Klawock Airport is a state-owned public-use
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northeast of the
central business district of
Klawock
Klawock ( tli, Lawáak) is a city in Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, on Klawock Inlet, across from Klawock Island. The population was 755 at the 2010 census, down ...
,
a city in the
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter
location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for staffed air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programm ...
for the
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
and
IATA, this airport is assigned AKW by the FAA and KLW by the IATA, IATA assigns AKW to the Aghajari Airport.
Facilities and aircraft
Klawock Airport has one
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
paved
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...
designated 2/20 which measures 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 4,000 aircraft operations, an average of 10 per day: 83%
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...
and 18%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
. At that time there were four single-
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
aircraft based at this airport.
Airlines and destinations
Accidents
On April 6, 2005, about 14:35 Alaska daylight time, a twin-engine
Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander airplane, N29884, sustained substantial damage following a main landing gear component failure and subsequent loss of control while landing at the Klawock Airport,
Klawock, Alaska
Klawock ( tli, Lawáak) is a city in Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, on Klawock Inlet, across from Klawock Island. The population was 755 at the 2010 census, down ...
. The flight was conducted under Title 14, CFR Part 135, as a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by
LAB Flying Service,
Haines, Alaska
Haines (Tlingit: ''Deishú'') is a census-designated place located in Haines Borough, Alaska, United States. It is in the northern part of the Alaska Panhandle, near Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
As of the 2020 census, the populat ...
, as Flight 609. The airline transport certified pilot and the two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. The accident flight originated at the
Ketchikan Airport,
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District.
With a population at the 20 ...
, about 14:00 Alaska daylight time.
As the pilot applied the brakes, the airplane veered to the left, and he was unable to keep the plane on the runway surface. The airplane continued off the left side of the runway, and the nose of the airplane struck a drainage ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage.
During a post-accident inspection, maintenance personnel discovered a broken landing gear
oleo attachment bracket on the left main landing gear strut assembly. The manufacturer had changed the design of the oleo attachment bracket which was made of aluminum alloy. The newly designed oleo attachment bracket is made of steel.
The FAA inspector said that during the last main landing gear overhaul, the operator elected to re-install the old style aluminum alloy oleo attachment brackets, primarily due to the cost of the new style steel oleo attachment brackets.
See also
*
Klawock Seaplane Base
References
External links
FAA Alaska airport diagram( GIF)
*
{{Airports in Alaska
Airports in the Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska