Wilmington International Airport

Wilmington International Airport New Hanover County International Airport
IATA: ILM – ICAO: KILM – FAA LID: ILM
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		New Hanover County, North Carolina
Operator		Wilmington Airport Authority
Serves		Wilmington, North Carolina
Location		Wrightsboro, North Carolina
Elevation AMSL		32 ft / 10 m
Coordinates		34°16′14″N 077°54′09″W / 34.27056°N 77.9025°W / 34.27056; -77.9025Coordinates: 34°16′14″N 077°54′09″W / 34.27056°N 77.9025°W / 34.27056; -77.9025
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
6/24	8,016	2,443	Concrete
17/35	7,004	2,135	Asphalt

Wilmington IAP

Location of Wilmington International Airport, North Carolina

This airport is in North Carolina, for the airport formerly known as "Wilmington Airport" in Delaware see New Castle Airport

Wilmington International Airport (IATA: ILM, ICAO: KILM, FAA LID: ILM), sometimes known as the New Hanover County International Airport, is a public airport located just north of Wilmington, North Carolina, in unincorporated Wrightsboro, Cape Fear Township, New Hanover County.

In 2009, the airport served over 800,000 passengers. The airport has two runways and a single terminal which has eight gates. The airport is also home to three fixed base operations (FBO's) which currently house over 100 private aircraft. There is also a 24-hour US Customs ramp for international flights wishing to stop at the airport. The separate terminal was built to serve the 3,200 international flights that land each year (private or charter). The airport's location on the coast, halfway between NYC and Miami, makes it a desirable and less busy entry point to the country.

In March 2006, ILM received $6.3 million from both NC and the federal government to resurface runway 6/24, which has been untouched in nearly 30 years. In addition to the resurfacing, a new Instrument Landing System will be built for the runway. The airport authority at ILM is hoping the renovations will attract more commercial and international business to the area.

Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County, North Carolina. The airport is leased to the Wilmington Airport Authority for $1 per year and expires in 2019. The current airport manager is Jon Rosborough, elected in 2001.^[1] The Wilmington Airport Authority has five board members: chairman Paul G. Burton, vice chairman Robert S. Rippy, secretary John D. Lennon, Dr. Charles R. Kays and Harry W. Stovall, III.^[1]

History

The airport was named Bluethenthal Field on Memorial Day, May 30, 1928, in honor of Arthur Bluethenthal, a former All American football player and decorated World War I pilot who was the first North Carolinian to die in the war.^[2][3][4][5]

During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training.

Piedmont Airlines began commercial flights to Wilmington in February 1948, and used Wilmington as one of its initial crew bases. Its first route was between Wilmington and Cincinnati, Ohio, with stops in Pinehurst, Charlotte, Asheville, the Tri-Cities and Lexington.^[6] Piedmont also operated flights from Wilmington to Roanoke and New Bern in its early years. USAir (now US Airways) acquired Piedmont in 1987 and maintains a presence at the airport today.^[7]

In addition to flights to its main regional hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, US Airways introduced three daily flights between Wilmington and La Guardia Airport in New York City during the 2000s following lobbying from the Wilmington community; however, following US Airways' planned transfer of La Guardia slots to Delta Air Lines, there is speculation that these flights will cease.^[8] US Airways also introduced nonstop service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in March 2011.^[9]

American Eagle began service between Wilmington and Chicago O'Hare International Airport in July 2011 after the airport authority offered two years of waived fees and marketing cost sharing. This route has also been actively sought by the local business community for its connections to the West Coast and to Asia.^[10]

ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle. Improvements in the orbiter's braking system reduced the previous 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway requirement to 7,500 feet (2,300 m) enabling ILM's 8,007-foot (2,441 m) runway to serve the role.^[11]

Accidents and incidents

• On August 22, 1962, a Piedmont Airlines Martin 4-0-4 swerved off the runway at ILM during a training flight. All three occupants survived but the aircraft was written off.^[12]
• On April 23, 1987, a Swearingen Metro II operating a cargo flight for Air-Lift Commuter suffered an engine failure on takeoff at ILM and crashed, killing both occupants.^[13]
• On May 4, 1990, a GAF Nomad arriving from Raleigh-Durham crashed on approach to runway 34, killing both occupants.^[14]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Allegiant Air	Orlando-Sanford
American Eagle	Chicago-O'Hare
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines	Atlanta
US Airways	Charlotte
US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin	New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia
US Airways Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines	Charlotte, New York-LaGuardia
US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines	Charlotte
US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines	Seasonal: Washington-National
US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines	Charlotte
US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines	Charlotte, Philadelphia

Other operations

ILM currently has 82 single engine aircraft, 41 multi engine aircraft, 10 jet aircraft and 3 helicopters for a total of 136 based aircraft.^[15]

Charter services include Air Wilmington and Aero Service. Air Wilmington has its own dedicated building, while Aero Service uses the old terminal. There are also several private and public hangars. A new international customs station was completed in 2008.

Superfund site

A 1,500-square-foot (140 m²) burn pit on the airport property was named a Superfund site on March 31, 1989.^[16] The site had been used to burn jet fuel, gasoline, petroleum storage tank bottoms, fuel oil, kerosene, and sorbent materials from oil spill cleanups.^[16] The soil and groundwater was found to have multiple contaminants, including benzene, ethylbenzene, total xylene, 2-methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, and chromium.^[16] The site is still undergoing environmental remediation, and the next five year review for the site will be completed in August 2013.^[16]

See also

World War II portal

• North Carolina World War II Army Airfields

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Wilmington International Airport (official site)
• FAA Airport Master Record for ILM (Form 5010 PDF)

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.flyilm.com/AboutILMAirport/GeneralInfo.aspx
2. ^ "Bluethenthal, Arthur "Bluey"". Jewsinsports.org. http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=17. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
3. ^ "Home of Distinction: Family Treasure". Wrightsville Beach Magazine. January 2009. http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=461&iid=62&sud=27. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
4. ^ Jewish sports legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame. Brassey's. 2000. http://books.google.com/books?id=oZxnNt28DhcC&pg=PA87&dq=Arthur+Bluethenthal+football&hl=en&ei=VDgRTYv6FIT58AbU5dGVDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Arthur%20Bluethenthal%20football&f=false. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
5. ^ Along the Cape Fear. Arcadia Publishing. 1998. http://books.google.com/books?id=Zo9V8QPEgv4C&pg=PA29&dq=Arthur+Bluethenthal+football&hl=en&ei=VDgRTYv6FIT58AbU5dGVDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Arthur%20Bluethenthal%20football&f=false. Retrieved December 22, 2010. 
6. ^ http://ncpedia.org/aviation/piedmont-airlines
7. ^ http://www.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/pressroom/history/piedmont.html
8. ^ http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110526/ARTICLES/110519816?p=all&tc=pgall
9. ^ http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110113/ARTICLES/110119820?p=all&tc=pgall
10. ^ http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110314/ARTICLES/110319818?p=all&tc=pgall
11. ^ NASA Names North Carolina Airport Emergency Landing Site for Shuttle
12. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620822-0
13. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19870423-1
14. ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19900504-1
15. ^ http://airnav.com/airport/KILM
16. ^ ^{a b c d} "New Hanover County Airport Burn Pit". US Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/nplnc/newhannc.htm. Retrieved December 17, 2010. 

External links

• NCDOT Airport Information: Wilmington International Airport PDF (309 KiB)
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KILM
  • ASN accident history for ILM
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KILM
  • FAA current ILM delay information