SACO (Colombia)


The Colombian Air Service, was an early Colombian airline. Founded in 1933, in 1940 SACO merged with the Colombo-German Air Transport Company ; the new company was named Avianca. Avianca still operates to this day, and claims SCADTA's history as its own, thus making it the one of the oldest airlines in the world.

History

During the Hoover Administration, American governors feared that European-owned airlines were violating the Monroe Doctrine, so in order to replace SCADTA, they hired Ernesto Samper to create a new airline. On 23 June 1934, Samper arrived in Bogotá with three Curtiss Kingbirds and four American aviators hired to operate them. With these aircraft, the SACO expanded its operations to other cities—Bucaramanga, Cartago, Montería, and Cartagena.

Accidents and incidents

On June 24, 1935, a Ford Trimotor of SACO collided during take off with another Ford Trimotor of SCADTA at Medellín, Colombia. 15 people were killed, including the world-famous tango singer Carlos Gardel. After the accident, the SACO airline stopped operating for some time, while it was reorganized and new aircraft were acquired.