Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport

Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (IATA: PBM, ICAO: SMJP), also known as Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, is an airport located in the town of Zanderij, 45 km south of Paramaribo. It is Suriname's main international gateway operated by Airport Management, Ltd./ NV Luchthavenbeheer.

Airlines and destinations

Charter

Cargo

History

Prior to World War II, Zandery Airport was a Pan American World Airways stop. After the fall of the Netherlands to Nazi forces in 1940, the United States obtained military basing rights to the airport from the Netherlands government-in-exile in London. The first American forces arrived at the airport on 30 November 1941 and expanded the facilities to be a transport base for sending Lend-Lease supplies to England via air routes across the South Atlantic Ocean.

With the United States entry into the war in December 1941, the importance of Zandery Field increased drastically, becoming a major transport base on the South Atlantic route of Air Transport Command ferrying supplies and personnel to Freetown Airport, Sierra Leone and onwards to the European and African theaters of the war. In addition, antisubmarine patrols were flown from the airfield over the southern Caribbean and South Atlantic coastlines.

Major USAAF units assigned to the airfield were:

• 35th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group) 1 November 1941-7 October 1943 (B-25 Mitchell)

Detachment operated from: Atkinson Field, British Guiana, 1 November 1942-7 October 1943

Detachment operated from: Piarco Airport, Trinidad, 27 August-12 October 1943

• 99th Bombardment Squadron (9th Bombardment Group), 3 December 1941-31 October 1942 (B-18 Bolo)
• 22d Fighter Squadron (36th Fighter Group), 16 September 1942-16 September 1943) (P-39 Aircobras, later P-47 Thunderbolts)
• 23d Antisubmarine Squadron (Trinidad Detachment, Antilles Air Command), 15 August–December 1943 (A-29 Hudson)

With the end of World War II Zandery Airfield was reduced in scope to a skeleton staff. It was closed as a military facility on 30 April 1946 and turned over to Dutch authorities which returned it to a civil airport.

Incidents and accidents

• On July 28, 1968: a United States Air Force Douglas C-124C Globemaster II registration 51-5178 flying from Paramaribo-Zanderij to Recife, while on approach to land at Recife, flew into a 1890 feet high hill 80km (50 miles) away from Recife. The 10 occupants died.^[1]
• On June 7, 1989, Surinam Airways Flight PY764, a Douglas DC-8 from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands crashed during approach to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on board. The crash was the worst ever aviation disaster in Suriname's history. Among the dead were fifteen Surinamese-Dutch professional football players.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Airport Management, Ltd.
• Airport information for SMJP at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for SMJP at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
• Current weather for SMJP at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for PBM at Aviation Safety Network