After the Second World War, the airport was turned over to the county for the sum of $1 and guarantees that it would remain open as part of the Surplus Property Act of 1944 by the War Assets Administration. It was then used for general aviation. IBM built a hangar and based its corporate aircraft and helicopters at the airport, including Gulfstream II jets in the 1970s–1980s. In the 1970s, Cessna built and ran a Cessna Citation maintenance facility on the airport grounds.
In the 1960s–1980s, the airport had commuter airline service by Command Airways, Colgan Airways,[4]Air North, and others. Command Airways, later known as American Eagle Airlines, maintained its hub, executive offices, and maintenance facilities at the airport. Command qualified the ATR 72 with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for U.S. flight operations at the airport. In September 1980, the airport opened its current 16,700 sq ft (1,551 m2) terminal building for airline passengers.[5][6]
In his County Budget submittal in October 2016 for the following fiscal year, County Executive Marc Molinaro proposed changing the name of the airport to the Hudson Valley Regional Airport.[7] This was approved by the Dutchess County Legislature.[8]
Facilities and aircraft
Aerial view of the airport in November 2008
Hudson Valley Regional Airport covers an area of 640 acres (260 ha) which contains three runways, two of which are paved. The main runway (6–24) is 5,001 by 100 feet (1,524 by 30 m) and is equipped with an ILS system to the northeast-facing runway along with a medium intensity approach light system with runway alignment lights. The crosswind runway (15–33) was originally 3,003 feet (915 m) long but is now shortened to 2,744 by 100 feet (836 by 30 m) due to displaced thresholds at both ends. A turf/dirt runway (7–25) measures 1,358 by 100 feet (414 by 30 m).[1]
A flight service station was opened at the airport, but closed during the 1990s. In the 1970s, a control tower was constructed by the FAA, which currently operates it 14 hours per day.[6]
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2014, the airport had 75,133 aircraft operations, an average of 206 per day: 99% general aviation, 1% air taxi, <1% military. At that time there were 133 aircraft based at this airport: 84% single-engine, 7% multi-engine, 8% helicopter, and 2% military.[1]
There is currently one flight school that operates at the airport, US Aviation Academy, located in the main terminal. Richmor Aviation, previously located on the north side of the airport, left in 2013. fixed-base operator services have been provided by FlightLevel Dutchess, part of Flight Level Aviation, since August, 2015.[8][9]
In 2018, the FAA provided a $7.4 million grant to the airport for construction of a new building complex to house Aircraft Rescue Firefighting (ARFF) and snow removal equipment, along with administrative offices.[10] The project will replace the existing 40-year-old structures built in the late 1970s.
The year before, the New York State Department of Transportation awarded Dutchess County $988,500 to fund 90% of the cost for renovations to the airport's terminal building. The improvements include second-floor accessibility, alterations for greater energy efficiency, and upgrades to the structure's exterior and signage.[11]
Accidents and incidents
On January 26, 1972, a Mohawk AirlinesFairchild FH-227B with 42 passengers aboard on a flight from Albany to LaGuardia Airport in New York City was hijacked and diverted to Westchester County Airport. The hijacker permitted all of the passengers to disembark there while he negotiated his demand for $200,000 cash. After several hours on the ground with the hijacker holding a flight attendant at gunpoint, the airline met his demands and the crew then flew the airplane and hijacker to Dutchess County Airport, landing after 3 a.m.[12][13] As the 45-year old hijacker attempted to flee the airport in a getaway car, he was killed instantly by a shotgun blast from an FBI agent.[14]
On March 16, 1976, an overweight Command Airways BE-99 commuter flight to New York City's JFK International Airport with 7 passengers and a crew of two failed to establish a positive rate of climb on takeoff in a snowstorm, crashing just beyond the runway east of Rt. 376. The pilot was injured and the airplane was destroyed in the post-impact fire.[15][16][17]
On the evening of September 24, 1982, an Aero Airways DC-8, bound for Stewart International Airport's 11,817 ft. (3,602m) Runway 27, mistakenly landed instead on the similarly aligned Runway 24 at Hudson Valley Regional Airport.[18] The heavy 4-engine jet airliner landed successfully on the much shorter 5,000 ft. runway, much to the astonishment of airport neighbors accustomed to seeing only small business jets and private aircraft there.
.jpg)
