Amerijet to repair aging 767 freighter aircraft damaged in hard landing
Amerijet says it will repair the buckled skin on a Boeing 767 freighter aircraft despite its age. The post Amerijet to repair aging 767 freighter aircraft damaged in hard landing appeared first on FreightWaves .
Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet International intends to repair a 36-year-old Boeing 767-300 freighter aircraft that suffered fuselage damage during a hard landing in Guatemala City last month, according to CEO Joe Mozzali. Despite the aircraft's age potentially leading to speculation about scrapping it for parts, Mozzali revealed that Amerijet's insurance company will cover the repair expenses as they are deemed less costly than declaring the plane as totally damaged.
Air cargo experts pointed out the value of such freighter aircraft in the current market due to a scarcity of widebody freighters, supply chain challenges, and limited feedstock caused by passenger airlines retaining older aircraft because of engine-quality problems delaying new aircraft deliveries.
Amerijet has engaged a local repair station in Guatemala City to perform a temporary fix, followed by a more comprehensive repair at a dedicated maintenance facility. The timeframe for the aircraft's return to service remains unclear. The incident occurred on September 6, when the Amerijet aircraft departed Miami and landed hard, causing damage to the top of the fuselage, specifically on the nose gear. The plane remains grounded at Guatemala City International Airport since the accident.
Photos on social media and reports from The Aviation Herald documented the visible upper-fuselage buckle damage, with the aircraft designated as N373CM. Built for Qantas Airlines in November 1990, the 767-300 freighter was later converted to carry main deck cargo in 2016. Owned by the leasing arm of Wilmington, Ohio-based Air Transport Services Group, the plane remains grounded at a cost of AOG (aircraft on ground) status.
Air safety experts noted that "skin buckling" can transpire when the structure beneath the fuselage, including ribs and load-bearing beams, gets distorted or bent, potentially due to the stress from a hard landing being transferred through various components of the aircraft. Despite the damage, Amerijet's CEO assured that the incident has not affected the company's scheduled transportation or charter services, as N373CM has been used as a spare aircraft and is not impacting their operations.
Written by urgent.news from FreightWaves's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
