Camarillo Airport

Camarillo Airport (ICAO: KCMA, FAA LID: CMA) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States.[1] The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general aviation and executive aircraft with no scheduled commercial service. A separate airfield in the southwest quadrant of the airport is for exclusive use of Light-Sport Aircraft and Ultralights.

Camarillo Airport
2006 USGS photo
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCounty of Ventura
LocationCamarillo, California
Elevation AMSL77 ft / 23 m
Coordinates34°12′50″N 119°05′40″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 6,013 1,833 Asphalt/Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 50 15 Asphalt
H2 50 15 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations153,360
Based aircraft600
For the military use of this facility and airport information prior to 1970, see Oxnard Air Force Base.

According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011, it is categorized as a reliever airport.[2]

History

Camarillo Airport was originally established in 1942 when the California State Highway Department constructed an auxiliary landing field with a 5,000 ft (1,500 m) runway, which was later extended to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) in 1951 to accommodate what by then had developed into Oxnard Air Force Base. The Aerospace Defense Command, via the 414th Fighter Group at Oxnard AFB, directed the 354th, 437th, and 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons successively.

In the years following the closure of Oxnard AFB in January 1970, the Ventura County government actively pursued the acquisition of the former military base property from the Department of Defense for commercial airport use. This initiative ran into public opposition, opposed primarily by local residents concerned about the noise of growing commercial traffic. In 1976, the transfer of the airport was finally approved, provided the runway length was shortened to 6,000 ft by displacing the runway threshold each end, substantially at the eastern end. By 1985, the airport was entirely managed by the Ventura County Department of Airports.[3]

Facilities and aircraft

Camarillo Airport covers an area of 650 acres (260 ha) and contains one runway (8/26) which measures 6,013 x 150 ft (1,833 x 46 m). It has two helipads, both measuring 50 by 50 ft (15 x 15 m).

For a 12-month period ending June 5, 2006, the airport had 153,360 aircraft operations, an average of 420 per day: 98% general aviation, 2% air taxi and <1% military. There are 600 aircraft based at this airport: 84% single engine, 8% multi-engine, 5% ultralights, 3% jet aircraft and 1% helicopters.[1] It is an FAA-towered facility and there are three Fixed-Base Operators that are headquartered at the airfield.

The Ventura County Fire and Sheriff's Departments each support large, separate facilities at opposite ends of the field to support new recruit and recurring refreshment training.

A "Viewport" opened in 2014, providing a kid-friendly area to view the airport activities which had become difficult with increased security concerns.[10]

Accidents and incidents

On August 7, 2019, a private aircraft from Wheeler Express crashed 1,000 feet from the runway of the airport. Both people on board were killed.[11]

On January 26, 2020, a helicopter en route to Camarillo Airport crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, under heavy fog, killing nine people, including basketball player Kobe Bryant.[12][13]

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References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for CMA (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 2007-03-15
  2. FAA National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems: 2007-2011
  3. History of Camarillo Airport Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "AAF B-25J and C-47B" American Aeronautical Foundation Retrieved: 29 August 2019.
  5. Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of North America, Sudbourne, England, 2007. ISBN 978-0851303857.
  6. Parker, Dana T. Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II, Cypress, CA, 2013. ISBN 978-0-9897906-0-4.
  7. "Aircraft - CAF SoCal" CAF So. Cal. Wing Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. "Warbird Ride Program - CAF SoCal" CAF So. Cal. Wing Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. Lawrence, Carol (January 14, 2012). "'Connie' spy plane leaves Camarillo Airport for new home". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  10. Foster, Jeremy (June 27, 2014) "Camarillo Airport lands outdoor space for aviation buffs, public" Ventura County Star
  11. "2 Dead After Single-Engine Homebuilt Plane Crashes Off Camarillo Airport Runway: VCFD". KTLA. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  12. Philipps, Dave; Arango, Tim; Keene, Louis (2020-01-27). "Flying Into Patchy Fog, Kobe Bryant's Pilot Had a Decision to Make". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  13. Cohen, Ben; Ailworth, Erin (January 27, 2020). "The Last Flight of Kobe Bryant's Life". The Wall Street Journal. New York: Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
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