SALISBURY, Md.- As the sun set on Wednesday night, the last Dash-8 turbo-prop plane made its final landing at the Salisbury Regional Airport.
Piedmont Airlines announced the retirement of it Dash-8 planes last year and will be replacing them with Embraer 145 jets. The Salisbury airport has never seen another plane since its opening, as the first Dash-8 plane arrived in SBY in 1985. The turbo-prop planes have been servicing Piedmont Airlines for 33 years.
Former Piedmont President Steve Farrow had the privilege of riding on the "last Dash" flight on Wednesday. He said the flight was an emotional experience.
"The Dash has meant an enormous amount to Piedmont. When we started taking the Dash in the mid-80s, it was the premiere turbo-prop. It's the only tubro-prop that has lasted for 30 years," Farrow said. "It has been a reliable workforce and it has made this company pretty much greater than it was when started it out."
Flight 4927 took off from Charlotte at 6:33 p.m. and arrived in Salisbury around 8:40 p.m. A crowd welcomed the plane in with a water salute and cheers from the ramp.
"It was bittersweet, it's the end of an era. And the airplane did wonderful things for this company, but things have to come to an end at some point and the good news is that there is a replacement aircraft, the Embraer 145 and it will keep the company very viable and providing good jobs for quite some time," Farrow said.
Flight Attendant Nina Yli-Piipari says the aircraft will be missed by many.
"All my memories are from the Dash and I know a lot of senior flight attendants are the same, 10-year, 20-year, 300year people, that's their plane is the Dash. To me it's like the end of an era for a lot of people. We were a Dash family and now we're not," Yli-Piipari said.
Piedmont Airlines will now fully transition to a completely jet airline, growing its fleet to 48 jets this month.
