Tabubil Airport is an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
in
Tabubil
Tabubil is a town located in the Star Mountains area of the North Fly District of Western Province, Papua New Guinea. The town, including the adjoining relocated village of Wangabin and the industrial area of Laydown (where industrial equipment wa ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
Asia Pacific Airlines operates out of Tabubil as its
hub.
Airlines and destinations
Aircraft safety
Tabubil has a history of poor aircraft safety, and many fatal crashes have occurred in the nearby mountains. Additionally, due to weather conditions, many aircraft have had to be diverted to
Kiunga and passengers transported by road or helicopter for the remainder of the journey. Some of the most publicised crashes are as follows:
20 November 1969
:A
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
with registration number VH-ATK operated by
Aerial Tours crashed at Bolovip, around 50km east of Tabubil. Fatality rates are unknown, but the plane was unrepairable.
12 July 1983
:A
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
operated by
Cloudlands Aviation Development with registration P2-FHP was destroyed in an unknown location and route. It is known the plane was written off, and was probably en route to or from Tabubil, as CAD existed purely to serve Tabubil before its purchase by
Talair.
9 June 1993
:A
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
operated by
Southwest Air with registration P2-SWA crashed killing 9 of its 11 occupants in Gulgubip, 30km east of Tabubil. The aircraft disintegrated on its final approach after a wing came in contact with the ground.
22 November 1994
:A
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
operated by
Southwest Air with registration P2-SWC crashed into a mountain killing all 7 of its occupants in remote jungle, 54km ESE of Tabubil. Poor weather was cited as the cause of the crash.
17 December 1994
:A
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
200 with registration P2-MFS, operated 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 ...
crashed while en route from Tabubil to the nearby village of
Selbang. 28 people were killed, including both the crew and all passengers. The aircraft struck a mountain due to poor visibility and lack of functioning instruments at 6400ft.
1 July 1995
:A
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
Caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
operated by
Vanimo Trading
Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun Province (West Sepik) in north-westernmost Papua New Guinea and of Vanimo-Green River District. It is located on a peninsula close to the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border, border with Indonesia.
Religion
Its ...
with registration P2-VTC crashed en route to Tabubil from
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. The plane attempted to land in bad weather at Tabubil, but had to abort due to an engine failure. The pilot decided to divert to Kiunga, but on approach to Kiunga Airport the other engine failed. One of the two crew and the only passenger on board the cargo plane perished.
22 February 2005
:A
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
300 with registration P2-MFQ, operated 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 ...
crashed en route from Tabubil to Bimin. In a scene reminiscent of the similar 1994 crash, the plane hit a mountain whilst trying to detect the village runway. The two captains, Chris Hansen, 37, and Richard West, 40 (both from New Zealand), were killed in the accident but the cabin attendant and 8 passengers survived and were able to walk to the village.
19 November 2007
:A TropicAir flight from
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
bound for Tabubil was hijacked. The flight contained the K2 million payroll for Ok Tedi. The hijackers were employed by the bank to provide security for the money, and forced the pilots to land on
Fishermans Airfield. The pilots set off a silent SOS alarm, which allowed police to close in on the plane. There was a gunfight in which one police reservist died, but the crew were unhurt, and the money recovered.
References
{{authority control
Airports in Papua New Guinea
Western Province (Papua New Guinea)