Air Gambia/Gambia Airways? 707

[arthur harbrow]

Question on behalf of a collegue.He says he travelled to Gambia on a 707 from LGW in the early 90s.Can anyone tell him who operated the 707 and if possible registration please?

[Halcyon Days]

Think Ive got a photo of one at Luton somewhere. Will dig it out and try and post
here shortly.

Thought it was a Gambia Airways aircraft -
-but is in fact Jordanian registered JY-AEB for Gamair.
Sorry fading memory playing tricks on me-but posted the photo all the same!
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd228/RayBrettle/ffad5e6b-0548-4b60-8ea6-7fdc87e07509.jpg (http://s220.photobucket.com/user/RayBrettle/media/ffad5e6b-0548-4b60-8ea6-7fdc87e07509.jpg.html)

[Liffy 1M]

Most likely one of the aircraft shown here, which were owned by Omega Air, I think. Photo Search Results | Airliners.net (http://tinyurl.com/Air-Gambia-707s)

[Chris Scott]

The details of what Air Gambia's B707 fleet comprised seem to be a bit hazy - perhaps deliberately. :} This German website (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Gambia) specifies 3 B707-323Bs with different countries of registration, whereas Airliners.net (see the link kindly provided above by Liffy 1M) suggests they are one and the same aircraft, but adds a Dash 123B.

[The suffix "23" confirms that both a/c originated with American Airlines, and the "B" that they had turbofan JT3D engines of one kind or another. The -123B would have been shorter than the -323B, if that helps with identification.]

[irishair2001]

:hmm: I remember logging and photographing a Gambia Airways 707 at Palma, Majorca in June 1992,it was ex Air Mauritius and still in their colours with Air Gambia titles in black the reg was 3B-NAE, it was operating IT charters at the time for a european operator,so obviously it had just completed or about to start a lease to Gambia Airways at that time. It was a 707-344B originally delivered to South African Airways CN 18891 SN 441 with PW JT3D-7(Q) Engines ,Converted to 707Q variant and owned by Omega Air and leased to Liberia World Airlines in Setember 1991 and subleased by them to Gambia Airways.

[DaveReidUK]

At various times between 1990 and 1994, Air Gambia operated an ex-Pan Am -321B (msn 18839) and a former American -323B (20177), plus a -123B (19335, also ex-American).

They wore various Gambia, Honduras and Liberia registrations during their careers with the airline, probably more a reflection of the challenges involved in their acquisition/financing/operation rather than a deliberate attempt to confuse spotters. :O

[Chris Scott]

Dave,
"They wore various Gambia, Honduras and Liberia registrations during their careers with the airline, probably more a reflection of the challenges involved in their acquisition/financing/operation rather than a deliberate attempt to confuse spotters."

Superbly phrased!

[arthur harbrow]

Thanks for replies, will inform my colleague.
As a 707 fan myself I cannot remember this airline, although at that time I was mostly interested in freighters of the 707 variety.
Dave, why would they swap registrations for the reasons you give?

[Tinwacker]

The suffix "23" confirms that both a/c originated with American Airlines, and the "B" that they had turbofan JT3D engines of one kind or another

'B' was for pure passenger built airframes, and from memory a lighter version.

[DaveReidUK]

'B' was for pure passenger built airframes, and from memory a lighter version.707 variants with a B or C suffix were turbofan-powered (JT3D).

Variants without a suffix were turbojet-powered (JT3C in the case of the -120; JT4A for the -320).

[DaveReidUK]

Dave, why would they swap registrations for the reasons you give?

Mostly a result of changes to the owner/lessor of the aircraft in question.

[Chris Scott]

Quote from DaveReidUK:
707 variants with a B or C suffix were turbofan-powered (JT3D).
Variants without a suffix were turbojet-powered (JT3C in the case of the -120; JT4A for the -320).

Yes, and as you know (but in case it's of interest to others) a lot of early JT3C-powered B707s were awarded the "B" suffix when retrofitted with JT3Ds.

I think I'm right in saying that the "C" suffix was used for the -320s that were fitted with a main-deck freight door and strengthened floor. For example, IIRC, all but one of BCAL's a/c (in the 1970s and early 1980s) were 320Cs with freight doors, enabling us to remove the pax seats and carry a 39-tonne payload on 13 flat pallets. We could fly 38 tonnes of tomatoes from Las Palmas to Schiphol (about 4 hours). The tricky bit was that at maximum landing weight the fuel remaining was only about 5 minutes more than our minimum reserve for diversion/holding. So we tended to carry a bit extra, and then try to burn it off by an early descent - once we were confident that we were going to arrive with enough.

(BTW, the suffix "320" is generic for all the numbers above it, so a "323" is simply a 320 built for American Airlines.)

[DaveReidUK]

NAMC YS11 much in evidenceI suspect you're thinking of Gambia Airways, rather than Air Gambia:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8006/6978604990_f5ddd96d23_z.jpg

[Flightrider]

EL-AKC was usually the aircraft around in Air Gambia colours in the early 90s. There was another one before that which was operating in ex Air Mauritius colours which then became the Air Gambia standard - it was flying for Air Europe for a month or two along with a Scibe Airlift 707 after the Funchal 757 episode (1987, I think).

[WHBM]

Would be interesting to know where the OP's colleague started off from. Gambia Airways seem to have several 707s come and go in the early 1990s, including all-passenger models. They probably got various slightly grey market charter work for them, not necessarily from home base. UN relief flights (they always seem to go for the cheapest as long as your registration state is a UN member) down into Africa, Hadj flights to Jeddah, odd large consignments for the freighters, stand-ins for European IT operators, etc. They seem to have been periodic visitors to Manston for freight and for maintenance. The one described above as still having Mauritius livery lay there from 1993 being slowly robbed for parts until there was nothing left a few years later.

Would the crews be principally South African expats ?

Depending on how aviation-knowledgeable they are, if they went from London Gatwick I might also start asking about the various 757 IT charter operators running at this time to Banjul, a market which seems to have come and gone. I've had 757s misidentified as 707s before (which in the cabin it effectively is). Not everyone is like us lot !

[Chris Scott]

Quote from WHBM:
"...Banjul, a market which seems to have come and gone."

Yes, it was quiet in the 1960s and early 70s, but gradually picked up. In BCAL, as you well know, our BAC 1-11 West African coastal service passed through from Las Palmas en-route Freetown, etc., once or twice a week (?). Then I think the traffic generated by the marsh-bird life and the opening of beach hotels encouraged a direct service, initially with the B707, around the end of the decade. (The service went on to Freetown and Roberts.) The 707 service was superseded by the A310 for a couple of years in the mid-1980s (very popular slip with us crews..); then the DC10. Our boss, Adam Thomson, even played golf with the Gambian president. I think one or two IT operators started dedicated flights. Then there was a coup, and that presumably put the kibosh on things for a couple of years until the 1990s. Who flies there from Europe now?

[lotus1]

I believe after The Gambia lease the 707 went back to omega air saw it with many other 707s at manston I think it crashed on landing with a number of un troops on either in India or Pakistani .omega did a lot of charters for the un .manston was a good place to see 707s in the 90s omega use to paint some great colour schemes

[Duchess_Driver]

My boss has a picture of EL-EKC on his "wall of flame" along with his ID card. The ID card is dated March '92. It certainly looks like Mauritius Colours but definitely has Air Gambia titles. As has already been stated it was owned by Omega at the time.


I think it crashed on landing with a number of un troops on either in India or Pakistan

If this is the same incident as 'The Boss' relates, it was a collapsed landing gear.

[lotus1]

I believe the whole fleet of omega air 707s where scrapped at manston one which I witnessed was in Guyana airways this was put on pallets engines removed then one day a high wind blew it on one side have got a picture some where also Angola airways 707 was given to fire services .

[Darragh Pfeiffer]

Would be interesting to know where the OP's colleague started off from. Gambia Airways seem to have several 707s come and go in the early 1990s, including all-passenger models. They probably got various slightly grey market charter work for them, not necessarily from home base. UN relief flights (they always seem to go for the cheapest as long as your registration state is a UN member) down into Africa, Hadj flights to Jeddah, odd large consignments for the freighters, stand-ins for European IT operators, etc. They seem to have been periodic visitors to Manston for freight and for maintenance. The one described above as still having Mauritius livery lay there from 1993 being slowly robbed for parts until there was nothing left a few years later.

Would the crews be principally South African expats ?

Depending on how aviation-knowledgeable they are, if they went from London Gatwick I might also start asking about the various 757 IT charter operators running at this time to Banjul, a market which seems to have come and gone. I've had 757s misidentified as 707s before (which in the cabin it effectively is). Not everyone is like us lot !
They were a mixed crew my dad was chief pilot for gambia airways from 92-94 something like that. He was American and some were from Norway, Sweden, and uk