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Craig Field (airport)

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Craig Field
NAIP image 2006
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCraig Field Airport & Industrial Authority
ServesSelma, Alabama
Elevation AMSL166 ft / 51 m
Coordinates32°20′38″N 086°59′16″W / 32.34389°N 86.98778°W / 32.34389; -86.98778
Websitewww.CraigComplex.com
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 8,002 2,439 Asphalt/concrete
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations38,550
Based aircraft8

Craig Field (IATA: SEM, ICAO: KSEM, FAA LID: SEM) is a public airport four miles southeast of Selma, in Dallas County, Alabama.[1] The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2] It was previously Craig Air Force Base, an Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) base with T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon aircraft operated by the 29th Flying Training Wing of the U.S. Air Force. Craig AFB was closed in 1977 as part of reduced defense spending and a concurrent post-Vietnam War reduction in force.

Facilities

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The John W. Jones, Jr. Airport Terminal

Craig Field covers 1,790 acres (720 ha) at an elevation of 166 feet (51 m). Its single operational runway, Rwy 15/33, is 8,002 by 150 feet (2,439 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete. In the year ending November 2, 2009, the airport had 38,550 aircraft operations, an average 105 per day: 89% general aviation, 10% military, and 1% air taxi. Eight single-engine aircraft were then based at the airport.[1]

The former USAF air traffic control tower from what was Craig Air Force Base remains but, as of 2007 it was unmanned, with UNICOM being used as a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Both parallel 8,000-foot (2,400 m) runways still exist, but only one is actively maintained and in use. The Craig VORTAC and the Instrument Landing System (ILS) for the current Runway 33 remain operational. The airport's military traffic consists mostly of training aircraft, either fixed-wing aircraft on sorties from nearby Columbus AFB or Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi, NAS Pensacola or NAS Whiting Field in Florida, or rotary-wing aircraft from Fort Novosel in Alabama or NAS Whiting Field, Florida.

Prior to its 2007 closure by L3 Corporation, now L3Harris, other military training and operational support airlift aircraft were inbound to the L3 Communications/Vertex Aerospace facility at the airport for contracted maintenance.[3]

The former military family housing was sold to individual owners shortly after base closure and has decayed compared to its previous military occupants.[citation needed]

Multiple civilian government and corporate tenants have taken up residency. The former on-base elementary school continues as the civilian-run Craig Elementary, and the former base golf course continues as the Craig Golf Course and Driving Range. The Alabama Highway Patrol (AHP) operates both its training academy and its headquarters for AHP's F Troop at Craig.

In 2015, Marine One used Craig Field when President Barack Obama visited Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Craig Field has never have had airline service; Selma's previous airport, Selma Municipal Airport saw commercial service with Delta Air Lines, then Southern Airways, from 1952 to 1963. When Craig AFB was closed as an active USAF installation, it became the city's airport and Selma Municipal Airport was closed.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for SEM PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 30 June 2011.
  2. ^ National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems Archived August 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine for 2011–2015: Appendix A (PDF, 2.03 MB) Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Federal Aviation Administration. Updated 4 October 2010.
  3. ^ https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2006/07/27/l-3-vertex-aerospace-closes/
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