Tragedy Brings Closure
The beginning of the end for Tower Air began in 1988 with the untimely death of Arthur Fondlier, son of founder Sam Fondlier, who was onboard the tragic Pan Am flight 103 bombing. That tragedy killed all 259 passengers on board, all the crew, and 11 Scottish citizens on the ground. This horrible tragedy and loss of life allowed Morris Nachtomi to take majority control of the airline, allowing him to cut costs where they shouldn’t have been cut and make management decisions.
Flying the Troops
Initially, this seemed like a positive change when Tower Air won some contracts with the United States Department of Defense transporting armed forces and other personnel to their defense-keeping missions. The way they won these contracts is still a bit of mystery as the airline was known for the poor quality of their airplanes. Torn seats, speed tape, and mismatched interior walls were common.
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Heading Into the Weeds
After what seemed initially like positive changes, Tower Air began the downward spiral with an accident occurring on December 20, 1995. Tower Air flight 41 veered off the runway during icy conditions and skidded to a halt and caused 25 injuries, with the only serious injury being to a flight attendant when a galley cart became unsecured and rolled with enough force to break her shoulder. Thankfully, no fatalities were the result of this accident.
Tower Air Continues a Downhill Spiral
Things only went downhill from there when in 1997 the Zagat Survey ranked Tower Air number 59 out of 61 airlines in terms of maintenance. This survey result raised more eyebrows in the FAA, so in 1998 they levied two civil penalties against Tower Air for continuing to fly airplanes that required maintenance. The penalties totaled $276,000. Once the FAA came to realize the poor maintenance record of Tower Air, they successfully removed Guy Nachtomi, the son of the CEO and Chairman Morris Nachtomi, from his position as the Vice President of Operation. Guy’s role was an obvious case of nepotism, so this removal was overdue. He didn’t go very far though, Guy was simply moved to being the Vice President of the Office of the Chairman.
After all these issues with the FAA, the Department of Defense began to reevaluate their contract and suspended the Tower Air military charters from 27 January 1999 until 12 February 1999, at which point they would have Tower Air would have to pass an on-site review of operations.
Tower Air Relations With Employees Deteriorate
Tower Air also had a tumultuous relationship with their employees, a cost-cutting measure was introduced to limit the quality of crew hotels. In 1999, the hotel issue was brought to arbitration by the Association of Flight Attendants (a flight attendant union). Tower Air lost this arbitration.
All of these issues combined with the downturn in the economy at the turn of the century led to Tower Air’s eventual downfall. On February 29, 2000, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All their services ceased on May 1 and November 28, 2000, marked the day they surrendered the FAA air operator’s certification.
Tower Air was an interesting attempt to use giant 747s to fly passengers cheaply, but skimping on service, poor maintenance, and poor financial decisions led to its ultimate demise after just 17 years of service.