Airport in Queensbury, New York
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]
