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letsdothis3 ago

Hmm.. a tangent..

https://twitter.com/arapaho415/status/1165375059063525376

Epstein arranged the arrival of Southern Air Transport to Columbus, Ohio

https://twitter.com/mopeng/status/1165713208109174784

https://airwaysmag.com/avgeek/best-of-airways-southern-air-transport-an-uncommon-carrier/

Under Moor’s sole proprietorship Southern Air Transport (SAT) was established early in 1947, joining the ranks of the Large Irregulars. Operations began in July with a Douglas DC-3 leased from George Batchelor’s Arrow Airways. The new outfit’s first significant customer was Paramount Aquariums of New York, and SAT’s aircraft was soon regularly trundling south to Belém in Brazil to bring back consignments of exotic fish in 5USg (20l) drums.

..Southern Air Transport, formally incorporated on October 31, 1949, had been looking for its own aircraft. Coincidentally, the US Air Force was selling off large quantities of surplus Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commando twin-engine transports through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. SAT snapped up four examples from storage at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, reportedly for a total price of less than $30,000 ($300,000 today).

..Being willing to tackle almost anything, through the 1950s SAT found sufficient work to keep going, mainly in South America. Until late in 1952 it operated US government Commercial Air Movement (CAM) flights transporting military personnel. One of these missions carried scientists to Las Vegas to observe atom bomb tests at the Nevada Proving Grounds. Another contract involved the transfer of overhauled engines from Robins AFB, Georgia, to air bases around the country.

Southern Air Transport also carried immigrants from San Juan to New York, Brahma cattle to South America, racehorses, and exotic tropical animals. On one occasion a crate containing live snakes broke open and it took a couple of days to catch all the reptiles hiding in the darker reaches of the C-46. All manner of general cargo was hauled, not least seven tons (6,350kg) of gold bullion from Medellín, Colombia, to New York.

In 1959, the CAB granted SAT a Supplemental certificate for cargo operations and authority for flights around the Caribbean.

ENTER THE CIA

While the Central Intelligence Agency already had its own air arm, Air America, created in 1950 (as Civil Air Transport Inc) to support US foreign policy objectives in the Indo-China region, there was a desire to create a contingency ‘air force’ with an eye toward future ventures in Latin America. In summer 1960 a search began for a suitable established ‘front’ carrier, especially one in possession of a Supplemental certificate, which Air America lacked. This was now a mandatory requirement to enable bidding for lucrative military airlift contracts to offset running costs, while still remaining available to fulfill CIA operational needs.

Southern Air Transport, by now unprofitable and with assets of around only $100,000 (approximately $775,000 today), proved an attractive candidate and the airline changed hands on August 5 for $307,506.10 ($2.42m), ostensibly to Actus Technology, a front corporation. The transaction was handled through two government nominees, Percival F Brundage, director of the Bureau of the Budget and Perkins McGuire, Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration. Although under the overall supervision of the CIA, Doc Moor and his number two, Stanley G Williamson, were retained as chairman and president, respectively, to handle the commercial side of the business and, no doubt, to maintain a veneer of ‘respectability’.

.....Meanwhile, in 1977 the CAB gave Southern Air Transport the authority to contract with the Department of Defense. The following year it received domestic all-cargo authority, and in 1980 was approved for worldwide all-cargo charters.

THE IRAN-CONTRA CONNECTION

....Starting in February 1986, SAT transported shipments of anti-tank weapons and Hawk missiles to Israel for onward movement to Iran, while its aircraft had been frequently seen at San Salvador’s Ilopango International Airport, a known transfer point for the CIA’s Central American operations.

A joint-venture was established in January 1993 with the formation of Polar Air Cargo in conjunction with aircraft leasing company Polaris, a subsidiary of General Electric Capital Services, and California-based NedMark Transportation Services. Polar lifted off in May 1993 using a couple of 747s, initially on charter work. Within a few months, several more aircraft allowed the initiation of east and westbound scheduled routes linking New York with Hong Kong.

SAT pulled out of the partnership in March 1994 to develop its own cargo business with 747s, the first appearing in summer 1994. Customers included Atlas Air, China Airlines, Emirates, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, and Varig. Although the overall cargo market had grown by more than 50% in the preceding decade, the number of new companies offering tailor-made contract and leasing packages had also increased.

After moving in 1995 from Miami to Columbus, Ohio (although SAT became a Nevada corporation), toward the end of the decade the burden of new equipment costs and increased competition led to financial problems. Proposed acquisitions by Fine Air and Kitty Hawk failed to materialize after a buyer for the L-100 fleet could not be found, and Southern Air Transport ceased operations on September 25, 1998. On October 1, with liabilities of $101 million ($150m), SAT filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

3141592653 ago

Snakes on plane!