Port Heiden Airport

Port Heiden Airport
Port Heiden Air Force Station
Fort Morrow Army Airfield
IATA: PTH – ICAO: PAPH – FAA LID: PTH
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner State of Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region
Serves Port Heiden, Alaska
Elevation AMSL 95 ft / 29 m
Coordinates 56°57′33″N 158°38′00″W / 56.95917°N 158.63333°WCoordinates: 56°57′33″N 158°38′00″W / 56.95917°N 158.63333°W
Map
PTH

Location of airport in Alaska

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 5,000 1,524 Gravel
13/31 4,000 1,219 Gravel
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations 1,000

Port Heiden Airport (IATA: PTH, ICAO: PAPH, FAA LID: PTH) is a state owned, public use airport located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) northeast of the central business district of Port Heiden,[1] in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. Scheduled airline service to King Salmon Airport is provided by Peninsula Airways (PenAir).[2]

As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 919 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008,[3] 964 enplanements in 2009, and 1,037 in 2010.[4] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility (the commercial service category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).[5]

History

The airport was built in 1942 after the World War II Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands. On June 17, 1942 the United States Army established a garrison of 1,400 officers and enlisted men at Port Heiden on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula, with the mission of developing and holding an air base intermediate between the Kodiak and Cold Bay fields, this new garrison becoming the Army's Fort Morrow Army Airfield. The airfield did not have any permanent assigned units during the war, but hosted numerous temporary assigned USAAF and Naval Air units during the Aleutian Campaign and aided in the defense of Kodiak Island.

Beginning in 1958 the airport was used to support Port Heiden Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station. The station was operated by Detachment 5, 714th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron based at Cold Bay Air Force Station, near Cold Bay, Alaska. The radar station was inactivated in September 1969, ending military use of the airport.

The Air Force remediated the radar site around 2000, removing all abandoned military structures and returning the site to a natural condition.

Facilities and aircraft

Port Heiden Airport covers an area of 3,500 acres (1,416 ha) at an elevation of 95 feet (29 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with gravel surfaces: 5/23 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) and 13/31 is 4,000 by 100 feet (1,219 x 30 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 1,000 aircraft operations, an average of 83 per month: 50% air taxi and 50% general aviation.[1]

Airline and destination

The following airline offers scheduled passenger service:

Airlines Destinations
PenAir King Salmon [2]

Incidents

On April 30, 2008, a Cessna Citation Excel business jet veered off the gravel runway 23 upon landing in a crosswind. The plane sustained substantial damage, thought there were no injuries among the six occupants.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for PTH (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Timetable" (PDF). PenAir. October 21, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ Mary F. Silitch. "Excel veered off gravel runway". AINonline. February 1, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2010.

External links