Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport

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]

For the airport in Brooklyn, New York, see Floyd Bennett Field.
Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerWarren County
ServesGlens Falls, New York
LocationQueensbury, New York
Elevation AMSL328 ft / 100 m
Coordinates43°20′28″N 073°36′37″W
Map
GFL is located in New York
GFL
GFL
Location of airport in New York
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1/19 5,000 1,524 Asphalt
12/30 3,999 1,219 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations33,015
Based aircraft50

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), Eastern Air Lines[6] (1950s), Mohawk Airlines[6] (1950s–1970s), Allegheny Airlines[6] (1970s), and Air North (1960s–1980s).

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 19th, 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]

References
  1. 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 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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