Amerijet to repair aging 767 freighter aircraft damaged in hard landing

Miami-based cargo airline Amerijet International plans to repair a 36-year-old Boeing 767-300 converted freighter aircraft that suffered fuselage damage from a hard landing in Guatemala City last month, CEO Joe Mozzali said. The aircraft’s age left many speculating that it wasn’t worth fixing and would be scrapped for parts, but Mozzali said Amerijet’s insurance company will cover the cost of the repair because it is less expensive than paying a claim for an aircraft declared totally damaged. In reality, even badly damaged freighter aircraft are too valuable to part with because of the current shortage of widebody freighters, supply chain challenges that are slowing passenger-to-freighter conversions and limited feedstock caused by passenger airlines holding longer onto aircraft because engine-quality problems are slowing delivery of new aircraft, according to air cargo experts. Amerijet has hired a local repair station to conduct a temporary repair in Guatemala City and will then ferry the aircraft to a maintenance facility for a longer-term repair, Mozzali told FreightWaves in an email exchange. It is uncertain when the plane will be ready to return to service.