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FAA shuts down Hawaii cargo operator Transair

Safety investigation was underway before July freighter crash

Transair 727-200 at the bottom of the ocean off Honolulu. (Image: NTSB/Flickr)

The Federal Aviation Administration has suspended the operating authority of Honolulu-based Rhoades Aviation after one of its Transair cargo jets crash-landed in the ocean early this month.

The agency said safety investigators had been looking at the company since last fall and that it will be prevented from flying or conducting maintenance inspections until it complies with FAA regulations.

The agency’s decision is separate from the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into the July accident of a Transair Boeing 737-200 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Honolulu. Both pilots survived. 

The FAA, in a statement provided to American Shipper, said it began investigating the maintenance and safety practices of Rhoades Aviation last fall. On June 13, the FAA notified Rhoades Aviation that the agency intended to rescind the authority for the airline to conduct maintenance inspections due to deficiencies identified during the investigation. The company was given 30 days under administrative process to ask the FAA to reconsider, which it did not do.


On Friday, the FAA notified Rhoades Aviation that the agency was moving forward with plans to rescind its ability to conduct maintenance inspections, effectively preventing it from operating. Transair currently has one operational 737-200 freighter.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the FAA’s decision against Rhoades Aviation.

The Transair pilots were returning to Honolulu because they lost power in one of their engines when they ditched the plane in the ocean.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com