The Only Mark 1000 in Service Worldwide.
A rare sight landed yesterday at Salta Airport in Argentina. It was the Argentine Air Force Fokker F-28 Mk. 1000C TC-53 (cn. 11020), photographed by Sebastián Acosta.
The "Tango Charlie 53" is one of only three Fellowship aircraft in service worldwide and has been quite busy lately. On November 3, 2025, it flew from El Palomar Air Base to Córdoba. On November 10, 2025, it performed another service for LADE, flight 5U502 from Aeroparque to Mar del Plata, Bahía Blanca, and Bariloche. And on November 11, it flew from El Palomar Air Base to Zapala, Mendoza, and Salta.
Esteban Brea shared with us images of the nose section of the Fokker F-28 Mk. 1000 LV-LOA (cn. 11085), photographed in November 2019. It is one of the few remaining parts of the Fokker F-28s that once belonged to Aerolíneas Argentinas. This aircraft is located in a town about 30 kilometers from Escobar, in Buenos Aires Province. The aircraft was first registered under the temporary code PH-EXT on September 16, 1974, and one month later, on October 18, 1974, it completed its maiden flight. Between January 14 and 16, 1975, it carried out its delivery flight along the route Amsterdam – Keflavik – Sondre Stromfjord – Goose Bay – Mont Joli – New York (Canada) – New York (USA) – Miami – Tocumen – Lima – Jujuy – Ezeiza.
Shortly after entering service, the aircraft experienced its first incident. On January 30, 1975, during a flight from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires to Santa Teresita, it mistakenly landed on the grass runway of the San Clemente del Tuyú Aeroclub.
From April to December 1984, the aircraft was leased to the Colombian airline ACES, where it wore that company’s full livery.
In July 1986, Aerolíneas Argentinas was in the midst of a major conflict with its pilots, which led to a fierce strike. In response, the Argentine government decided to transfer some of the airline’s aircraft to Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE), which operated under the Argentine Air Force. As a result, the Fokker F-28s and Boeing 707s of Aerolíneas Argentinas began flying with LADE, piloted by Air Force crews.
On July 8, 1989, while conducting training operations in Bahía Blanca, the aircraft suffered a failure of the left main landing gear during one of the landings, resulting in a loss of control and minor damage.
On April 5, 1994, LV-LOA was withdrawn from service and parked at Aeroparque. On April 13, 1994, the three surviving F-28s (LV-LOA, LV-LOC, and LV-LRG) took off for Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Province.
On December 17, 1996, the aircraft was observed being dismantled, missing its landing gear, doors, engines, and wing leading edges. By November 1997, only the cockpit remained.
On November 30, 2001, the cockpit was seen at Ezeiza, and by February 3, 2002, it was no longer there.
The F-28 cockpit was later acquired by one of Aerolíneas Argentinas’ labor unions and used as a parade float on a trailer. It was seen in October 2000 during a union protest.
Sources: Own research, Gaceta Aeronáutica, and Aerolíneas Series #10 – Fokker Fellowship by Carlos Abella, Gonzalo Carballo, and Juan Carlos Rodríguez – July 2017.
