Buchanan Field Airport

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Buchanan Field Airport
IATA: CCR - ICAO: KCCR
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Contra Costa County
Serves Concord, California
Elevation AMSL 26 ft (7.9 m)
Coordinates 37°59′23″N, 122°03′25″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1L/19R 5,001 1,524 Asphalt/Concrete
1R/19L 2,770 844 Asphalt
14L/32R 4,602 1,403 Asphalt/Concrete
14R/32L 2,799 853 Asphalt

Buchanan Field Airport (IATA: CCR, ICAO: KCCR) is located in Concord, California, USA, 27 nautical miles (50 km) northeast of San Francisco International Airport, in Contra Costa County at the outside edge of San Francisco's terminal airspace. The airport has a control tower and a high volume of general aviation traffic, with over 500 aircraft based on the field (mostly single-engine).

Contents

[edit] History

In 1942 Contra Costa County, California purchased land to build an airport in Central County for $88,000. The airport was being developed by the County when World War II broke-out and the United States Army Air Forces Fourth Air Force expropriated the site. The Army added additional land and built the airport facilities. They also built a training base for pilots and the base was known as Concord Army Airfeld. [1]

After World War II was over, in 1946 the War Assets Administration (WAA) returned the airport to the County for public use. in August, 1946. The airport was renamed after County Supervisor William J. Buchanan, who served was a board member for more than forty years. The airport continued to be used on occasion by the U.S. Army to transport troops, especially during the Korean War.[1]

Although the airport did not have commercial passenger service, in 1977 Buchanan Field Airport reached its peak level of activity with 357,000 operations. Buchanan Field was ranked the 16th busiest airport in the nation, ahead of San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. Passenger service began in 1986, but ended in 1992. During this time noise became a concern and in 1988 the county Board of Supervisors instituted a county noise restriction ordinance restricting certain aircraft from operating at Buchanan Field.[1]

Beginning in the 1990s, the Board of Supervisors updated the Buchanan Field Airport Master Plan. Commercial development of adjacent property (such as Sam’s Club, Taco Bell, Sports Authority and Jiffy Lube) was allowed in 1992.[1] The future direction of this airport is always in question because of its location on prime property in the middle of the city of Concord with no room to grow, and noise concerns. The County has developed a new airport in Byron in the eastern part of the county. [1]

[edit] Accidents

On the evening of December 23, 1985, a Beechcraft Baron N1494G, executing a missed instrument approach procedure from an approach to runway 19R, lost control and crashed into the roof of the Macy's Department Store at nearby Sunvalley Mall, killing the pilot and two passengers and seriously injuring 84 Christmas shoppers in the crowded mall below, mainly by spraying them with burning fuel. Four of the victims on the ground later died from their injuries. The accident brought increased local opposition to the airport, and caused Pacific Southwest Airlines to delay scheduled passenger service that had been planned to start in January 1986.

Another plane crashed on April 13, 2004, shortly after leaving Buchanan Field. The plane landed on a minivan and nearly severed the left leg of a 12-year-old girl. (Her leg was successfully reattached and she has made a near full recovery) Officials determined the crash was the fault of a mechanic who had worked on the plane.

On 21 December 2006, at approximately 1900 Zulu, a Piper Malibu (PA46) crashed while flying the LDA (Localizer Directional Aid) approach into CCR. The aircraft was flying too low to terrain and impacted obstructions on the ground. Four passengers were killed.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Buchanan Field does not currently have scheduled commercial air service.

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) offered service from Buchanan Field to Los Angeles International Airport, beginning May 1, 1986. PSA offered between four and five daily roundtrips on the route, using its 100-seat BAe 146 aircraft. USAir continued the service after purchasing PSA in 1987. In 1991, however, USAir announced that it was parking its BAe 146 fleet and dismantling most of the west coast network that it had acquired from PSA, including its Concord station. Buchanan Field has yet to be served by another airline following USAir's departure. The airport will unlikely be once again used as an airport for an airline, as airlines use the much larger facilities in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e The History of Contra Costa County Airports, Contra Costa County Airports. Retrieved 2007-08-14.

[edit] External links

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Airports in the San Francisco Bay Area
International
San Francisco (KSFO)  · Oakland (KOAK)  · San Jose (KSJC)
Federal
Moffett Field (KNUQ)  · Travis AFB (KSUU)
General aviation (tower)
Concord/Buchanan (KCCR)  · Hayward (KHWD)  · Livermore (KLVK)  · Napa (KAPC)  · Palo Alto (KPAO)  · San Jose/Reid-Hillview (KRHV)  · San Carlos (KSQL)  · Santa Rosa/Sonoma County (KSTS)
General aviation (non-tower)
Angwin-Parrett (2O3)  · Byron (C83)  · Marin County/Gnoss (KDVO)  · Half Moon Bay (KHAF)  · Healdsburg (O31)  · Vacaville/Nut Tree (KVCB)  · Petaluma (O69)  · Rio Vista (O88)  · Sonoma Skypark (0Q9)  · Sonoma Valley (0Q3)  · San Martin/South County (E16)
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