Plaridel Airport

Plaridel Airport
Paliparan ng Plaridel
Control tower of the Airport, parked planes and aviation schools
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
Serves Plaridel, Bulacan
Location Barangay Lumang Bayan, Plaridel, Bulacan
Elevation AMSL 6 m / 19 ft
Coordinates 14°53′26.40″N 120°51′9.80″E / 14.8906667°N 120.8527222°E / 14.8906667; 120.8527222
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17/35 900 2,953 Asphalt

Plaridel Airport (Filipino: Paliparan ng Plaridel) (ICAO: RPUX) is an airport serving the general area of Plaridel, located in the province of Bulacan in the Philippines. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, a body of the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the operations for 81 out of 85 government-owned airports, manages the facility and classifies it as a community airport.[1]

It is the only public airport in the Mega Manila area solely dedicated to general aviation. Among community airports it is one of the few which has taxiways that extend to the ends of a runway.

History

The airport was opened in 1935 and was extensively used during World War II, when it was used as a ground for training fighter pilots.[2]

Today, the airport is still used extensively as a training facility for all types of pilots, whether civil, commercial or military. Several aviation schools are found within the immediate vicinity of the airport. The airport is also a popular landing site for amateur pilots and aviation enthusiasts.

The airport is remembered as a historical landmark — one of the few airports in the Philippines with such a designation.[2]

Incidents and accidents

  • Plaridel Airport was temporarily closed on July 9, 2007 following a crash involving two Cessna 150s that killed three persons: an instructor and a student from WCC Aviation School, and another student, Varsha Gopinanth, an Indian national and student at the Phoenix Aviation School. Both planes were headed for Ninoy Aquino International Airport when they collided over Purok Ilang-Ilang, Barangay Ligas, Malolos at 12:55 p.m PST.[3]
  • On 17 March 2018, 10 people which includes all 5 passengers and crew on the aircraft and a further 5 people on ground, were killed after a Piper PA-32 crashed into a residential area near the airport shortly after take off.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "CAAP Airport Directory". Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 Argañoza, Dante C. (2003-08-27). "Scenic Plaridel gets into tourism map". Travel and Tourism. Manila Bulletin. 368 (27). Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. p. B-5.
  3. ↑ Punongbayan, Michael (2007-07-10). "Plaridel Airport closed". The Philippine Star. Philstar Daily, Inc. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
  4. ↑ Morales, Neil Jerome (17 March 2018). "Small plane crashes outside Philippine capital, killing 10". Reuters. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "10 dead as plane crashes into house in Bulacan". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
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