FLEET UPDATE: Fuerza Aerea Argentina F-28 Mk1000, TC-52, 47 years old, flies to Mexico

Fuerza Aerea Argentina F-28 Mk1000, TC-52 (c/n 11074), continues to soldier on 45 years after it was delivered to the FAA in 1975.   

Its latest exploit was a flight from the FAA airbase at El Palomar (EPA), near Buenos Aires, to Mexico City on 13Apr21 via Salta (SLA), Lima (LIM), Guayaquil (GYE) and San Salvador (SAL).  The apparent purpose of the trip was to take a flight crew to bring back to Argentina a 737-700 that was recently acquired by the FAA.  

This trip must have been a big treat for aircraft spotters enroute as there are very few F-28's still in service (maybe TC-52 is the only one worldwide ?) plus seeing a short-range aircraft like the F-28 so far from its home base is unusual.  

TC-52 was expected back in El Palomar (EPA) in the late afternoon of 16Apr21.  

Sources:

https://aerospotter.blogspot.com/2021/04/nunca-se-dan-por-vencidos.html

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/04/hoy-partira-un-fokker-28-de-la-fuerza-aerea-argentina-con-destino-a-la-ciudad-de-mexico/