Henderson Field (Midway Atoll)

Henderson Field
Henderson Field
	IATA: MDY; ICAO: PMDY; FAA LID: MDY; WMO: 91066;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	U.S. Dept. of the Interior ; Fish and Wildlife Service
Operator	American Airports Corp.; (under sub-contract with Chugach Industries, Inc.)
Serves	Midway Atoll
Location	Sand Island, Midway Atoll
Elevation AMSL	18 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	28°12′05″N177°22′53″W / 28.20139°N 177.38139°W
Website	tba
Maps
	; Location on Sand Island. Former runways in gray.
Runways
	Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Last updated March 20, 2024

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.

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 owned the airport, but subcontracted airport operations and maintenance, with financial assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Henderson Field has no control tower. From November to June, when albatross are typically present, flight arrivals and departures are limited to night-time.^[3] (Midway Atoll NWR is one of the world's largest colonies of nesting albatross.)

Past airline service

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6] The routing of these 727 flights was Honolulu - Midway Island - Kwajalein - Majuro - Ponape - Truk - Guam.^[7]

Facilities

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

Accidents and incidents

On January 22, 1961, a Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation (143193) of the US Navy was returning from an aborted barrier mission and hit seawall debris while landing, killing 6 of the 22 occupants along with the 3 occupants of a Crash Crew Truck that were hit by the main mount when it slid off and exploded.^[8]
On January 7, 2004, a Continental Flight 6, a Boeing 777 from Tokyo Narita Airport to Houston Intercontinental Airport carrying 294 people^[9] 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.^[10]^[11]
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 having cracked.^[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]^[16]
On April 16, 2021, United Airlines Flight 2781 made an emergency landing at Henderson Field after smoke/odor smell in the cockpit (reported in ACARS messages). The flight departed Guam, and was on its way to Los Angeles, operated with a Boeing 787-9, registration number N24974.^[17] This flight carried only cargo.
On September 25, 2021, a Hawaiian Airlines A330 (N396HA) experienced an in-flight engine shut down and diverted to Midway Atoll. The aircraft was en route from Seoul (ICN) to Honolulu (HNL).^[18]

Related Research Articles

Midway Atoll is a 2.4 sq mi (6.2 km²) atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an unorganized and unincorporated territory. The largest island is Sand Island, which has housing and an airstrip. Immediately to the east of Sand Island across the narrow Brooks Channel is Eastern Island, which is uninhabited and no longer has any facilities. Forming a rough, incomplete circle around the two main islands and creating Midway Lagoon is Spit Island, a narrow reef.

William P. Hobby Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primary airport until the Houston Intercontinental Airport, now known as the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, opened in 1969. Hobby was initially closed after the opening of Houston Intercontinental; however, it was re-opened after several years, and became a secondary airport for domestic airline service, and a center for corporate and private aviation.

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main and largest airport in Hawaii. The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu census-designated place 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district. The airport covers 4,220 acres, more than 1% of Oahu's land.

Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a Guamanian company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of operations at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific Ocean. During its final years, the airline, a Delaware corporation, was headquartered in the old terminal building at Won Pat International Airport in Tamuning, Guam.

Aloha Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated passenger flights from 1946 until 2008. It was headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from its hub at Honolulu International Airport.

Corpus Christi International Airport is 6 miles west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at 27.767°N 97.44°W, where the Lozano Golf Center is now located.

Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is five miles north of Lubbock, in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Originally Lubbock International Airport, it was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Smith, an alumnus of Texas Tech University.

Jack Brooks Regional Airport, formerly Southeast Texas Regional Airport, is near Port Arthur, Texas, nine miles (14 km) southeast of Beaumont and northeast of Port Arthur. It was Jefferson County Airport, but its name was changed to honor former U.S. Representative Jack Brooks. The airport is southwest of the city of Nederland in unincorporated Jefferson County, and is used for general aviation. Southwest Airlines ended scheduled jet service in 1980 and several other airlines have started and ended service as well including American Eagle, Continental, Delta/Delta Connection and United Express. The latest chapter is the resumption of service by American Eagle for American Airlines to Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW).

Faa'a International Airport, also known as Tahiti International Airport, is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Papeete, the capital city of the overseas collectivity. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui are both based at the airport.

Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole is the primary airport on the Island of Hawaiʻi, located in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States. The airport serves leeward (western) Hawaiʻi island, including the resorts in North Kona and South Kohala. It is one of two international airports serving Hawaiʻi island, the other being Hilo International Airport on the windward (eastern) side.

Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is a regional airport located in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, United States. Owned and operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, the airport serves windward (eastern) Hawaiʻi island including the districts of Hilo, Hāmākua and Kaʻū, and Puna. It is one of two international airports serving Hawaiʻi island, the other being Kona International Airport on the leeward (western) side.

Combi aircraft in commercial aviation are aircraft that can be used to carry either passengers as an airliner, or cargo as a freighter, and may have a partition in the aircraft cabin to allow both uses at the same time in a mixed passenger/freight combination. The name combi comes from the word combination. The concept originated in railroading with the combine car, a passenger car that contains a separate compartment for mail or baggage.

Juneau International Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport and seaplane base located seven nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Juneau, a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska that has no direct road access to the outside world. The airport serves as a regional hub for all air travel, from bush carriers to major U.S. air carriers such as Alaska Airlines.

Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is 5 miles east of downtown Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas.

Cheddi Jagan International Airport, formerly Timehri International Airport, is the primary international airport of Guyana. The airport is located on the right bank of the Demerara River in the city of Timehri, 41 kilometres (25 mi) south of Guyana's capital, Georgetown. It is the larger of the two international airports serving Georgetown with the other airport being the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.

JAGS McCartney International Airport, also known as Grand Turk International Airport, is an airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is the second largest airport in the territory, after Providenciales International Airport.

Wake Island Airfield is a military air base located on Wake Island, which is known for the Battle of Wake Island during World War II. It is owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by the 611th Air Support Group. The runway can be used for emergency landings by commercial jetliners flying transpacific routes and has been used in the past by airlines operating jet, turboprop, and prop aircraft on scheduled flights.

Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area is a park built on the site of an old landing strip just north of Kailua, Hawaii County, Hawaii.

Canton Island Airport is an airport located on Canton Island, a sparsely populated island in the Phoenix Islands of the Republic of Kiribati. It has a single asphalt runway measuring 6,230 feet (1,900 m) in length. Once a major stop on commercial trans-Pacific airline routes, today the airport is available for emergency use only.

Johnston Atoll Airport is located on the Johnston Atoll in the United States Minor Outlying Islands, in the Pacific Ocean 717 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii. It was an active U.S. military facility during the 20th century, but the airport was shut down in 2005 and the runway is not maintained. Although no longer a diversion airport, it is still considered preferable to a dangerous water landing in an extreme emergency.

References

1 2 FAA Airport Form 5010 for MDY PDF
↑ Seabee History, World War II, Seabee Museum and Memorial Park, 21 Iafrate Way, North Kingstown, RI 02852
↑ "More details on AirportIQ 5010 (airport master records and reports)". Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, April 1, 1950 Pan American World Airways system timetable
↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Jan. 10, 2000 Aloha Airlines route map
↑ http://www.timetableimages.com, Oct. 15, 1971 Air Micronesia system timetable
↑ http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 31, 1971 Continental Airlines system timetable
↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation 143193 Midway Island-Sand Island Field (MDY)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
↑ "CO 777 Makes Emergency Landing On Midway Island - PPRuNe Forums".
↑ "Continental emergency landing: how passengers reacted - 2004-01-08 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu)". Archived from the original on 2004-05-05.
↑ "CO 777 Makes Emergency Landing On Midway Island - Airliners.net".
↑ Delta Airlines emergency landing on remote Pacific Island
↑ Delta 747 makes emergency landing at Midway
↑ Maya Srikrishnan (July 12, 2014). "United Airlines flight diverted to remote Pacific island of Midway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
↑ Lewis Lazare (July 14, 2014). "Mystery resolved: United Airlines reveals reason for Flight 201 diversion". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
↑ "Pacific Wrecks - Sand Island Airfield (Henderson Field), Midway Atoll, United States" . Retrieved April 27, 2019.
↑ "Mechanical issue prompts UA flight to make emergency landing at Midway Atoll - Honolulu, Hawaii news, sports & weather - KITV Channel 4". Archived from the original on 2021-04-17.
↑ "Hawaiian 460 diversion into MDY (Sand Island, Midway Atoll) - Airliners.net".

External links

AirNav - Henderson Field Airport: airport facilities and navigational aids

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[faa-1] 1 2 FAA Airport Form 5010 for MDY 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)". Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2012-09-28.

[4] ttp://www.timetableimages.com, April 1, 1950 Pan American World Airways system timetable

[5] ttp://www.departedflights.com, Jan. 10, 2000 Aloha Airlines route map

[6] ttp://www.timetableimages.com, Oct. 15, 1971 Air Micronesia system timetable

[7] ttp://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 31, 1971 Continental Airlines system timetable

[8] "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed WV-2 Super Constellation 143193 Midway Island-Sand Island Field (MDY)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2023-07-22.

[9] "CO 777 Makes Emergency Landing On Midway Island - PPRuNe Forums".

[10] "Continental emergency landing: how passengers reacted - 2004-01-08 - Pacific Business News (Honolulu)". Archived from the original on 2004-05-05.

[11] "CO 777 Makes Emergency Landing On Midway Island - Airliners.net".

[12] Delta Airlines emergency landing on remote Pacific Island

[13] Delta 747 makes emergency landing at Midway

[14] Maya Srikrishnan (July 12, 2014). "United Airlines flight diverted to remote Pacific island of Midway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 27, 2019.

[15] Lewis Lazare (July 14, 2014). "Mystery resolved: United Airlines reveals reason for Flight 201 diversion". Chicago Business Journal. Retrieved April 27, 2019.

[16] "Pacific Wrecks - Sand Island Airfield (Henderson Field), Midway Atoll, United States" . Retrieved April 27, 2019.

[17] "Mechanical issue prompts UA flight to make emergency landing at Midway Atoll - Honolulu, Hawaii news, sports & weather - KITV Channel 4". Archived from the original on 2021-04-17.

[18] "Hawaiian 460 diversion into MDY (Sand Island, Midway Atoll) - Airliners.net".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]