircraft was cruising, the Convair CV-440 struck the side of Mt. Pinarete in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountain range. A few hours after the crash, rescuers found the wreckage of the Convair on the side of the mountain. All 3 crew members and 21 passengers were killed in the crash. The probable cause was most likely a controlled flight into terrain.^[3]

Destinations

Until March 1983, destinations of Aero León included:

Fleet

References