Emery Worldwide was a cargo airline, once one of the leading carriers in the cargo airline world. Its headquarters were located in Redwood City, California.
History
Emery started in 1946 and was the first freight forwarder to receive a carrier certificate from the United States Government. For 40 years, Emery was the largest freight forwarder/integrated air carrier in the US. In 1987, Wilton, CT-based Emery acquired Purolator Courier, Inc., a leading provider of logistics services between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Towers Financial Corporation, led by its CEO Steven Hoffenberg and his consultant Jeffrey Epstein, unsuccessfully tried to take over Emery in a corporate raid with Towers Financial as their raiding vessel. Their bid failed. In 1989, Emery was acquired by Consolidated Freightways, Inc. which gained U.S. rights to the Purolator name. In 2011 Purolator was renamed Purolator International. Emery had its planes grounded on August 13, 2001, due to poor aircraft fleet maintenance. It officially ceased operating on December 5, 2001. All of Emery's cargo operations have been subcontracted to other airlines. Emery's successor company, Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, was acquired by UPS at the end of 2004. At the time of their closing, Emery used Boeing 727, and Douglas DC-8 and DC-10 aircraft to transport freight. Presently UPS uses the name Emery Worldwide to market the air freight portion of UPS Supply Chain Solutions.
On 8 July 1988, a defamation suit was filed after a package was opened in transit in Los Angeles that included a video tape containing cash allegedly for an NCAA basketball recruit for the University of Kentucky. The package was identified as being sent by then-assistant coach Dwane Casey. Casey sued Emery Air Freight for $6.9 million but settled out of court before trial.
On 3 May 1991, a Boeing 727 crew had to abort mid-takeoff roll at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut when an engine compressor disk came loose destroying the engine nacelle and severing oil, hydraulic, and fuel lines. The resulting fire consumed the plane and cargo. 3 crew members were on-board. No fatalities.
On 16 February 2000, a DC-8-71F, N8079U, operating as Emery Worldwide Flight 17, crashed on take-off on a scheduled cargo flight from Sacramento Mather Airport to Dayton, Ohio, with three crew members aboard. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and post-crash fire; there were no survivors. The accident was caused by improper maintenance.
On 26 April 2001, an Emery Worldwide DC-8-71, N8076U, landed with a left main landing gear up at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tennessee. The aircraft sustained minor damage and the three-member crew was not injured. Post-accident investigation found improper maintenance to the left main landing gear was at fault.
