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 13, 1986, while landing in Ushuaia under poor weather conditions, the aircraft overran the runway. The crew was informed too late about the presence of ice, and since the aircraft could not brake effectively, they opted for a last-minute maneuver—a sharp right turn—that brought the plane to a stop just a few meters from the shore of the Beagle Channel. It is said that the F-28’s pilot was later invited by Fokker to repeat the maneuver successfully, and that the procedure was subsequently incorporated into Fokker’s operational manuals.
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On April 5, 1994, LV-LOA was withdrawn from service and parked at Aeroparque.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.
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