New England Airlines

New England Airlines is a regional airline based in Westerly, Rhode Island, USA. With a main base at Westerly State Airport, it provides scheduled service to Block Island and operates charters to other airports along the Northeast coast.

Not to be confused with Air New England (1970–1981) or Air New England (charter airline).
New England Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
EJ NEA NEW ENGLAND
Founded1970
AOC #NEAA703G[1]
Operating basesWesterly State Airport
Fleet size7
Destinations2
Parent companyNew England Airlines, Inc.
HeadquartersWesterly, Rhode Island
Key peopleWilliam Bendokas (President)
Websiteblockislandsairline.com

History

The airline was established and started operations in 1970.[2] New England Airlines has been in continuous service since then, under the same private ownership. It was and is the only scheduled airline with its primary bases of operation in Rhode Island. This was designed to fulfill the loss of service from a short-lived airline called Viking Airways, which folded in the 1960s.[3]

The airline is noted for its provision of cargo delivery services, including Chinese food (and other restaurant orders) delivered from the mainland to the Block Island airport in as little as 90 minutes.[4] The airline only has a half dozen pilots during the winter and over a dozen during the summertime. According to the owner, half of the business comes from charter requests for business workers in the New York area and other locations along the northeast coast.[3]

Destinations for scheduled flights
City Airport IATA Code Destinations Notes
Rhode Island Rhode Island
New Shoreham Block Island State Airport BID Westerly
Westerly Westerly State Airport WST Block Island

Fleet

The New England Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:[5][2]

New England Airlines fleet
Aircraft In fleet Orders Notes
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander 3 0
PA-32-300 Cherokee Six 3 0
PA-28-180 Archer 1 0
Total 7 0 -

Accidents
  • November 28, 1989: BN-2 Islander, N127JL, flying to Westerly crashed into the sea 3 to 5 miles northwest of Block Island. All 8 people on board, 7 passengers and pilot John Beck Jr., were killed. Among the victims, Shirley Wood, was the publisher and co-editor of The Block Island Times, founding editor of People magazine, and former chief of research for Time Life Books.[6] The flight proceeded under a cloud layer on a moonless night while a SIGMET was in effect for moderate to occasionally severe turbulence and possible low level wind shear. The reason for the crash was undetermined.[7][8]
  • September 5, 1999: A Piper Cherokee PA-32-260, N4830S, departing Westerly on a scheduled flight to Block Island lost control and crashed shortly after take off, killing two passengers and the pilot; two passengers survived with serious injuries.[9] Pilot Michael Hadik was described as a skilled pilot and flight instructor, with 5259 hours total and 202 in the Cherokee.[10] The NTSB final report determined the cause of the crash was loss of control and stall during a turn.[11]

References
  1. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  2. "Directory: World Airlines Part 3 (2009)". Flight International: 29–90. 2009-04-14.
  3. Trodson, Lars. "Been 'round the Block". The Independent. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  4. Charles Passy, "Meet the Pilot Who Doubles as Block Island’s Chinese-Food Delivery Guy: Regional airline brings Chinese takeout, sushi and pizza to popular summer resort", The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2015.
  5. "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  6. "Search for Plane Suspended Off Block Island". The New York Times. 1989-11-30. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  7. "Brief of Accident". ntsb.gov. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  8. "NTSB Accident Final Report" (PDF). ntsb. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  9. Writer, DAVE ALTIMARI; Courant Staff. "PLANE CRASH KILLS 3 IN RHODE ISLAND". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Pilot error blamed in fatal crash". Block Island Times. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  11. "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Final Report - NYC99FA220". National Transportation Safety Board. 2001-05-09. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
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