Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (IATA: GFL[2], ICAO: KGFL, FAA LID: GFL) is a county-owned, public-use airport in Warren County, New York, United States.[1] It is located three nautical miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Glens Falls,[1] in the town of Queensbury.[3] This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[4]

The airport is named in honor of Floyd Bennett.[5] It was formerly known as Warren County Airport.[6]

The annual Adirondack Balloon Festival is held at this airport.[7]

History

From 1918 to 1946, the county's only airport, Floyd Bennett Field, was located on what are now the grounds of Queensbury High School.[8] In 1941, ground was broken a few miles east at what is now the current site of the airport. The airport has been served commercially by Colonial Airlines[6] (1940s),[citation needed] Eastern Air Lines[6] (1950s),[citation needed] Mohawk Airlines[6] (1950s–1970s),[citation needed] Allegheny Airlines[6] (1970s),[citation needed] and Air North (1960s–1980s).[citation needed]

Facilities and aircraft

Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport covers an area of 628 acres (254 ha) at an elevation of 328 feet (100 m) above mean sea level.[1] It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 1/19 is 5,000 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m) and 12/30 is 3,999 by 100 feet (1,219 x 30 m).[1]

The north-facing runway 1 is equipped with an instrument landing system and a medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment lights. GPS-based instrument approaches are available to all four runway ends. A VORTAC is located at the field and during the 1990s and earlier was used as the basis for IFR approaches to the main runway.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 33,015 aircraft operations, an average of 90 per day: 85% general aviation, 12% air taxi, and 3% military. At that time there were 50 aircraft based at this airport: 92% single-engine, 4% jet, 2% multi-engine, and 2% helicopter.[1]

Incidents

On November 19, 1969, Mohawk Airlines Flight 411 crashed into Pilot Knob Mountain while attempting to land at the conclusion of a flight from Albany. All 14 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.

On June 21, 1983, a Beechcraft BE-58 landed without deploying the landing gear after a training flight around the airport. The accident was blamed on the pilot's failure to deploy the landing gear. No injuries were reported, however, the plane was destroyed.[9]

On June 30, 1984, an Aeronca 11AC collided with a rock ledge approximately 1/4 of a mile north of runway 19 during takeoff. The pilot of the aircraft was killed in the incident.[10]

On September 27, 2002, a charter jet operated by Heartland Aviation Inc. suffered a landing gear failure during a hard landing on runway 1. The hard landing was attributed to the pilot's efforts to avoid deer that had wandered onto the runway. There were no injuries or fatalities.[11]

On May 15, 2010, a 1999 American Champion crashed on takeoff from runway 19. The crash was blamed on a large wind gust, which caused the pilot to lose control of the plane and crash into a ditch. No injures or fatalities resulted from the crash. [12]

On July 2, 2011, a Piper Cherokee lost electrical power while on final approach into the airfield. As a result, the pilot was unable to deploy the plane's landing gear. The pilot was uninjured. [13]

On July 16, 2012, a single engine Cessna 208 was landing on runway 19 when it blew a tire, causing the plane to flip multiple times. The pilot suffered a hand laceration and the plane was destroyed.[14]

On November 19, 2021, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee lost power after departing from runway 30. The pilot attempted to turn back and make an emergency landing on runway 19, but crashed into a fence just short of the runway at the north gate of the airport. The pilot was uninjured in the crash, however, his passenger was transported to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries. [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f FAA Airport Form 5010 for GFL PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ^ "IATA Airport Code Search (GFL: Glens Falls / Warren County)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  3. ^ "Welcome to the Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport". Warren County Department of Public Works. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  4. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). [National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on 2012-09-27.
  5. ^ "Floyd Bennett". Warren County Department of Public Works. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e "A brief history of the Warren County Airport". Warren County Department of Public Works. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  7. ^ "Adirondack Balloon Festival". Adirondack Balloon Festival. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  8. ^ "54 Facts About Warren County". Warren County Historical Society. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report". February 6, 1995. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "NTSB Aviation Incident Report N3823E". February 6, 1994. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Deer blamed for crash at Warren County Airport". Glens Falls Post-Star. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  12. ^ "Small plane crashes during take-off in Queensbury". Glens Falls Post-Star. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  13. ^ TAUBE, DAVID. "Plane lands without landing gear at Warren County airport". Glens Falls Post-Star. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  14. ^ Lehman, DON. "Airplane Crashes at Warren County Airport, One Minor Injury Reported". Glens Falls Post-Star. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  15. ^ "Pilot, Passenger Survive Warren County Plane Crash". WNYT-TV. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
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