Buchanan Field Airport

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Buchanan Field Airport
IATA: CCR - ICAO: KCCR
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Contra Costa County
Serves		Concord, California
Elevation AMSL		26 ft (7.9 m)
Coordinates		37°59′23″N, 122°03′25″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
1L/19R	5,001	1,524	Asphalt/Concrete
1R/19L	2,770	844	Asphalt
14L/32R	4,602	1,403	Asphalt/Concrete
14R/32L	2,799	853	Asphalt

Buchanan Field Airport (IATA: CCR, ICAO: KCCR) is located in Concord, California, USA, 27 nautical miles (50 km) northeast of San Francisco International Airport, in Contra Costa County at the outside edge of San Francisco's terminal airspace. The airport has a control tower and a high volume of general aviation traffic, with over 500 aircraft based on the field (mostly single-engine).

1 History
2 Accidents
3 Airlines and destinations
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

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Founded as a naval aviation training field during World War II, the field became a civil aviation airport in August, 1946. This is now an FAA controlled airport.

[edit] Accidents

On the evening of December 23, 1985, a Beechcraft Baron N1494G, executing a missed instrument approach procedure from an approach to runway 19R, lost control and crashed into the roof of the Macy's Department Store at nearby Sunvalley Mall, killing the pilot and two passengers and seriously injuring 84 Christmas shoppers in the crowded mall below, mainly by spraying them with burning fuel. Four of the victims on the ground later died from their injuries. The accident brought increased local opposition to the airport, and caused Pacific Southwest Airlines to delay scheduled passenger service that had been planned to start in January 1986.

Another plane crashed on April 13, 2004, shortly after leaving Buchanan Field. The plane landed on a minivan and nearly severed the left leg of a 12-year-old girl. Officials determined the crash was the fault of a mechanic who had worked on the plane.

On 21 December 2006, at approximately 1900 Zulu, a Piper Malibu (PA46) crashed while flying the LDA (Localizer Directional Aid) approach into CCR. The aircraft was flying too low to terrain and impacted obstructions on the ground. Four passengers were killed.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Buchanan Field does not currently have scheduled commercial air service.

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) offered service from Buchanan Field to Los Angeles International Airport, beginning May 1, 1986. PSA offered between four and five daily roundtrips on the route, using its 100-seat BAe 146 aircraft. USAir continued the service after purchasing PSA in 1987. In 1991, however, USAir announced that it was parking its BAe 146 fleet and dismantling most of the west coast network that it had acquired from PSA, including its Concord station. Buchanan Field has yet to be served by another airline following USAir's departure.