Santarém–Maestro Wilson Fonseca Airport is the airport serving Santarém,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is named after the composer Wilson Dias da Fonseca (1912–2002), who was born in Santarém. During a transitional period, the airport is jointly operated by

Infraero Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (abr. Infraero) is a Brazilian government corporation founded in 1973, authorized by Law 5,862,INFRAERO: 40 ANOS SERVINDO PESSOAS, EMPRESAS E O BRASIL. Retrieved 01/10/2014linha%5D/ref> being ...

and

AENA ENAIRE is the air navigation manager in Spain, certified for the provision of en route, approach and aerodrome control services. As a public corporate entity attached to the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, it is responsible for air traffic co ...

History

Santarém-Maestro Wilson Fonseca Airport is currently the 5th busiest airport of northern region of Brazil and it is located half-way between

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

and

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, being an alternative for international flights. The airport was opened on March 31, 1977 and it was administrated by the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

until it was transferred to

in the early 1980s. It replaced another facility which was located in a district that is now called "Old Airport" ( pt, Aeroporto Velho), presently a highly populated residential district of the same name. The old runway was made into a large avenue with several squares and event venues. Previously operated by

, on August 18, 2022 the consortium

won a 30-year concession to operate the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

*28 November 1995: a TABA

Fairchild Hiller FH-227 The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standa ...

registration PP-BUJ operating a cargo flight from Belém-Val de Cans to Santarém crashed on its second attempt to approach Santarém. A passenger occupied the co-pilot's seat. The crew of 2 and 1 of the 2 occupants died. *11 September 2008: a W&J Taxi Aéreo Embraer 711C Corisco registration PT-NNM operating a cargo flight from Alenquer to Santarém crashed 11 kilometers from the airport. The pilot declared emergency and ditched the aircraft into the

Tapajós river The Tapajós ( pt, Rio Tapajós ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. It is one of the largest cle ...

after running out of fuel. Of the 3 people aboard 2 survived and were rescued by a small boat that was passing by. The body of one passenger was later found 800m from the site. The aircraft was salvaged and investigated. *29 September 2011: A Beechcraft BE35 Bonanza registration PT-AVK lost radio contact with the control tower after departing. Officials later learned the aircraft had crashed in a nearby community. The pilot and a passenger perished in the crash. The investigation revealed the aircraft suffered an inflight catastrophic structural failure of the tail section due to poor maintenance and corrosion. *7 September 2017: A Piquiatuba Táxi Aéreo

Cessna 210 The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engined, high-wing general aviation, general-aviation aircraft. First flown in January 1957, it was produced by Cessna until 1986. Design and development ...

registration PT-KKK on a

medevac Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

flight to Piquiatuba (SNCJ), 16 km southeast of the airport. The airplane lost engine power and diverted to Santarém. Unable to reach the runway, the pilot decided to land the aircraft on a beach 4 km east of the runway. All 4 people onboard survived. The investigation concluded the airplane did not have enough fuel for the flights it made, ultimately resulting in the crash due to fuel starvation to the engine. This accident resulted in Brazil's Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) recommending the suspension of Piquiatuba Taxi Aéreo's license due to poor operational safety management.

History

Airlines and destinations

Accidents and incidents

Access

See also

References

External links