Eleven F-28's Served with the Argentine Government & Military
* The Fuerza Aerea Argentina flew five F-28's in the military transport role and with the state airline Lineas Aereas del Estado (LADE).
* The FAA also flew three F-28's as VIP+Presidential transports, one of which also operated as a military transport and with LADE.
* The Armada Argentina (Navy) flew three F-28's.
This posting will cover the first five aircraft noted above with two postings to follow this one covering the other six planes.
Five Fuerza Aerea Argentina F-28 Military Transports / LADE
The FAA took delivery of all five of these F-28's in 1975.
Their military transport duties included flying supplies between Air Force bases in Argentina plus emergency medical and foreign airmail flights. Notably, the F-28's supplied Argentine forces in the Islas Malvinas / Falkland Islands throughout the 1982 South Atlantic War.
With LADE, the aircraft operated flights to remote locations in the southern Patagonia region of Argentina plus, starting in 1977, services connecting Comodoro Rivadavia (CRD) with Puerto Argentino / Port Stanley in the Malvinas / Falklands.
The last F-28 flight operated in any capacity by any entity in Argentina was thought to have been flown by Fuerza Aerea Argentina F-28 Mk-1000C, TC-53 (c/n 11020), in August 2019 shortly before the aircraft's time limit for undergoing heavy maintenance. However, Fuerza Aerea Argentina F-28 Mk-1000C, TC-52 (c/n 11074), operated a flight between Mendoza (MDZ) and Villa Reynolds (VME) as recently as 05Oct20.
Individual Aircraft Histories:
F-28 Mk-1000C, TC-51 (c/n 11076), was delivered by Fokker, the aircraft's manufacturer, on 13Jan75, the same day as Aerolineas Argentinas' first of three factory new F-28's, LV-LOA (c/n 11085) was handed over to the Argentine national airline.
TC-51 joined the 1st Aerial Brigade based out of El Palomar Air Force Base and flew for Lineas Aereas del Estado (LADE). Unlike the other four F-28's operated by the FAA, TC-51 was never modified with a cargo door, always flying only passengers in the main cabin.
The aircraft continued in steady service for the FAA until it suffered an accident on 16Aug89. TC-51 was departing from Bariloche (BRC) to Neuquen (NQN) in marginal weather when it partially departed the left side of the snow-covered runway. The pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft but it was not able to take off properly, "struck an ILS aerial, crossed a ditch and ended up against a dyke".
The aircraft was apparently flying for LADE as it had 65 occupants onboard, some of whom were reportedly seriously injured but all survived. TC-51 was "damaged beyond repair" and finished its career with a total of 14,002 hours and 18,255 cycles on its airframe.
F-28 Mk-1000C, TC-52 (c/n 11076), was delivered new from the Fokker factory to the Fuerza Aerea Argentina on 30Jan75, promptly joining the force's 1st Aerial Brigade, also flying for Lineas Aereas del Estado (LADE).
The aircraft also gained the Argentine civil registration LV-RCS in 1991, flying for Dinar Lineas Aereas, an Argentine regional carrier of the time, for two years after which it was re-registered back to TC-52 in 1993.
Like three other F-28's operated by the FAA, TC-52 was later modified with a cargo door.
As of 31Aug18, TC-52 had accumulated 23,666 flight hours over 27,292 cycles and, as of this writing, is the sole F-28 still flying in Argentina and perhaps the entire world.
