Botopasi Airstrip , is an
airstrip
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
serving
Botopasi
Botopasi, also spelled Boto-Pasi, is a Saamaka village in Suriname. The village had a population of about 740 people in 2001.
The villages has a school, clinic and a church. The resources of the village are shared with the nearby village of Debi ...
,
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
.
History of the airstrip
The Botopasi Airstrip was constructed by the Surinamese Medical Missionary Service, the "
Surinaamse Medische Zendings Vliegdienst", also called the “Medische Zending Suriname” and was frequently visited by the
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indi ...
.
It was the first airstrip at the Upper Surinam River and was destined to facilitate transport to Paramaribo from the clinics Pokigron, Ladoani, Debikè and Dyumu. The first landing took place on 14 January 1963 by the American pilot Ted Lepper in his Piper Cub N 5406H. For many years the MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) remained the main user of the airstrip.
Nowadays multiple flights are available by many charter companies.
Charters and destinations
Charter Airlines serving this airport are:
Accidents and incidents
* On 23 August 1986 a
Cessna 172L Skyhawk with registration PZ-NAN from the
Aero Club Suriname was damaged landing at Botopasi, the pilot was J. Jaeger. The plane was repaired and returned to its home-base at
Zorg en Hoop Airport
Zorg en Hoop Airport is an airport serving general aviation in the city of Paramaribo, Suriname. It is west of the Suriname River, between the city quarters of Zorg en Hoop and Flora.
The runway length includes a displaced threshold on Runway ...
.
* On 25 September 1986 a
Cessna U206G Stationair 6, registration PZ-TAC from
Gonini Air Service was hijacked at
Apetina kondre airstrip by rebels of the "
Jungle Commando
The Jungle Commando (formally known as the Suriname National Liberation Army) was a guerrilla commando group in Suriname. It was founded by Ronnie Brunswijk in 1986 to ensure equal rights for Suriname's minority Maroon population. The group was fo ...
" of
Ronnie Brunswijk
Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...
. The pilot (O. van Amson jr.) was forced to fly the aircraft to an unknown location. In May 1988 the airplane was at the Botopasi Airstrip in
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
with a flat tire; apparently at that time in use by the jungle commando. The aircraft never returned to the owner and was canceled from the Surinamese Aviation register in 1993.
ASN
/ref>
See also
*
*
* List of airports in Suriname
This is a list of airports in Suriname, sorted by location.
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America. It is situated between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is sha ...
* Transport in Suriname
The Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname) has a number of forms of transport. Transportation emissions are an increasing part of Suriname's contributions to climate change, as part of the Nationally Determined Contributions for the Par ...
References
External links
OpenStreetMap - Botopasi
Airports in Suriname
Sipaliwini District
{{Suriname-airport-stub