Yeager Airport
West Virginia International Yeager Airport | |||||||||||
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File:Charleston Yeager Airport Logo November 2021.svg | |||||||||||
Aerial view of Yeager Airport, 2009 | |||||||||||
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority | ||||||||||
Serves | Charleston, West Virginia | ||||||||||
Location | Kanawha County, West Virginia | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 947 ft / 289 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°22′33″N 081°35′35″W / 38.37583°N 81.59306°WCoordinates: 38°22′33″N 081°35′35″W / 38.37583°N 81.59306°W | ||||||||||
Website | YeagerAirport.com | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics | |||||||||||
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West Virginia International Yeager Airport (IATA: CRW, ICAO: KCRW, FAA LID: CRW) is a public airport 3 miles (4.8 km) east of downtown Charleston,[1] in unincorporated Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States.[2] It is owned by the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority.[1] The airport hosts McLaughlin Air National Guard Base,[3] home to eight C-130 Hercules aircraft of the West Virginia Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing (130 AW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard.[3]
The airport sits on a hilltop over 300 feet (about 100 m) above the valleys of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers, and the hill drops off sharply on all sides. Arriving passengers enjoy a view of downtown Charleston or the rolling hills north and east of the field.[4][5]
Federal Aviation Administration records show 225,150 passenger enplanements in calendar year 2015, a decrease of 6.8% from the 241,566 enplanements in 2014.[6] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.[7]
Facilities
West Virginia International Yeager Airport covers 767 acres (310 ha) at an elevation of 947 feet (289 m) above mean sea level. It has one asphalt runway, 5/23, 6,715 by 150 feet (2,047 x 46 m).[1][8]
Runway 5/23's heading is 235°. An Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) was built at the end of Runway 5 to act as an equivalent to a 1,000 ft. runway safety area, as required by the FAA. Yeager's secondary runway 15/33, now taxiway C, was headed 335° and was 4,750 feet (1,450 m) long. It was mostly used by general aviation.[9]
In the year ending August 31, 2018 the airport had 30,700 aircraft operations, an average of 84 per day: 38% general aviation, 45% air taxi, 14% military, and 4% airline. In August 2018, 62 aircraft were based at this airport: 30 single-engine, 13 multi-engine, 4 jet, 7 helicopter, and 8 military.[1]
History
During World War II, Charleston's airport, Wertz Field, closed when the airport's approaches were blocked by the federal government building a synthetic rubber plant next to the airport. There were already plans for a new Charleston airport.[10]
The city started construction in 1944; the airport opened in 1947 as Kanawha Airport and American Airlines flights started in December. A terminal was built in 1950, designed by Tucker & Silling.[11] In 1985 the airport was named for then-Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, a native of nearby Lincoln County who piloted the world's first supersonic flight in the Bell X-1.[12] In 1986 the terminal was renovated.[12] Concourse C, designed by L. Robert Kimball and Associates and costing $2.8 million, was completed in 2001.[13]
On February 27, 2008, CRW's Governing Board voted to close the secondary runway, Rwy 15/33, to allow construction of two new hangars and ramp space for four more C-130s to be based at the Air National Guard facility.[14] It will allow the airport to triple the general aviation area's hangar space and create room for off-runway businesses, and provide parking for up to ten additional commercial airliners. $5 million was given to the airport to build a canopy around the front of the terminal. An additional $2 million was given for a covered walkway from the terminal to the parking garage.
On June 25, 2009, AirTran Airways began service from Charleston to Orlando. AirTran was the first low-cost airline at CRW since Independence Air left years before. AirTran used the Boeing 717-200 until June 3, 2012, when AirTran's last flight departed from CRW.
On March 3, 2011, Spirit Airlines began flights to Fort Lauderdale and on May 5, 2011, Spirit started seasonal flights between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. On June 10, 2012, Spirit ended service to Fort Lauderdale, leaving seasonal service to Myrtle Beach.
People Express Airlines planned service to Orlando International Airport, on a similar schedule to AirTran's former operations at CRW, but filed for bankruptcy before starting.
On July 27, 2021, the airport board members voted to change the name of the airport to West Virginia International Yeager Airport following the completion of the U.S. Customs Building by the general aviation area of the airport.
Accidents and incidents
On August 10, 1968, Piedmont Airlines Flight 230 was on an ILS localizer-only approach to runway 23 when it struck trees 360 feet from the runway threshold. The aircraft continued and struck up-sloping terrain short of the runway in a nose-down attitude. The aircraft continued up the hill and onto the airport, coming to rest 6 feet beyond the threshold and 50 feet from the right edge of the runway. A layer of dense fog was obscuring the runway threshold and about half of the approach lights. Visual conditions existed outside the fog area. All three crew members and 32 of the 34 passengers died. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the accident on an "unrecognized loss of altitude orientation during the final portion of an approach into shallow, dense fog." The disorientation was caused by a rapid reduction in the ground guidance segment available to the pilot at a point beyond which a go-around could be successfully effected.[15]
On July 13, 2009, Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 from Nashville International Airport to Baltimore-Washington International Airport was forced to divert to West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia after a hole formed on the top of the plane's fuselage near the tail, resulting in depressurization of the cabin and deployment of the oxygen masks. The 133 passengers and crew landed safely.[16]
On January 19, 2010, PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-200 N246PS on flight 2495 to Charlotte, North Carolina on behalf of US Airways with 30 passengers and three crew, overran the runway following a rejected take-off at 16:13 local time (21:13 UTC). The aircraft was stopped by the EMAS at the end of the runway, sustaining substantial damage to its undercarriage.[17]
On February 8, 2010, a Freedom Airlines Embraer ERJ-145 on flight 6121 to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport on behalf of Delta Air Lines with 46 passengers and 3 crew, rejected takeoff from Charleston at high speed and came to a safe stop about 400 feet (122 meters) short of the runway end. Both right main gear tires exploded and the fragments damaged the flaps.[18]
On March 13, 2015, a landslide below the approach to Runway 5/23 caused damage to an overrun area, although operations at the airport were largely unaffected by the damage.[19]
On May 5, 2017, an Air Cargo Carriers Short 330, subcontracted by UPS and operating as Air Cargo Carriers Flight 1260, crashed after suffering a hard landing at CRW. Both the captain and first officer were killed in the accident. Early reports state that the left-wing made contact with the surface of Runway 5, separated from the fuselage, and the aircraft cartwheeled left off the runway and down a heavily wooded hillside. The National Transportation Safety Board cited in its final report the causes of "the flight crew's improper decision to conduct a circling approach contrary to the operator's standard operating procedures (SOP) and the captain's excessive descent rate and maneuvering during the approach, which led to inadvertent, uncontrolled contact with the ground. Contributing to the accident was the operator's lack of a formal safety and oversight program to assess hazards and compliance with SOPs and to monitor pilots with previous performance issues."[20][21]
Concourses
West Virginia International Yeager Airport has three concourses.
Concourse A
- Concourse A has seven gates and is used by United.[22] It is accessed via a stairwell and elevator to the left of Concourse B.
- Concourse B
- Concourse B has two gates and is used by Delta and Spirit. It contains the airport gift shop, a shoeshine service, and The Junction Charleston, a restaurant, bar, and gift shop owned by Faber, Coe & Gregg.[22] The TSA checkpoint empties into Concourse B, and all passengers must exit the secure area through Concourse B.
- Concourse C
- Concourse C has five gates and is used for American flights. It is the newest concourse and opened in 2001.[23] It is accessed via a stairwell and elevator to the right of Concourse B.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(January 2022) |
Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
---|---|---|
American Eagle | Charlotte, Washington–National | [24] |
Delta Connection | Atlanta | [25] |
Spirit Airlines | Myrtle Beach, Orlando | [26] |
United Express | Chicago–O'Hare | [27] |
Destinations map |
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Destinations from Yeagar Airport Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination Pink = Destination to which service is being terminated |
Statistics
Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | PSA Airlines | 141,000 | 43.15% |
2 | Endeavor Air | 93,100 | 28.59% |
3 | Air Wisconsin | 43,850 | 13.46% |
4 | Spirit Airlines | 37,930 | 11.65% |
5 | SkyWest Airlines | 10,270 | 10.20% |
Top destinations
Rank | Airport | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 55,130 | American |
2 | Atlanta, Georgia | 46,630 | Delta |
3 | Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 26,800 | United |
4 | Orlando, Florida | 16,660 | Spirit |
5 | Washington–National, Virginia | 13,400 | American |
6 | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | 2,840 | Spirit |
7 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 2,230 | American |
References
- ^ a b c d e FAA Airport Form 5010 for CRW PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective September 14, 2017.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Kanawha County, WV" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 20 (PDF p. 21/60). Retrieved August 21, 2022.
Yeager Arprt
- ^ a b "National Guard base to be renamed for McLaughlin". wvgazettemail.com. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ "West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW)". Almost Heaven - West Virginia. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Yeager Airport Observation Area (Charleston) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go - Updated 2022 (Charleston, WV)". Tripadvisor. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Primary, Non-primary Commercial Service, and General Aviation Airports (by State)" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011.
- ^ "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. October 21, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "CRW airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
- ^ "Yeager Airport". www.airports-worldwide.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Southwestern West Virginia". www.airfields-freeman.com. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ Engineering News-Record. McGraw Hill. 147: 88. 1951.
{{cite journal}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b "Charleston: Transportation".
- ^ "West Virginia's Yeager Airport Opens Concourse C to Traffic". archives.californiaaviation.org. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ "Yeager Airport - Innovative thinking". Business View Magazine. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR69-06.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Jet makes landing with football-sized hole". CNN. July 14, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ "Accident: PSA Airlines CRJ2 at Charleston on Jan 19th, 2010, overran the runway on takeoff". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ^ "Accident: Freedom Airlines E145 at Charleston on Feb 8th 2010, rejected takeoff". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
- ^ Tan, Avianne (March 13, 2015). "U.S. West Virginia Landslide Swallows House, Forces Residents to Evacuate". ABC News. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- ^ Staff, WSAZ News. "UPDATE: Yeager Airport runway crash site to be repaved in near future". wsaz.com. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report". September 24, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
- ^ a b "Yeager Airport - Charleston West Virginia - CRW". www2.yeagerairport.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ "Yeager Airport CRW Concourse C Map". ifly.com. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
- ^ "Flight schedules and notifications". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ^ "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ^ "Where We Fly". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ "Timetable". Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ^ "Yeager Airport (CRW)". Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. June 2017.
External links
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Yeager Airport, official website
- Charleston/Yeager Airport from 2007 West Virginia DOT Airport Directory
- Aerial image as of April 11, 1996 from USGS The National Map
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective August 8, 2024
- FAA Terminal Procedures for CRW, effective August 8, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KCRW
- ASN accident history for CRW
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCRW
- FAA current CRW delay information
- CS1 errors: missing title
- All articles with bare URLs for citations
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022
- Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations
- Use mdy dates from February 2012
- Articles with short description
- Coordinates not on Wikidata
- Justapedia articles in need of updating from January 2022
- Articles with invalid date parameter in template
- All Justapedia articles in need of updating
- Commons category link is the pagename
- Airports in West Virginia
- Buildings and structures in Kanawha County, West Virginia
- Transportation in Kanawha County, West Virginia