Transportes Aéreos Nacionales should not be confused with Transportes Aéreos Nacional.
| Airline: | Transportes Aéreos Nacionales |
| Iata: | TX |
| Icao: | TAN |
| Ceased: | (merged with Sahsa) |
| Headquarters: | Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
Transportes Aéreos Nacionales SA, also known as TAN Airlines, was a Honduran airline, headquartered at the Edificio TAN in Tegucigalpa. The carrier was set up in 1947 and merged into SAHSA, another Honduran airline, in .
The airline was formed in 1947 by private investors to operate cargo flights by contract. In 1950, the company started scheduled passenger and cargo services. At, the fleet consisted of three C-46s serving a route network that was long. In 1967, TAN and LANICA agreed to operate LANICA's single BAC One-Eleven 400 jet on a joint basis; the joint operation of the aircraft started on .[1] The airline acquired a Douglas DC-6A freighter aircraft in March 1973 and operated it until its sale in September 1979, using it particularly on their route to Miami.[2]
In, TAN acquired Pan Am's 38% holding in SAHSA. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), TAN was operating a Convair 880 jet in 1972 on flights to Miami.[3] An ex-Pluna Boeing 737-200 jet was incorporated into the fleet in . The aircraft was part of the fleet by, along with one DC-6B and two Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops; at this time, the airline had 400 employees. According to the OAG, in 1980 TAN was serving Miami nonstop from Belize City and San Pedro Sula as well as operating direct flights to Miami from La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa primarily with the Boeing 737-200 with some passenger flights being operated with the Lockheed L-188 Electra.[4]
In, the company experienced its worst accident when a Boeing 727-200 crashed on approach to Toncontín Airport, killing 131 occupants on board.
On 1 November 1991, TAN Airlines merged with SAHSA, adopting the latter name.
Transportes Aéreos Nacionales served the following destinations all through its history:[5]
, Aviation Safety Network recorded six accidents or incidents for Transportes Aéreos Nacionales, totalling at least 138 fatalities. The worst accident in the airline's history occurred in, when a Boeing 727 crashed on approach to Toncontín Airport in Tegucigalpa, killing 131 of 146 occupants of the aircraft.[6], the accident remains the deadliest one to occur on Honduran soil.[7] Following is a list of accidents/incidents experienced by the carrier; the list includes events in which there were fatalities, the aircraft involved resulted damaged beyond repair, or both.
| Date | Location | Aircraft | Tail number | Aircraft damage | Fatalities | Description | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TI-107 | W/O | Disappeared. | ||||||
| Belize City | Curtiss C-46A | HR-TNB | W/O | /2 | Failed to gain height following takeoff from Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport because of overloading. | |||
| Tegucigalpa | Douglas DC-6 | HR-TNG | W/O | /3 | Skidded off the runway on landing at Toncontín Airport. | |||
| Douglas DC-6A | HR-TNO | W/O | /3 | The aircraft was completing a Miami–Tegucigalpa cargo service when it crashed north of Tegucigalpa, on approach to Tocontín Airport, catching fire. | ||||
| Tegucigalpa | Boeing 727-200 | N88705 | W/O | /146 | Descended below the glideslope on approach to Toncontín Airport, crashing into a hill, from the runway threshold. The aircraft had been leased from Continental Air Lines, and was completing the last leg of an international scheduled San José–Managua–Tegucigalpa passenger service as Flight 414. | |||
| Tegucigalpa | L-188CF | HR-TNL | W/O | /3 | Crashed into mountainous terrain on approach to Toncontín Airport in bad weather. The aircraft was completing a San Pedro Sula–Tegucigalpa cargo service. |
