After nearly a decade of service and more than 200 missions, our DC-8 aircraft was retired on Nov. 14. A new 767 was dedicated and has joined our fleet.
On Nov. 14, staff members and friends of the ministry joined our Mission Aviation Services team to bid farewell and to celebrate all that God has done through our DC-8 cargo aircraft. In addition, our 767 plane was dedicated to God’s glory as it joined our fleet during an event that was held at our Airlift Response Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Franklin Graham addresses attendees as Samaritan’s Purse celebrates the retirement of the historic DC-8 and dedicates its newest cargo aircraft, the 767, to God’s glory.
el presidente de Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham, explained what sparked the expansion of our aviation team 15 years ago. When a cargo plane was unavailable to lease, and this kept us from responding quickly enough to make a difference, he decided that we needed our own aircraft. Each one prominently displays our stated purpose, “Helping in Jesus’ Name.”
“We do everything in Jesus’ Name,” he said. “We want our focus to always be on Christ so we put that on the nose and the cross on the tail. We go in Jesus’ Name. Aviation is an incredible tool for Samaritan’s Purse. Every one of our cargo planes says ‘Helping in Jesus’ Name’ right across the nose of the aircraft. After a disaster strikes, we want people to know why we are bringing life-saving supplies. We want them to know that God loves them and they’re not forgotten. As we retire the DC-8, we are grateful to God for the 767 taking its place. It will allow us to transport far more supplies—faster and more effectively—and will continue the work of bringing the hope of the Gospel to people around the world.”
"Helping in Jesus' Name" is displayed prominently on each of our aircraft.
After its restoration out of an aviation boneyard, the Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 carried more than 9 million pounds of relief cargo on 217 missions, beginning with its inaugural flight for Samaritan’s Purse in 2016 to help earthquake victims in Ecuador.
The historic aircraft, the only operational DC-8 in the United States, touched down in countries around the world to deliver shelter, water, food, medical supplies and equipment, and carry disaster relief specialists ready to serve in Jesus’ Name. Its most recent and final mission was to hurricane-hit Jamaica, delivering tons of relief to the island nation in the wake of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham is a longtime pilot himself and celebrates what God can do through aviation.
Samaritan’s Purse COO Edward Graham also talked about the central focus of the organization and of our aviation program.
“We get to dedicate our brand-new Boeing 767, but also get to retire the DC-8 aircraft that was the first to give Samaritan’s Purse the capability to bring cargo to disasters around the world in the Name of Jesus,” said Edward Graham. “Samaritan’s Purse goes to those who are in the ditches of the world. Maybe it’s war, pestilence, or famine that put them there, and we meet their immediate needs, like the hospital that we just sent to Jamaica. We provide medicine, food, water, just like [the Good Samaritan] did.”
Edward Graham shares how God has used Samaritan’s Purse aviation to reach people in desperate need around the world during disasters.
The group also heard from Greta Van Susteren, a veteran news commentator and longtime ministry friend who spoke about her love of the DC-8, which she has traveled in to Bangladesh, Liberia, Saipan, Poland, and Ecuador.
“When you see Samaritan’s Purse—Helping in Jesus Name and you see it, whether it’s here at this airport, or you see it landing someplace, some awful place where people are so heartbroken, it’s so inspiring,” she said. “You have hope. You know here they are, here they come, they’re here to help. It’s bittersweet to see her (the DC-8) go.”
Greta Van Susteren shares reflections on her many journeys aboard the DC-8.
A New Era with a Growing Fleet
Samaritan’s Purse Mission Aviation Services will continue to haul disaster relief supplies and personnel across the globe with our 757 and with the newly commissioned 767—a more modern cargo aircraft that expands the ministry’s capacity to respond rapidly and efficiently wherever disaster strikes.
Jim “Vech” Vechery, director of Mission Aviation Services Greensboro, celebrated the “God-sized story” that Samaritan’s Purse aviation has been a part of.
Jim “Vech” Vechery, director of Mission Aviation Services Greensboro, reflects on the “God-sized story” of Samaritan’s Purse aviation and the ministry’s commitment to respond wherever crises strike.
“The Airlift Response Center speaks to exactly what we do. We respond to crisis around the world and to whatever those crises are, and we don’t know what a day will bring,” he said. “It’s a blessing that God provides us with these resources. The one thing that we want to leave here today is that this is a God-sized story. This is God’s mission.”
The 767 completed its inaugural mission on Oct. 24, carrying more than 290,000 packets of supplementary food for suffering women and children in Gaza, along with blankets, solar lights, and other critical relief items.
Just weeks later, the aircraft was deployed again—this time to Jamaica, following Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever to strike the island. To date, Samaritan’s Purse has completed seven airlifts to Jamaica, utilizing its DC-8, 767, and 757.
One of the 767 airlifts carried the organization’s Hospital Móvil de Emergencias equipped with an operating room, intensive care unit, emergency room, obstetric ward, laboratory, pharmacy, and blood bank. This flight to Jamaica marked the first time that Samaritan’s Purse transported a large Emergency Field Hospital on a single flight. Previously, such a deployment required multiple airlifts, but the 767’s size and range made it possible.
Liberty University Chancellor Jonathan Falwell encourages attendees with a reminder of the eternal impact made by those who serve through Samaritan’s Purse aviation.
Liberty University Chancellor Jonathan Falwell attended the Samaritan’s Purse event and emphasized the eternal aspect of the work that mission aviation supports around the world.
“God has done some incredible things through Samaritan’s Purse. God has done some incredible things through that DC-8, but let us never forget that DC-8 is simply just a whole bunch of metal and a bucket of bolts and nuts and all those kinds of things,” he said. “Here’s what matters. What matters is the people who get onto that plane every single day and show up when God wants them to go and to serve and to make an impact and to make a difference, and Heaven will be more full because of the people that have already been introduced in this room today, who spent their lives making sure that these planes get to where God wants them to be so that we can show up in the Name of Jesus, the only source of our hope.”
For more, read a tribute from our flight engineer: LOOKING BACK ON OUR DC-8 MISSIONS
Franklin Graham celebrates the remarkable years of service of the Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 and the opportunities God has given Samaritan’s Purse through the 767 and other aircraft in our fleet.
