Henderson Field (Midway Atoll)

Henderson Field (IATA: MDY, ICAO: PMDY) is a public airport located on Sand Island in Midway Atoll, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The airport is used as an emergency diversion point for ETOPS operations. It is one of three airfields named after Major Lofton R. Henderson (killed in the Battle of Midway during WWII), together with Henderson Field on Midway's Eastern Island, and Henderson Field in the Solomon Islands. The airfield now provides access to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

Not to be confused with Henderson Field (Midway).
Henderson Field
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerU.S. Dept. of the Interior
Fish and Wildlife Service
OperatorAmerican Airports Corp.
(under sub-contract with Chugach Industries, Inc.)
ServesMidway Atoll
LocationSand Island, Midway Atoll
Elevation AMSL18 ft / 5 m
Coordinates28°12′05″N 177°22′53″W
Websitewww.americanairports.com
Maps

Location on Sand Island. Former runways in gray.
PMDY
Location in the Pacific Ocean
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6/24 7,800 2,377 Asphalt

The airfield operated until 1993 as Naval Air Facility Midway. Its construction was begun by Seabees of the 1st Naval Construction Battalion in July 1942 as a bomber strip.[2] After transition from the U.S. Navy to the Department of the Interior, the airport was subsidized by Boeing until 2004. Since 2004, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has fully supported airport operations and maintenance with some assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Henderson Field has no control tower. Flight arrivals and departures are typically limited to night during November to June when albatross are present.[3] (Midway Atoll NWR is the world's largest nesting albatross colony.)

Past airline service

The airfield was previously served by Aloha Airlines with scheduled weekly charter flights to and from Honolulu using a Boeing 737-200 jetliner. In early 2000, Aloha began scheduled 737 passenger service between Midway Island and Honolulu.[4]

Continental Micronesia served Midway with Boeing 727-100 jetliners during the early 1970s although the airport was only used as an "operational stop" on this airline's westbound service from Honolulu to Guam.[5] The routing of these 727 flights was Honolulu - Midway Island - Kwajalein - Majuro - Ponape - Truk - Guam.[6]

During the early 1950s, the airfield was used as a technical stop by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) for its Boeing 377 Stratocruiser propliners as part of Pan Am's round the world service from New York City to San Francisco via London, Frankfurt, Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Guam, Honolulu and other en route stops.[7]

Facilities

Henderson Field covers 1,200 acres (486 ha) and has one runway.[1]

Continental Airlines Boeing 737 at Midway to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, in 2008.

Accidents and incidents
  • On January 7, 2004, a Continental Flight 6, a Boeing 777 from Tokyo Narita Airport to Houston Intercontinental Airport carrying 294 people[8] made an emergency landing at 03:10 local time at Midway Henderson Field due to losing an engine after suffering an oil leak from a starter. Continental flew in a Learjet with a maintenance crew of four, a new starter and additional food and water supplies for passengers to Midway.[9][10]
  • On June 17, 2011, a Delta Air Lines Boeing 747–400 with 359 passengers and 19 crew made an emergency landing on Henderson, due to the captain's windshield cracked.[11][12] During the landing at Midway, the plane hit two birds, one of which damaged a wing flap.
  • On July 11, 2014, United Airlines Flight 201 from Honolulu to Guam made an emergency landing at Henderson Field after an "electrical odor" was detected in the cabin. An investigation revealed that an equipment supply cooling fan had malfunctioned.[13][14][15]

References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for MDY (Form 5010 PDF)
  2. Seabee History, World War II, Seabee Museum and Memorial Park, 21 Iafrate Way, North Kingstown, RI 02852
  3. More details on AirportIQ 5010 (airport master records and reports)
  4. http://www.departedflights.com, Jan. 10, 2000 Aloha Airlines route map
  5. http://www.timetableimages.com, Oct. 15, 1971 Air Micronesia system timetable
  6. http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 31, 1971 Continental Airlines system timetable
  7. http://www.timetableimages.com, April 1, 1950 Pan American World Airways system timetable
  8. https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-zealand-pacific/114398-co-777-makes-emergency-landing-midway-island.html
  9. https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/01/05/daily69.html
  10. https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=233707
  11. Delta Airlines emergency landing on remote Pacific Island
  12. Delta 747 makes emergency landing at Midway
  13. Maya Srikrishnan (July 12, 2014). "United Airlines flight diverted to remote Pacific island of Midway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  14. Lewis Lazare (July 14, 2014). "Mystery resolved: United Airlines reveals reason for Flight 201 diversion". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  15. "Pacific Wrecks - Sand Island Airfield (Henderson Field), Midway Atoll, United States". Retrieved April 27, 2019.
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