Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet International plans to repair a 36-year-old Boeing 767-300 converted freighter aircraft that suffered fuselage damage from a hard landing in Guatemala City last month, CEO Joe Mozzali said.
The aircraft’s age left many speculating that it wasn’t worth fixing and would be scrapped for parts, but Mozzali said Amerijet’s insurance company will cover the cost of the repair because it is less expensive than paying a claim for an aircraft declared totally damaged.
In reality, even badly damaged freighter aircraft are too valuable to part with because of the current shortage of widebody freighters, supply chain challenges that are slowing passenger-to-freighter conversions and limited feedstock caused by passenger airlines holding longer onto aircraft because engine-quality problems are slowing delivery of new aircraft, according to air cargo experts.
Amerijet has hired a local repair station to conduct a temporary repair in Guatemala City and will then ferry the aircraft to a maintenance facility for a longer-term repair, Mozzali told FreightWaves in an email exchange. It is uncertain when the plane will be ready to return to service.
The Amerijet aircraft departed Miami on Sept. 6 and landed hard on its nose gear first, resulting in buckle damage to the top of the fuselage, according to The Aviation Herald and photos on social media. The aircraft has remained grounded at Guatemala City International Airport since the incident.
Aviation safety experts say “skin buckling” can occur when the structure beneath the skin, including ribs and load-bearing beams, is distorted or bent. The stress from a hard landing could transfer through the landing gear to the landing gear fittings to the wing, and then carry through to the fuselage structure.
The damaged 786-300 was built for Qantas Airlines in November 1990. The plane is owned by Cargo Aircraft Management, the leasing arm of Wilmington, Ohio-based Air Transport Services Group, which converted it to carry main deck cargo in 2016.
Amerijet has 11 B767-300s in its fleet. Mozzali said N373CM has been operating as a spare and being out of service hasn’t impacted Amerijet’s scheduled transportation or charter services. Amerijet is operating two freighters for United Parcel Service to help the parcel logistics giant with extra demand during peak shipping season, which runs until late December.
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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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