Cyril E. King Airport, is a public airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. It is currently the busiest airport in the United States Virgin Islands, and one of the busiest in the eastern Caribbean. The airport also serves nearby St. John and is often used by those traveling to the British Virgin Islands.
It was known as Harry S Truman Airport until 1984, when it was renamed to honor Cyril Emmanuel King, the second elected governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. A new airport opened in November 1990 and retained the name.
The airport operates one main runway, around 7,000 ft (2,100 m) long. The terminal operates 11 gates.
Cyril E. King Airport covers an area of 280 acres (113 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (10/28) measuring 7,000 x 150 ft (2,134 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending January 31, 2008, the airport had 84,273 aircraft operations, an average of 230 per day: 50% air taxi, 15% scheduled commercial, 33% general aviation and 1% military. During the same period, there were 84 aircraft based at this airport: 57% multi-engine, 37% single engine, 5% helicopters and 1% ultralight.
On December 28, 1970, Trans Caribbean Airways Flight 505 made a hard landing and ran off the side of the runway. Two of the 48 passengers died in the subsequent fire.
On April 27, 1976, American Airlines Flight 625 ran off the end of the runway, killing 37 of the 88 on board the aircraft. Following the crash, American Airlines suspended jet service to the airport, using propliners until the runway was rebuilt to its present length.
On 25 March 1977, Douglas C-53 N692A of Island Traders was damaged beyond economic repair in a heavy landing.
On 17 September 1989, Douglas DC-3 N4425N, Douglas C-47s N100SD, N4471J and N4577Z; and Douglas C-49J N28346 of Aero Virgin Islands; along with Douglas C-47A N101AP of Four Star Air Cargo; were damaged beyond economic repair by Hurricane Hugo.
On 30 December 2003, Douglas DC-3C N781T of Tol-Air Services was substantially damaged when the starboard undercarriage collapsed on landing after a flight that originated at San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On 19 July 2006, Douglas DC-3C N782T of Tol-Air Services ditched into the sea off Charlotte Amalie after an engine failure shortly after take-off from Cyril E. King Airport. All four people on board escaped as the aircraft floated for about ten minutes before sinking. The aircraft now lies in 100 feet (30 m) of water and is a dive site.
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