Boeing 757 Cargo Aircraft
Samaritan's Purse Aviation
Since 1975, Samaritan's Purse has used aircraft to transport doctors and relief workers along with tons of food, medicine, shelter materials, blankets, and other items to aid victims of natural disasters, war, famine, and other emergencies.
To support the work of Samaritan's Purse around the world, the aviation arm of Samaritan's Purse operates 28 aircraft, including three helicopters, which are based in strategic locations. The various aircraft are specifically used for ongoing relief and development work in remote areas and are ready to deploy when disasters strike.The various aircraft are specifically used for ongoing relief and development work in remote areas and are ready to deploy when disasters strike.
- Samaritan's Purse now operates two cargo planes—a Douglas DC-8 and Boeing 757. These enable Samaritan's Purse to respond at a moment's notice by airlifting tons of emergency relief supplies including Emergency Field Hospitals, shelter material, and water filtration systems anywhere in the world.
- Since 2016, the international Christian relief organization has flown over 9.3 million pounds of cargo on 218 flights to 42 countries out of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Boeing 757
In 2022, Samaritan's Purse added a Boeing 757-225 Precision Converted Freight (PCF) airplane to its fleet. The freighter aircraft can carry a maximum load of 66,000 pounds of cargo. The cargo hold is equivalent to the space of three tractor-trailers. With 15 different pallet positions, the 757 has versatile cargo space.
Built in 1985, the Boeing 757 was originally used as a passenger plane before being converted to a freighter in 2006. Samaritan's Purse purchased the aircraft in January 2022, and it received final sign-off from the FAA in August 2023 after undergoing extensive upgrades in avionics and communication systems. The addition of the 757 to the Samaritan's Purse fleet greatly enhances the organization's ability to respond to disasters around the world.
- On Sept. 1, the 757 completed its first relief mission—delivering 24 tons of cargo to Maui, Hawaii, where volunteers helped wildfire victims begin to recover.
- The Boeing 757 has a range of 3,700 nautical miles—in perspective that would be a nonstop flight from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Lima, Peru.
Samaritan’s Purse Airlift Response Center (SPARC)
The Samaritans Purse Airlift Response Center (SPARC) is located at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro North Carolina. The current facility opened in November 2021. The response center provides the space for maintenance personnel to perform a wide range of aircraft maintenance activities on the DC-8 and 757, which expedites response times.
- The facility is staffed by 25 full-time staff, including pilots, flight engineers, load masters, maintenance personnel, and 20 additional part-time and on call personnel.
- The 757 and DC-8 cargo planes are based in the new Greensboro Airlift Response Center.
- The more than 58,000-square-foot response center is comprised of a 48,000-square-foot hangar, including a small warehouse, and approximately 6,700 square feet of office space.
