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 war, natural disasters, disease, famine, and poverty.
To support the global work of Samaritan's Purse, the aviation arm of the ministry operates 28 aircraft, including fixed-wing planes and two helicopters placed strategically worldwide. The various aircraft are specifically used for ongoing relief and development work in remote areas, and are ready to deploy when disasters strike.
These aircraft have carried millions of pounds of emergency relief supplies, medical equipment, and personnel to some of the hardest-to-reach places around the world.
Samaritan’s Purse Airlift Response Center
The Samaritan’s Purse Airlift Response Center is at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. The facility opened in November 2021, providing space for maintenance personnel to perform a wide range of aircraft maintenance on the 767 and 757, to greatly expedite response times.
The facility has 25 full-time staff, including pilots, flight engineers, load masters, maintenance personnel, and 20 additional part-time and on-call personnel. The 757 and 767 cargo planes are based at this location.
The 58,000-square-foot response center includes a 48,000-square-foot hangar, warehouse, and about 6,700 square feet of office space. It serves as the hub for all major international airlifts and has enabled rapid deployment to crises around the world.
Heavy Airlift Capacity
Boeing 767-300F
In 2025, Samaritan’s Purse acquired its largest and most capable cargo aircraft, a Boeing 767-300F. It is a long-range, two-engine, wide-body cargo aircraft manufactured by Boeing in 2006. Previously, it flew commercially for Qantas Airlines until May 2024. The aircraft was ferried to the United States, where it underwent maintenance, received new landing gear, and was painted in its Samaritan’s Purse livery. It arrived in Greensboro on July 8, 2025 and became fully mission-ready on October 1, 2025.
The 767 can carry 119,000 pounds of relief supplies across 31 pallet positions between the upper and lower decks—double the combined total of the 757 and retired DC-8. In one flight, the largest model of the organization’s Emergency Field Hospital can be airlifted to a disaster area, increasing the ministry’s ability to respond to a large-scale international crisis.
On its inaugural flight, the 767 carried 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. Since then, the aircraft has completed multiple missions to the Middle East and the Caribbean.
The 767 marks a major step forward in the ministry’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to global disasters.
Boeing 757-225PCF
Samaritan’s Purse added the Boeing 757-225PCF to its fleet in 2022. With the ability to carry up to 66,000 pounds of cargo across 15 pallet positions, it provides efficient mid-range lift for international and regional relief missions. Its cargo hold offers the equivalent volume of three tractor-trailers.
Built in 1985, the aircraft was converted to a freighter in 2006. After Samaritan’s Purse purchased the aircraft in January 2022, it underwent extensive avionics and communications upgrades and received final FAA approval in August 2023.
On Sept. 1, 2023, 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.
The 757 continues to play a central role in responses across Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions requiring quick turnarounds and flexible configurations.
Historic Douglas DC-8 (Retired)
When Samaritan’s Purse added the Douglas DC-8-72CF to its fleet in 2015, the seasoned aircraft ushered in a new era of aviation for the ministry. For nearly a decade, the heavy-lift aircraft served as the international relief organization’s primary cargo plane. Configured as a “combi” aircraft, it could transport 74,000 pounds of cargo along with 32 passengers.
During its service life of carrying life-saving aid around the world, the DC-8 supported major international crises, including:
- The 2016 Ecuador earthquake (inaugural mission)
- Hurricanes Irma, Maria, Dorian, Otis, and Beryl
- The COVID-19 responses in Italy and the Bahamas
- War-related deployments to Iraq, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Israel
- Major flooding in Brazil
- Earthquake responses in Turkey and Myanmar
Since the organization first deployed the DC-8 in April of 2016 to its final flight on Dec. 5, 2025, the historic aircraft completed 219 missions, carrying more than 9.2 million pounds of relief supplies to 42 different countries, as well as Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.
Its retirement paved the way for the expanded heavy-lift capability now provided by the 767.
