Centennial Airport is a 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 ...

owned by the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority in the

Denver-Aurora metropolitan area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver r ...

, 15 nautical miles (17 mi, 28 km) southeast of downtown

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States. Located in Dove Valley, a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

in Arapahoe County, the airport's runways extend into Douglas County.Directions
(). Centennial Airport. Retrieved on April 1, 2015.

Facilities

The airport opened on May 12, 1968, as Arapahoe County Airport, and was renamed on July 13, 1984. The new name reflects Colorado's admission to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

as the 38th state in 1876, the centennial of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

. In 1985 a new control tower was built. It is an international airport with continuous U.S. Customs services and is one of the busiest

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 ...

airports in the United States with an average of 874 operations per day. The Federal Aviation Administration

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

and associated

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

services are continuous; Runway 35R has a Category I Instrument Approach. Centennial Airport covers 1,400 acres (567 ha) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of 5,885 feet (1,794 m). It has three

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 ...

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 ...

s: 17L/35R is 10,000 by 100 feet (3,048 x 30 m); 17R/35L is 7,001 by 77 feet (2,134 x 23 m); 10/28 is 4,800 by 75 feet (1,463 x 23 m). In 2018 the airport had 337,947 aircraft operations, average 925 per day: 89%

, 10%

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 2% military. 840 aircraft were then based at this airport: 569 single-engine, 104 multi-engine, 147 jet, and 20

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

. Key Lime Air has its corporate headquarters on the airport property.

Air Methods Air Methods Corporation is an American privately owned helicopter operator. The air medical division provides emergency medical services to over 100,000 patients every year. It operates in 48 states with air medical as its primary business focus ...

previously did as well; it moved to

Greenwood Village, Colorado The City of Greenwood Village is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 15,691 at the 2020 United States Census. Greenwood Village is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Met ...

in 2017. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized the airport as a ''

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

''.

Cargo destinations

Accidents and Incidents

*On November 19, 1979, a Cessna 500 Citation I operated by National Jet industries, a cargo flight, crashed on an improper IFR approach to runway 34 due to icing conditions. Two of the three occupants died. *On July 2, 1984, a

Bell 206B The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

helicopter, ''N3173L'', suddenly rolled over and crashed at Centennial Airport, killing the pilot and single passenger. Investigators found that the connector that retained the

cyclic stick A helicopter pilot manipulates the helicopter flight controls to achieve and maintain controlled aerodynamic flight. Changes to the aircraft flight control system transmit mechanically to the rotor, producing aerodynamic effects on the rotor bla ...

had broken due to a loose retaining nut, and attributed the accident to improper maintenance, with the manufacturer's inadequate preflight checklist being a contributing factor. Fifteen days after the crash,

Bell Helicopter Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, as well as commercial helicopters in M ...

issued a safety notice advising operators to check quick removal flight controls for proper installation prior to flight—guidance which was previously omitted from the manufacturer's checklists. * On December 17, 2004, a

Cessna 421 The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 196 ...

, ''N421FR'', drifted to the right on takeoff from runway 17L, crossing the median and runway 17R, then suddenly rolled very steeply to the right, struck the ground with the right wing low, and cartwheeled. The aircraft was destroyed and the three occupants—a student pilot, a flight instructor, and a second instructor riding as a passenger—were killed. Ground witnesses reported that the pilots made several unsuccessful attempts to start the engines, and discussed taking the aircraft to a shop for repairs, but ultimately got the engines running and initiated the flight. Investigators found fuel system anomalies indicative of a fuel line blockage, and attributed the accident to a loss of engine power due to

fuel starvation In an internal combustion engine, fuel starvation is the failure of the fuel system to supply sufficient fuel to allow the engine to run properly, for example due to blockage, vapor lock, contamination by water, malfunction of the fuel pump or in ...

, and to the flight instructor's failure to perform proper emergency procedures and abort the flight. * On May 12, 2021, a

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsepo ...

and

Key Lime Air Flight 970 The 2021 Colorado mid-air collision occurred on approach to Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado, on 12 May 2021. Events At about 10:20 AM local time, Key Lime Air Flight 970, an air charter cargo flight from Salida, Colorado, operated by ...

, a Swearingen SA226-TC Metroliner operating a charter cargo flight, collided on approach to Centennial Airport. The Cirrus made a safe off-airport parachute-assisted landing, while the Key Lime pilot landed safely at Centennial despite the loss of a section of the cabin roof, damage to the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

, and failure of one engine. There were no injuries. * On June 16th, 2021, a Lancair Evolution plane crashed south of Centennial while on final approach. The plane collided with several power lines and started a brush fire which was contained by fire crews. The two occupants and a dog were killed in the crash. *On August 9, 2022, a

Cessna 182 Skylane The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

crashed off the departure end of Runway 10. There was a fuel leak on the scene. The sole pilot onboard was killed. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

References

External links

Centennial Airport
official site
Centennial Airport (APA)
at Colorado DOT airport directory
Aerial image as of April 2002
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...

'' * * {{US-airport-ga, APA Airports in Colorado Transportation buildings and structures in Douglas County, Colorado Transportation buildings and structures in Arapahoe County, Colorado

Facilities

Cargo destinations

Accidents and Incidents

See also

References

External links