Buchanan Field Airport Concord Army Air Base | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 USGSorthophoto, 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Contra Costa County | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Contra Costa County, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1947 (1947) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 26 ft / 8 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°59′23″N122°03′25″W / 37.98972°N 122.05694°W /37.98972; -122.05694 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 FAA diagram | |||||||||||||||||||||||
  CCR  CCR | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Buchanan Field Airport[2] (IATA:CCR,ICAO:KCCR,FAALID:CCR) is a medium-sized general and business public airport inContra Costa County,California, United States,[1][3] one mile west of the center ofConcord[1][3] and just east ofPacheco in theSan Francisco Bay Area. The airport's street address is 181 John Glenn Drive Ste. 100, Concord.[2]
TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–15categorized it as areliever airport,[4] and it has an FAA certifiedairport traffic control tower.
In 1942Contra Costa County, California, purchased land for an airport in Central County forUS$88,000. The airport was being developed by the county until theUnited States Army Air ForcesFourth Air Forceexpropriated the site. The Army added land and built airport facilities and a training base forpilots,Concord Army Air Base.[5]
In 1946 theWar Assets Administration (WAA) returned the airport to the county. In 1947 the transfer was formalized and the airport was named for County Supervisor William J. Buchanan, who served on the county Board of Supervisors for more than forty years. The airport continued to be used on occasion by theUnited States Army to transport troops, especially during theKorean War.[5]
In 1972George Lucas used Buchanan Field Airport for one of the last exterior scenes in the movieAmerican Graffiti. In the scene, Steven Bolander (Ron Howard) says goodbye to friend Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss) before Curt leaves for college on theDouglas DC-7C in the background.
In 1977 Buchanan Field reached its peak of activity with 357,000 total operations; by that criterion, Buchanan Field was the 16th busiest airport in the nation, ahead ofSan Francisco International Airport,John F. Kennedy International Airport, andLaGuardia Airport. During this time noise became a concern and in 1988 the county Board of Supervisors instituted a countynoise restriction ordinance restricting certain aircraft from operating at Buchanan Field.[5]
Beginning in the 1990s the county government updated the Buchanan Field AirportMaster Plan. Commercial development of adjacent properties such asSam's Club,Taco Bell,Sports Authority, andJiffy Lube was allowed in 1992.[5] The county has developed a new airport inByron in the eastern part of the county.[5][6]
On August 14, 2018, the county Board of Supervisors passed a resolution declaring the economic importance of these airports by recognizing that they are essential economic engines that aid Contra Costa County to meet the current and future transportation and economic needs of the community. The Board further directed staff to proactively pursue innovation and sustainable opportunities to enhance the economic development potential of the airports, as they are capital assets to the county and an integrated transportation asset to the Bay Area region.[citation needed]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2022) |
JSX started commercial airline service on April 19, 2016, withEmbraer 135 aircraft.[7]
| Airlines | Destinations | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| JSX | Burbank,Orange County Seasonal:Las Vegas | [8] |
Buchanan Field had commuter airline flights toSan Francisco International Airport from 1969 to 1979 onStol Air CommuterBritten-Norman BN-2 Islanders andBritten-Norman BN-2A Trislanders. In 1969San Francisco and Oakland Helicopter Airlines (also known as SFO Helicopter) scheduledSikorsky S-61s nonstop toOakland International Airport continuing toSFO, up to five flights a day.[9] SFO Helicopter had left the airport by 1975.[10] In 1978 Stol Air had up to six flights a day to SFO; they ended in 1979.[11][12]
Airline service returned to the airport in mid-1984: for less than a year,WestAir Commuter Airlines, successor to Stol Air, had eight weekdayde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to SFO.[13] WestAir, then independent, leftConcord before becoming aUnited Express airline.
Jet service arrived whenPacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) began nonstopBAe 146-200s toLos Angeles International Airport (LAX) on May 1, 1986. In 1988, after being acquired byUSAir, PSA had four weekday BAe 146s to LAX with one continuing to San Diego.[14] In 1991 USAir replaced the BAe 146s to LAX withUSAir Express Dash 8s, thenBeechcraft 1900Cs; these ended around the end of 1991.[15]
In 1991American Eagle Airlines (Wings West Airlines) had four dailyFairchild Swearingen Metroliners toAmerican Airlines' hub at San Jose.[15] American later shut down its San Jose hub and American Eagle dropped Concord in 1992.[citation needed]
Buchanan Field covers 495 acres (200 hectares) at an elevation of 26 feet (7.9 meters). It has four asphalt and concrete runways: 1L/19R is 5,001 by 150 feet (1,524 by 46 meters), 1R/19L is 2,770 by 75 feet (844 m × 23 m), 14L/32R is 4,602 by 150 feet (1,403 m × 46 m), and 14R/32L is 2,798 by 75 feet (853 m × 23 m).[1]
In the year ending April 30, 2022, the airport had 119,598 aircraft operations, an average of 327 per day: 95 percentgeneral aviation, 5 percentair taxi, and less than 1 percent military and less than 1 percent commercial. 340 aircraft were then based at the airport: 284 single-engine, 30 multi-engine, 17 jet, and 9helicopter.[1]
On the evening of December 23, 1985, aBeechcraft Baron N1494G, executing a missed approach from aninstrument approach (IAP) to runway 19R, lost control and crashed into the roof of theMacy's department store at the nearbySunvalley Shopping Center, killing the pilot and two passengers and seriously injuring 84 people in the crowded mall, spraying them with burningaviation fuel. Four of the victims on the ground later died. The accident brought increased opposition to the airport and causedPacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) to delay its flights that had been planned to start in January 1986.
Another plane crashed on April 13, 2004, shortly after leaving Buchanan Field. The plane landed on a minivan traveling down nearbyInterstate 680 inPleasant Hill and injured a 12-year-old girl. Officials determined the crash was the fault of anaircraft maintenance technician who had worked on the plane.[16]
On December 21, 2006, at about 11:05 a.m., a 1989Piper Malibu (PA46), registered as N1AM, crashed while flying the LDA (localizer type directional aid) approach into CCR. The aircraft was too low and hit obstructions on the ground. The plane hit the median ofHighway 4, crashing between the highway and Marsh Drive just north of the runway. Three passengers were killed instantly, and another died after surgery.[17]
On October 25, 2016, shortly after departing Buchanan Field, aBeechcraft Bonanza registered as N364RM crashed into a hill near Kirker Pass Road in Concord. The two occupants, both pilots, were killed in the crash. No one on the ground was injured. The investigation was unable to determine the cause of the accident, although issues with a recent avionics upgrade were suspected.[18]
On January 30, 2024, a Van’s AircraftRV-6, a single-engine plane, crashed at around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Concord Ave. and Diamond Boulevard, near the southern end of the airport. The pilot, who was the only occupant of the plane, was killed in the crash.[19]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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