Northern Air Cargo

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Wikipedia

Northern Air Cargo, LLC
IATA ICAO Call sign
NC NAC[1] YUKON[1]
Founded1956; 69 years ago (1956)
AOC #NACA002A[2]
HubsTed Stevens Anchorage International Airport
Fleet sizeSee Fleet
DestinationsSee Destinations
Parent companyNorthern Aviation Services
Saltchuk Resources, Inc.
HeadquartersAnchorage, Alaska
Key peopleBetsy Seaton
(President & CEO)
Websitenac.aero

Northern Air Cargo (NAC) is an American cargo airline based in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. NAC operates a small fleet of Boeing 737 freighter aircraft within the state of Alaska and formerly widebody Boeing 767 freighter services throughout the Caribbean and South America. Other services include aircraft maintenance services through its subsidiary, Northern Air Maintenance Services, on-demand charters, and consolidation of cargo. With a main base at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, NAC is a division of Saltchuk, which is the corporate parent of a number of transportation and distribution companies, including Aloha Air Cargo, a cargo airline based in Hawaii.

History

NAC operated one of only two Douglas DC-6s that had been converted to swing-tail configuration

Northern Air Cargo was established in 1956 as a charter freight service by Robert "Bobby" Sholton and Maurice Carlson, and began operations with two Fairchild C-82 Packets.[3]

The airline has the distinction of being one of the very few organizations to operate a C-133 Cargomaster in civilian service, which it did during the late 1970s and early 1980s. See Fleet.

In 2019, NAC retired its last Boeing 737-200 freighter with the replacements being later model and improved Boeing 737-300s and 400s.[4]

In July 2025, Northern Air Cargo announced it would withdraw from long-haul flights using the Boeing 767, as well as its Latin American routes from Miami International Airport.[5] This was done to focus more on their domestic operations.[6]

Destinations

As of October 2025, Northern Air Cargo operates scheduled and charter freight services to the following domestic destinations:[7]

Alaska
Washington

Fleet

A Boeing 767-300 on approach to Miami.

Currently operating

As of September 2025, Northern Air Cargo operates the following aircraft:[9]

Northern Air Cargo fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Notes
Boeing 737-300(SF) 1 —
Boeing 737-400(SF) 2 —
Boeing 737-800(SF) 1 —
Total 4

Previously operated

Northern Air Cargo has previously operated the following aircraft:[3][10]

A Fairchild C-82A "Packet" of NAC, April 1985.
Aircraft Total Notes
ATR 42-300 1
Boeing 727-100C 1
Boeing 727-100F 3
Boeing 737-200 3 Retired in February 2019.
Boeing 767-300ER/BDSF 4
Boeing 767-300ER/BCF 5
Douglas DC-6 13 Two crashed (N867TA) and (N313RS)
Fairchild C-82 2

In 1979, it operated the following aircraft:[11]

In 1987, it operated the following aircraft:[12]

Services

Northern Air Cargo currently offers the following services within its Alaska route structure:[13][14]

  • General Air Cargo: The basic level of retail cargo service. Except for certain oversized and special items, delivery is within 7 days.
  • Express Air Cargo: A higher rate guaranteeing the placement of the customer's cargo on the second scheduled flight to its destination.
  • Priority Air Cargo: The highest level of service, guaranteeing the placement of the customer's cargo on the next scheduled flight to its destination. This level of service is required for live animals.
  • NAC PAC: A "flat rate" service for the shipment of envelopes and small items to regularly scheduled destinations. NAC PAC shipments are treated as priority.
  • Dangerous Goods[15]

Accidents and incidents

The NAC DC-6 that crashed on July 20, 1996, April 1985
The NAC DC-6 that crashed on 25 September 2001, June 1989
  • On July 20, 1996, Northern Air Cargo Flight 33, a Douglas DC-6 (registration N313RS) was flying from (Emmonak to Aniak) when it crashed during an attempted an emergency landing at Russian Mission after the #3 engine catching fire. When the aircraft turned towards its final approach, its right wing was seen folded up. The plane rolled to the right, pitched nose down, and flew into the ground. All 4 on board were killed, including a jump seat passenger, who was a bush pilot employed by Grant Aviation. The cause of the crash was determined to be the fatigue on the engine and improper procedures (failure to feather #3 Prop) during an emergency by the pilots on board.[16]
  • On September 25, 2001, the left wing broke off of a Northern Air Cargo Douglas DC-6BF, registration N867TA, while landing on Alpine Airstrip, AK, on a cargo flight from Deadhorse Airport. The aircraft subsequently veered off the left side of the runway and was destroyed in a post-crash fire. All 3 crew members on board survived. The aircraft was written off.[17]
  • On February 14, 2002, Northern Air Cargo Flight 20, a Boeing 727 (registration N190AJ), struck its right wingtip while landing on runway 8 (today's runway 9) at Ralph Wien Memorial Airport in Kotzebue, Alaska following a visual approach. None of the four occupants were injured, and the crew was unaware of the wingtip strike until the flight engineer noticed the damage while conducting his preflight inspection prior to departure. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Change 1 to Order 7340.2B, Contractions (Report). Federal Aviation Administration. March 10, 2011. p. 3-1-67. hdl:2027/pur1.32754081251641.
  2. ↑ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. April 10, 2007. p. 57.
  4. ↑ Dominik Sipinski (October 24, 2019). "Alaska's Northern Air Cargo ends B737-200(F) ops". ch-aviation.com.
  5. ↑ Jeff Lee (July 18, 2025). "Northern Air Cargo to stop flying 767s". cargofacts.com.
  6. ↑ Eric Kulisch (July 23, 2025). "Northern Air Cargo abandons big freighter aircraft, cuts staff". freightwaves.com.
  7. ↑ "Routes and Locations – NAC". nac.aero. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  8. ↑ "NAC Launches Seattle – Anchorage Route to Power Alaska's Future". nac.aero. September 11, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Northern Air Cargo". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 82.
  10. ↑ Flight International, October 3–9, 2006
  11. ↑ Endres, Günter G. (1979). World Airline Fleets 1979. Hounslow (UK): Airline Publications and Sales. p. 253. ISBN 0905117530.
  12. ↑ Endres, Günter G. (1987). 1987-88 World Airline Fleets. Feltham, Middlesex, UK: Browcom Publishing. p. 182. ISBN 0946141304.
  13. ↑ "Rates | NAC". www.nac.aero. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Commodity Rate List | NAC" (PDF). www.nac.aero. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Dangerous Goods | NAC". www.nac.aero. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  16. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6A N313RS Russian Mission, AK (RSH)".
  17. ↑ "ASN aircraft accident Douglas DC-6BF N867TA Deadhorse-Alpine Airstrip, AK (DQH)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ "ASN aircraft accident Boeing 727-46F N190AJ Kotzebue Airport, AK (OTZ)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved September 1, 2023.