For the other uses, see Concord Airport (disambiguation).
| Buchanan Field Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| USGS Orthophoto, 2006 | |||
| IATA: CCR – ICAO: KCCR | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Contra Costa County | ||
| Location | Contra Costa County, near Concord, California | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 26 ft / 7.9 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 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 and Pacheco, California, USA, 27 nautical miles (50 km) northeast of San Francisco International Airport, in Contra Costa County.[1] 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).
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In 1942 Contra Costa County, California purchased land to build an airport in Central County for $88,000. The airport was being developed by the County when World War II broke-out and the United States Army Air Forces Fourth Air Force expropriated the site. The Army added additional land and built the airport facilities. They also built a training base for pilots and the base was known as Concord Army Airfeld.[2]
In 1946 the War Assets Administration (WAA) returned the airport to the County for public use. In August 1946 the airport was renamed after County Supervisor William J. Buchanan, who served was a board member for more than forty years. The airport continued to be used on occasion by the U.S. Army to transport troops, especially during the Korean War.[2]
In 1977 Buchanan Field reached its peak of activity with 357,000 total operations; by that criterion Buchanan Field was the 16th busiest airport in the nation, ahead of San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. During this time noise became a concern and in 1988 the county Board of Supervisors instituted a county noise restriction ordinance restricting certain aircraft from operating at Buchanan Field.[2]
Beginning in the 1990s, the Board of Supervisors updated the Buchanan Field Airport Master Plan. Commercial development of adjacent property such as Sams Club, Taco Bell, Sports Authority, and Jiffy Lube was allowed in 1992.[2] The future direction of this airport is always in question because of its location on prime property in the middle of the city of Concord with no room to grow, and noise concerns. The County has developed a new airport in Byron in the eastern part of the county.[2]
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 traveling down nearby Interstate 680 in Pleasant Hill and nearly severed the left leg of a 12-year-old girl (Her leg was successfully reattached and she has made a near full recovery). Officials determined the crash was the fault of a mechanic who had worked on the plane.[3]
On December 21, 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. The plane hit the median of Highway 4, crashing between the highway and Marsh Drive just directly north of the runway. Three passengers were killed instantly one died after surgery.[4]
Buchanan Field does not currently have scheduled commercial air service.
Commuter airline flights to San Francisco (Beech 99s, Islanders) started in 1969, but were gone by 1980. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) offered service from Buchanan Field to Los Angeles International Airport, beginning May 1, 1986. PSA offered four to five daily roundtrips on the route with 100-seat BAe 146 aircraft. USAir continued the service after purchasing PSA in 1987, but replaced the 146s with Dash 8s in 1991. That year USAir announced that it was dismantling most of the West Coast network that it had acquired from PSA, including Concord, where flights ended in 1992. Buchanan Field has had no airline flights since.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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