Overview
- At a November 14 ceremony in Greensboro, North Carolina, the organization formally decommissioned DC-8-72CF N782SP and dedicated its newly introduced Boeing 767.
- The DC-8, acquired in 2015 and flown on more than 200 missions, was the final DC-8 on the U.S. register and carried millions of pounds of aid worldwide.
- The 767’s first airlift on October 24 delivered over 290,000 supplemental-food packets for women and children in Gaza, along with blankets, solar lights, and other relief supplies.
- A subsequent mission used the 767 to transport a complete emergency field hospital to Jamaica in a single flight after Hurricane Melissa.
- Samaritan’s Purse now fields a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, including two helicopters and a Boeing 757, with the 767 assuming long-range humanitarian lift duties.