The defunct company that used to own the 747 parked at Quonset State Airport that a New York businessman wants to convert into a replica of Air Force One holds a storied place in aviation lore, including transporting the deposed Shah of Iran, buying Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose and, allegedly, doing work for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Evergreen International Aviation got its start in 1960 as Evergreen Helicopters, a company founded in Oregon by Delford M. Smith.

By 1975, the company was flying airplanes as well when it bought an aircraft maintenance center outside Tucson, Arizona, that was run by the CIA, according to the Oregonian, Oregon's largest newspaper. In 1980, the company was commissioned by the U.S. government to fly the deposed Shah of Iran from Panama to exile in Egypt, the newspaper reported. In the 1980s, Evergreen transported U.S. troops on drug raids in Central and South America, the paper said.

Over the years, company officials denied working for the CIA.

When contacted Wednesday by The Providence Journal to discuss Evergreen's relationship with the CIA, a spokesman for the spy agency declined to comment.

The company also had contracts to carry U.S. Mail, as well as transporting cargo and personnel for private businesses.

Evergreen filed for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on Dec. 31, 2013, in the Delaware District.

While the bankruptcy was pending, the 747 now parked at Quonset, tail identification number N485EV, sat for several years on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, where it earned the unofficial title of airport mascot.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the company's aircraft were sold off.

The 747 at Quonset was purchased in the bankruptcy proceedings by Jet Midwest Group and is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration by a related company, Mojave Jet Services, which has an agreement with the businessman behind the Air Force One project.

The plane began service in 1973 as part of the fleet of Singapore Airlines. It also had been owned by Flying Tiger Line and Pan American World Airways before coming to Evergreen in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

(The Spruce Goose is owned by a separate nonprofit arm of Evergreen and was not involved in the bankruptcy.)

pparker@providencejournal.com

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