LADE


LADE - Líneas Aéreas del Estado is an airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. It is a state owned airline operated by the Argentine Air Force and provides domestic scheduled services mainly in Patagonia.

History

The airline was established as an arm of the Argentine Air Force in to undertake non-profitable routes to remote areas. It was initially known as Líneas Aéreas Suroeste and consolidated under the present title in 1945 with another air force branch, Líneas Aéreas Noreste. By, DC-3s, DC-4s and Vikings made up LADE's fleet.
. LADE did not have aircraft of its own; all the equipment was provided by the Argentine Air Force.
At March 1970, LADE had 150 employees and its fleet consisted of 14 DC-3s, two DC-4s, three DC-6s and six Twin Otters. The carrier started regular flights between Comodoro Rivadavia and the Falkland Islands in 1972. The Comodoro Rivadavia–Port Stanley run was initially operated with F.27 equipment. The limited length of the runway at Port Stanley Airport resulted in weight regulations to the aircraft operating the route, which restricted the number of carried passengers to a maximum of 22 per flight, along with a reduced volume of mail and freight. The service was discontinued in 1982, following the Falklands War.
At, the airline had a fleet of 11 F.27s —five -600s and six -400Ms—, five Fokker F.28-1000Cs and seven Twin Otters. Ten years later, at, the fleet had grown to include five Fokker F.28-1000Cs, 13 F.27s —six -400Ms, two -500s and five -600s—, one Lockheed L-100-30 and seven Twin Otters.
LADE served a comprehensive domestic network that included scheduled services to Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, El Calafate, El Palomar, Gobernador Gregores, Lago Argentino, Mar del Plata, Miramar, Neuquén, Paraná, Puerto Madryn, Río Gallegos, Río Grande, San Antonio Oeste, San Carlos de Bariloche, San Martín de los Andes, Trelew, Ushuaia and Viedma. The fleet at this time consisted of Twin Otters, Fokker F27s, Fokker F28s and one Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules. The acquisition of four Saab 340s for the replacement of four Fokker F27s was announced in in a deal worth million. The first of these aircraft entered the fleet in ; the other three were incorporated in.

Destinations

Its main base is General Enrique Mosconi International Airport, Comodoro Rivadavia with hubs in Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires, with a hub at Comandante Armando Tola International Airport, El Calafate.
LADE - Líneas Aéreas del Estado operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations :
The LADE - Líneas Aéreas del Estado fleet consists of the following aircraft :
Those aircraft are for regular flights.
The air force cargo fleet is leased by LADE, consisting of:
The two surviving Lockheed Martin C-130B Hercules were retired by the air force in September and December 2011 respectively, while the sole Lockheed Martin L-100-30 Hercules has been inoperative since early 2010.
There is a Presidential Fleet which is normally not assigned to LADE:
The rest of the fleet is inoperative:
As of June 2012, the LADE schedules show that nearly all flights are operated by Saab 340 aircraft, with the Fokker F28 fleet flying exclusively for the air force. Fokker F27s were withdrawn from the LADE schedules in April 2009, although they have since been known to sporadically operate LADE flights now and again.

Accidents and incidents

DateLocationAircraftTail numberAircraft damageFatalitiesDescriptionRefs
16 6 1995F-27-400MTC-73W/O0Collapse of left main landing gear on touchdown at Jeremie Airport. The aircraft ran off the runway and crashed into a building.
8 11 1995F-27-400MTC-72W/O53/53Crashed into mountainous terrain in bad weather while flying the last leg of a domestic non-scheduled Comodoro Rivadavia–Villa Reynolds–Córdoba.