Williamsport Regional Airport serves

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popul ...

, and the surrounding area with a population of about 200,000. The airport serves about 40,000 passengers annually. The airport is five miles east of Williamsport, in

Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. Lycoming County comprises the Williamsport metropolitan statistical area. About northwest o ...

. The airport has two runways, 9/27 and 12/30, both asphalt. One passenger airline operates

Embraer 145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

s while FedEx Feeder flies freight out of Williamsport Regional Airport. The airport has served north central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

since 1929. The airport is home to Energy Aviation LLC that provides general aviation services and is the operator of its terminal, commonly known in aviation parlance as a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instructio ...

(FBO).

Federal Aviation Administration 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 ...

reported 23,901 passenger boardings (enplanements) in

calendar year Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any ...

2008, 19,834 in 2009 and 22,519 in 2010. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''primary commercial service'' airport (more than 10,000 enplanements per year). In 2016 county, state and federal officials okayed a plan for over $75 million of improvements to the airport including airfield and building improvements. In late 2017 the airport began work on a brand new terminal building with seating for 150, limited food options, updated security features and a passenger loading bridge.

History

In 1928 the Williamsport Civil Aviation Authority was looking for a location to build an airport near Williamsport. The airport company, with help from the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Williamsport, sold hundreds of shares of stock at $100 each until it had raised about $75,000, enough to buy 161 acres of a family farm in Montoursville. Then in late 1928, with approval from state and federal government officials, the airport company was granted a charter. On April 25, 1993 Thomas L. Knauff set an FAI world record flying a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of gliding ...

on an out-and-return course of , releasing from tow over this airport, then flying along the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

to Corryton, Tennessee, and returning for a landing 10 hours later. This world record stood for almost 20 years, and was only recently broken in Argentina, but is still a national record.

Historical airline service

In 1946

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA) and Pennsylvania Central Airlines, the predecessor of Capital Airlines, served Williamsport;

All American Aviation All American Aviation was an airline company founded by Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become Allegheny Airlines, then USAir and subsequently US Airways, with the latter's merger with American Airlines in 2013 creat ...

, the predecessor of

Allegheny Airlines Allegheny Airlines was a regional airline that operated out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1952 to 1979 with routes primarily located in the eastern U.S. It was the forerunner of USAir that was subsequently renamed US Airways, which itself me ...

, joined them in 1949. In 1950 Capital Airlines was flying

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

s to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Rochester, NY and Washington D.C. National Airport. In 1961 Capital was merged into

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

which continued at Williamsport. In 1964 TWA

Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...

s flew

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Albany, NY Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

Binghamton Binghamton () is a City (New York), city in the United States, U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County, New York, Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier reg ...

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

- Williamsport -

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Columbus, OH Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

- St. Louis -

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. TWA left IPT in 1965. In early 1966 United Airlines

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

s flew nonstop to Philadelphia,

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

and Elmira and direct to New York Newark Airport, Washington National Airport and Buffalo. United left the airport later in 1966; Allegheny continued nonstop flights to Erie,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...

, Pittsburgh, Philipsburg, PA and

and direct to Boston,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Dubois, PA,

Hartford, CT Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, New York Newark Airport and

Providence, RI Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Ba ...

operated with

Convair 440 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

s and Convair 580s. In the mid 1970s Allegheny

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...

s and

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

s flew nonstop to

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

and Pittsburgh and direct to

Chicago O'Hare Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

, Cleveland,

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and Utica, NY

Allegheny Commuter Allegheny, Alleghany or Allegany may refer to: Places Geologic and geographic features * Allegheny River, in Pennsylvania and New York * Allegheny Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountain Range in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Vir ...

took over in 1979 with

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...

and Nord 262 flying nonstop from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York Newark Airport, Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and was the only airline at the airport in fall 1979. Allegheny Commuter service continued for Allegheny successor

USAir US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

. In early 1985 Allegheny Commuter had three weekday nonstops from Philadelphia and four weekday nonstops from Pittsburgh with

Short 330 The Short 330 (also SD3-30) is a small turboprop transport aircraft produced by Short Brothers. It seats up to 30 people and was relatively inexpensive and had low maintenance costs at the time of its introduction in 1976. The 330 was based on ...

s and

Short 360 The Short 360 (also SD3-60; also Shorts 360)Mondey, David. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 1981. , p. 228. is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers during ...

s. In fall 1994

USAir Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

, successor to Allegheny Commuter, flew Beechcraft 1900C and Short 360s to Philadelphia and

BAe Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin- turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

s and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias to Pittsburgh. USAir changed its name to

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...

and in 2004 its affiliate

US Airways Express US Airways Express was the brand name for the regional affiliate of US Airways, under which a number of individually owned commuter air carriers and regional airlines operate short and medium haul routes. This code sharing service was previously ...

ended flights to

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...

. US Airways merged with

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

in 2015; in June 2016 American Eagle typically had three regional jet flights a day for American Airlines to its hub in Philadelphia. On August 18, 2020 American Eagle service was switched from Philadelphia to two daily flights to Charlotte, NC however all service ended on October 7, 2020. American Eagle resumed service on January 5, 2021 with one daily flight to Philadelphia however this flight ended on September 30, 2021.

Current air service

As of November 5, 2022 the official web site says, :Williamsport Regional Airport currently is not served by a commercial airline. The industry is experiencing many changes due to COVID, availability of pilots, employees and high fuel costs. However, we are hopeful to recruit new service by the fall of 2022.

Annual fly-in and air show

The Williamsport Regional Association of Pilots holds a fly-in every June. From 1996 to 2013 Williamsport Regional Airport held an Air Show and Balloonfest at the airport, attracting many visitors. Some of the most well-known aircraft to arrive at the airport are the

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

, 193d Special Operations Wing's EC-130J and the EC-130 Commando Solo. On May 14, 2016 the airport held an open house and airshow. One of the aircraft at the show was the ''Spirit of Freedom''

Douglas C-54 Skymaster The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian a ...

used in the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...

(or Berlin Airlift). It also featured an ex-

FedEx Express FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller air ...

(now an aircraft classroom for

Pennsylvania College of Technology Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) is a public college in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with, but a self-governing entity of, Pennsylvania State University. As an applied technology college (known by the locals and ...

), a

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...

, and

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/di ...

Expansion

In 2009 the airport authority and city leaders announced a $3 million budget to do minor renovation to the existing terminal, update tax-exempt and runway lighting and widen taxiways. The project was completed in fall 2011. In 2016 the Williamsport Municipal Airport Authority began the bidding process for a new $15.9 million terminal which they planned to open by the end of 2017. A grant of $798,000 was given to the airport which installed a new glide slope system, access road and repainted airfield taxiway and runway lines. After a delay in the approval process, in April 2017, contracts were awarded to local construction companies. The new terminal was built alongside the existing terminal and has a

jet bridge A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...

. The old terminal was torn down for more parking. The new terminal opened on October 15, 2018. In January 2019, Pennsylvania state and federal grants were approved to be adopted by the airport authority in a public meeting in January. The funds of over $600,000 were allocated for MALSR lighting system on the approach end of runway 27 and runway 9. Taxiway echo was relocated and made into a high-speed taxiway. More than $150,000 was set aside for finalizing the airport's fuel farm.

Facilities

The airport covers at an elevation of . It has two asphalt runways: 9/27 is , and runway 12/30 is . In 2016 the airport had 33,019 aircraft movements, average 90 per day: 70%

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 ...

, 19%

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) ...

, 9% airline and 2% military. Of the 51 based aircraft, 32 are single engine, 10 are multi-engine, 7 jet and 2 helicopter. The airport has one terminal that opened in 2018. Energy Aviation is the

; there are

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s and the headquarters of Life Flight

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

service. The airport is home to

Air Mechanics and Aerospace building.

Runways

Aircraft

* American Eagle operated by

Piedmont Airlines Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline headquartered at the Salisbury Regional Airport in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury. The airline is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American Airline ...

on behalf of

uses Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets. * FedEx Feeder uses

Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargo ...

cargo aircraft year round. *Over the past 15 years, the airport general aviation multi-engine and jet population have steadily grown. It is common to see multiple

Hawker 400 The Hawker 400 (also known as the Beechjet 400) is a light business jet. Initially designed and built by Mitsubishi, it has been further developed and updated by the Beech Aircraft Company, now part of Textron Aviation. It was produced over 3 ...

s, Learjets and numerous types of GA jets and props at IPT. * Pennsylvania State Police Aviation operated helicopters and fixed wing aircraft from IPT such as

Bell 407 The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa W ...

helicopters and C208B fixed-wing airplanes. They have since moved to Hazelton. *Life Flight Air Ambulance Pennsylvania operates a Eurocopter-Kawasaki EC-145 (BK-117C-2) for rescue and air ambulance transports throughout the area.

Airlines and destinations

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Passenger

Military use

IPT is not designated as a

military airport An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

, as it does not have any

military aircraft A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are ...

Pennsylvania Air National Guard The Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PA ANG) is the aerial militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. As commonwe ...

based on premises. However the PA Air National Guard and Air Force use the airport for some training exercises over the course of the year. Mostly from

, Fort Indiantown Gap, or the air reserve station in Pittsburgh, they mostly perform TGL maneuvers and re-fueling stops due to its low commercial traffic and up to date facilities. At times

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

C-17 Globemaster The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of tw ...

and Lockheed EC-130 have performed TGLs at IPT from multiple air bases on the East Coast.

Incidents and accidents

*On December 1, 1959, Allegheny Airlines Flight 371, a Martin 2-0-2, crashed into a mountain about outside of South Williamsport killing all but one of the 26 passengers and crew. The accident was caused by low cloud ceiling and foggy conditions causing the pilots to not know where they were. There were two contributing factors: the FAA found that the airline or pilots never should have taken off, but did because they had been delayed and wanted to make up lost time. The second factor was determined to be

pilot error Pilot error generally refers to an accident in which an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper a ...

because the pilots did not realize their altitude. *On April 4, 1991, the

Merion air disaster In southeastern Pennsylvania on April 4, 1991, a Piper Aerostar propeller-driven aircraft collided in mid-air with a Bell 412 helicopter over Merion Elementary School in Lower Merion Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. All five people i ...

occurred when a Sunbell Aviation Helicopters

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. Design and development Development began in the ...

collided mid-air with a

Piper Aerostar The Piper Aerostar (formerly Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, which after 1978 became part o ...

which was flying from Williamsport to

Northeast Philadelphia Airport Northeast Philadelphia Airport is a public airport just north of the intersection of Grant Avenue and Ashton Road in Northeast Philadelphia. It is part of the Philadelphia Airport System along with Philadelphia International Airport and is the ...

. The Piper was carrying United States senator from Pennsylvania

H. John Heinz III Henry John Heinz III (October 23, 1938 – April 4, 1991) was an American businessman and Republican politician from Pennsylvania. Heinz represented the Pittsburgh suburbs in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and ...

when it collided over

Merion Elementary School Lower Merion School District, or LMSD, is a public school district located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The school district includes residents of both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. Established in ...

Lower Merion Township Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the ...

. All aboard both aircraft, as well as two children at the school, were killed. The helicopter had been dispatched to investigate a problem with the landing gear of Heinz's plane. While moving in for a closer look, the helicopter collided with the plane, causing both aircraft to lose control and crash. The subsequent

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

investigation attributed the cause of the crash to poor judgment by the pilots of the two aircraft involved. *On December 22, 2015, at 8:45 a.m., a

Porter Airlines Porter Airlines (stylized in all lowercase as porter) is a regional airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Porter Aviation Holdings, formerly known as REGCO Hol ...

flight with 66 on board was diverted to Williamsport Regional Airport due to reports of thick smoke in the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that e ...

and cabin. The flight from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport to

Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and F ...

had to make an emergency landing in Williamsport. Two crew members were taken to Williamsport Regional Medical Center to be checked out due to smoke inhalation. The sixty-six passengers were taken to the terminal to be cleared by customs and then were able to leave airport grounds. The next day Porter Airlines brought a new Dash 8 400 to continue the passengers to Washington, D.C.

References

External links

Williamsport Regional Airport
official web site
Williamsport Regional Airport
at

Pennsylvania DOT The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

Bureau of Aviation
Williamsport Regional Association of Pilots

Aerial image as of April 1993
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, ...

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 prov ...

'' * * {{US-airport, IPT Airports in Pennsylvania West Branch Susquehanna Valley Transportation buildings and structures in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Former Essential Air Service airports