Cascade
Airways Beechcraft 1900 N121CZ
(c/n UB-2)
In 1984/85 Mark
Chestnutt decided he needed yet another aircraft type to service the
shorter
range segments of his rapidly growing airline, and
also to replace the aging Beech 99s. Accord-
ingly a
fleet of eight Beechcraft 1900s was acquired. Seen above is one
of them, N121CZ over
the Walla Walla
Valley, circa
1984. This purchase
was a tremendous drain on cash and may have
been the last
straw since, since, shortly after putting the 1900s into operation he
filed
(on 19 Aug-
ust 1985) for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing "intense competition from
Horizon Air"
among other factors. Horizon
Air was making a bid to buy Cascade at the
time, although this
never actually came about and Cascade ceased
operations in March 1986..