On November 14, 2025 , Samaritan’s Purse, the international Christian relief organization, retired its Douglas DC-8 cargo aircraft and dedicated its new Boeing 767 at the Airlift Response Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The milestone marks a new chapter in the ministry’s global aviation operations, enhancing its ability to deliver life-saving aid quickly and efficiently worldwide. For more than a decade, the DC-8 served as Samaritan’s Purse’s primary heavy-lift aircraft. Since its acquisition in 2015, the plane completed 217 missions and transported more than 9.2 million pounds of critical supplies—including food, medical equipment, and emergency relief materials—to communities affected by natural disasters, conflict, and humanitarian crises. The aircraft is notably the last U.S.-registered DC-8 still in active service.
“The DC-8 has been an extraordinary asset, helping Samaritan’s Purse reach hundreds of thousands of people in need,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “It has carried the message that God loves them and they are not forgotten. As we retire the DC-8, we give thanks for its service and look forward to the Boeing 767 taking its place, allowing us to deliver more supplies faster and more efficiently.”
The Boeing 767 has already demonstrated its capabilities. On its inaugural mission on October 24, the aircraft transported more than 290,000 packets of supplementary food, along with blankets, solar lights, and other essential relief items, to families in Gaza. Shortly thereafter, the 767 was deployed to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever to strike the island. On one mission, it carried a fully equipped Emergency Field Hospital—including an operating room, intensive care unit, obstetric ward, laboratory, pharmacy, and blood bank—in a single flight, a deployment that previously required multiple airlifts.
Over its operational life with Samaritan’s Purse, the DC-8 completed nearly 200 missions and transported close to 9 million pounds of cargo. Its range of 7,000 nautical miles enabled missions as long as Charlotte, North Carolina, to Tokyo, Japan. The transition from the DC-8 to the Boeing 767 represents a significant step forward in Samaritan’s Purse’s ability to respond rapidly to global emergencies while continuing its mission of delivering aid “in Jesus’ Name.”
About Samaritan’s Purse Based in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan’s Purse responds to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations, particularly in regions where few others are working. Led by President and CEO Franklin Graham, the organization operates in over 100 countries, providing aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org.
