Naturelink Aviation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naturelink Aviation, also known as Naturelink Charter,[citation needed] was an airline from South Africa, which offered corporate and private charter flights, as well as worldwide aircraft lease services. The company was based at Wonderboom Airport in Pretoria.[1]
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| Founded | 1997 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2011 (merged into National Airways Corporation) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Wonderboom Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Pretoria, South Africa | ||||||
| Website | naturelink.co.za (defunct) | ||||||
History
Naturelink Aviation was founded in 1997 by Chris Briers. In mid-2004, 60 percent of the shares were acquired by Safair, through Imperial Holdings.[2] As Naturelink operated charter flights to possibly unsafe regions like Iraq or Afghanistan, the company participated in the testing of CAMPS, a countermeasure against portable anti-aircraft missiles developed by Saab.[3]
In September 2008, Naturelink was purchased by Runway Assets Management.[2] Another change of ownership happened in 2010 through the acquisition by National Airways Corporation. Subsequently, Naturelink's fleet and operations were gradually merged into the Lanseria-based company.[4] By mid-2011, this transition had been completed, and the Naturelink brand was shut down.
Fleet
The fleet of eight Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia[citation needed] that formed the backbone of the Naturelink fleet were transferred to National Airways upon takeover.[4] Over the years, Naturelink also operated the larger aircraft types Boeing 727, 737-200, Douglas DC-3 and DC-9,[2] as well as smaller airplanes like Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante,[5] Cessna 208, PAC 750XL or Socata TBM.[6]
Accidents
- On 1 October 2004, a Naturelink Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (registered ZS-OWO) crashed when, during take-off from Douala International Airport in Cameroon, control was lost following an engine failure. The airplane was destroyed, but the four occupants survived the accident.[5]
