FedEx Express Donates Plane To Aircraft Repair Program

Students in the aviation program at Southern Arkansas University-Tech in Camden returned from Christmas break to a very pleasant surprise: FedEx Express donated a Boeing 727-100 aircraft to the program, which trains students to repair airplanes.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports David P. Sutton, managing director of aircraft acquisition and sales for FedEx Express, is scheduled to make the donation official during a ceremony at 10:00 am Wednesday at Camden Regional Airport. The donation is the first jet aircraft donated in almost 40 years of the program.

Sutton says FedEx Express has donated at least 40 planes as it retires its fleet of 40- to 45-year-old 727-100 s in favor of newer and more fuel-efficient craft. He said the company typically donates about 10 planes a year, evaluating training programs for their quality before choosing recipients.

"We have worked hard over the last few years to identify top technical training schools, museums, airport police and fire departments for receiving these donated planes," Sutton said. "We just look at the quality of the aviation programs. We have a number of requests, and we can’t fulfill all of them."

The 15 full-time students in Camden and 22 students at Texarkana Regional Airport are pursuing  associate degrees in applied science in aviation maintenance technology. Students at both campuses will get to work with the jet on a rotation basis.

"It was almost like, 'Look what Santa brought you,'" said Bill Archer, SAU-Tech’s aviation program coordinator. "The guys knew we had a request in, but they had no idea we were going to get it."

FMI: www.sautech.edu/