Shirley, New York, in 1979 to offer scheduled air taxi flights to West-hampton and New York (JFK). Although daily Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain roundtrips are duly inaugurated, they cannot be maintained beyond 1980.
NITTO AVIATION COMPANY, LTD.: Japan (1952-1964). Nitto is formed by Tadashi Fujimoto at Osaka on July 4, 1952 to provide air taxi and charter services over regional routes with small aircraft. Backing is provided by the Sankei newspaper. Two years later, on December 23, 1954, and with backing from Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (2), the carrier commences scheduled de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter services to Nagoya and various destinations on Shikoku Island. Operations continue apace in 1955-1958.
Late in 1959 and early in 1960, two Grumman G-73 Mallards are purchased from General Motors. In June, scheduled service is started to Kushimoto and Shima, connecting to Nagoya.
A third Mallard follows these into service during 1961, followed by two more in 1962. Plans are made to initiate Convair CV-240 services to Kochi from Osaka and Nagoya. Two crashes will defeat that goal, even though an airliner is acquired and painted in company livery.
An Otter goes down at Awaji-Oshima in May 1963 (nine dead). One of the Mallards is wrecked near Osaka on February 18, 1964; there are no survivors. On April 25, almost a decade after its founding, Nitto is one of three companies merged to form Japan Domestic Airlines Company, Ltd.
World History
