IN Brief:
- Amerijet plans to repair Boeing 767-300 converted freighter N373CM after a hard landing at Guatemala City on 6 September.
- A local repair station has been engaged ahead of a proposed ferry flight and subsequent structural work; no return date is confirmed.
- Chief executive Joe Mozzali says the aircraft was a spare and that scheduled and charter operations have not been disrupted.
Amerijet International plans to repair a Boeing 767-300 converted freighter that has remained grounded at Guatemala City since a hard landing on 6 September. Chief executive Joe Mozzali confirmed the decision in correspondence reported on 19 October, saying a local maintenance organisation had been engaged for temporary work before the aircraft could be moved for a more extensive repair. No return-to-service date has been announced, and the company’s account describes the affected aircraft as a spare rather than a freighter needed for its normal published schedule.
The aircraft, registered N373CM, was damaged when it landed heavily after a flight from Miami. Accounts of the incident describe a nose-gear-first impact and buckling in the upper fuselage area. Visible skin deformation can signal that loads have passed into the structure below the external panels, but the detailed extent of this aircraft’s damage has not been independently published. Its condition cannot be judged solely by photographs taken after the landing.
Amerijet has opted for repair rather than dismantling the aircraft for parts. Mozzali said the insurer would fund the work because the repair was considered less costly than settling a claim for a total loss. That is an account of the decision’s insurance economics, not a published estimate of the maintenance bill. Neither the cost of structural work nor the aircraft’s insured value has been disclosed, and the final repair scope may depend on inspection findings.
Amerijet has engaged a local maintenance organisation to undertake temporary repairs in Guatemala City before attempting to move the aircraft to a facility capable of longer-term structural work. The two stages have different purposes: the first is intended to make a transfer possible, while the second would address the underlying damage. The airline has not announced completion of the local work, approval of a ferry flight or the destination of the main repair, and those steps should not be confused with a return to revenue service.
The 767-300 airframe dates from 1990 and originally operated with Qantas before its conversion to a main-deck freighter in 2016. It is owned by Cargo Aircraft Management, the aircraft leasing business within Air Transport Services Group. Although a conversion adapts the cabin, loading arrangements and other equipment for freight operations, the underlying airframe continues to require maintenance and structural inspection. Age influences the economics of repair but does not alone establish whether an aircraft is airworthy or beyond economic recovery.
Widebody freighter replacement capacity is constrained by the availability of suitable used passenger aircraft, conversion slots and maintenance resources. Passenger airlines retaining older jets for longer can reduce the feedstock available to cargo conversion businesses, while an aircraft already in freight configuration may be valuable despite the cost of heavy repair. These broader fleet conditions help explain the decision to retain N373CM, but Amerijet has not reported a shortage of aircraft causing missed departures or unmet cargo commitments.
Mozzali said N373CM had been used as a spare and its grounding had not disrupted Amerijet’s scheduled transport or charter services. The reported fleet comprises eleven Boeing 767-300 aircraft. A reserve aircraft can be available for maintenance cover or irregular demand without flying a fixed published rotation. Amerijet did not identify a replacement assigned specifically to N373CM, and no cancelled service has been attributed to this grounding.
Amerijet is separately operating two freighters for UPS during the peak parcel shipping period, according to the same report. Those aircraft are not identified as N373CM, which remains grounded. The availability of another repaired spare could provide flexibility as scheduled aircraft undergo maintenance or additional flights are required, but it would not by itself establish extra contracted flying. The airline has disclosed neither an incremental capacity commitment nor a projected financial benefit from returning this particular aircraft to service.
The upper fuselage damage described after the landing cannot be assessed from surface buckling alone. A hard landing can pass forces from the undercarriage and its attachments into surrounding structure; inspection may therefore have to examine components beneath the visibly distorted skin. The available reporting contains no manufacturer-approved repair scheme, detailed damage survey or estimate of labour hours. Specific component replacements or an engineering completion date would be speculative at this stage.
The insurer’s reported preference for repair is a financial comparison against paying a total-loss claim, not an engineering certificate or a disclosure of the final repair budget. Additional damage identified during inspection could alter both the cost and the schedule, while heavy maintenance requires specialist labour and suitable facilities. Restoring this spare aircraft could increase Amerijet’s fleet flexibility, but the company has not quantified additional carrying capacity or savings expected from its return.
Completion of temporary local work, any authorised positioning flight and a subsequent approved structural repair remain separate milestones. A release to service would require the necessary inspection and maintenance sign-offs; none has been confirmed for N373CM. Amerijet’s chief executive has said the aircraft’s absence has not disrupted scheduled or charter flights, leaving the cost and timing of its eventual return unresolved.
