Madrid-Torrejón Airport

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Aeropuerto de Torrejón de Ardoz
Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz
Base Aérea de Torrejón-2.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code LETO
IATA code TOJ
Coordinates

40 ° 29 '48 "  N , 3 ° 26' 45"  W Coordinates: 40 ° 29 '48 "  N , 3 ° 26' 45"  W.

Height above MSL 618 m (2028  ft )
Basic data
operator AENA
Passengers 34,461 (2008)
Air freight 10 kg (2008)
Flight
movements
15,291 (2008)
Start-and runway
05/23 3658 m × 66 m asphalt

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The Madrid-Torrejon Airport ( Spanish Aeropuerto Madrid-Torrejón ; IATA Code : TOJ , ICAO code : LETO ) is an airport located in the Spanish city of Torrejon de Ardoz , some 22 kilometers northeast of Madrid . The airport is also used as the Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz by the Spanish Air Force .

history

Between 1957 and 1992, was a military airfield , near Morón and Zaragoza , as one of three bases, the base of operations of several associations of the US Air Force , first strategic bombers of SAC and after 1966 interceptors of USAFE , including here was for years the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing . The headquarters of the 16th Air Force , to which all USAF units in Spain are subordinate, was also located here.

In addition, the 61st Spanish Fighter Squadron ( Escuadrón de Caza número 61 ) equipped with F-86F was stationed here from May 1959 , and further units were added in 1964. The Spanish Air Force was reorganized in April 1965, with the 161st Squadron instead of the 61st Fighter Squadron as part of the 16th Squadron ( Ala 16 ), which flew the F-104G Starfighter . However, the F-86 continued to be used in two other squadrons until 1967 and 1971, respectively. With the introduction of the F-4C Phantom II in spring 1971, the 16th squadron was renamed Ala 12 . The Ala 12 also operated the reconnaissance variant RF-4C of the Phantom from October 1978 and in 1989/1990 the conversion from the F-4C to the F / A-18 took place. The RF-4C squadron ( Escuadrón 123 ) was decommissioned in 2002.

The infrastructure that is still visible today (typical layout of a US bomber base with a large concrete apron, numerous hangars, barrack-like accommodation area with PX store , hangar for alarm riot , ammunition bunker ) still testifies to the originally purely military use, which lasted until 1996.

Military use

The base currently (2012) houses the following flying formations of the Spanish Air Force:

In addition to the air forces, the Guardia Civil also uses the military area of ​​the airport; it has CASA CN-235M (T.19B) patrol aircraft stationed here.

The NATO operates in Torrejon since February 7, 2013 is one of two Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC). The operational area of ​​the local center extends from the Azores to Hungary and Turkey. The counterpart for Northern Europe is in Uedem .

Civil use

It is open to general aviation , but due to the modern expansion and the enormous spare capacity of the Madrid-Barajas airport , ten kilometers to the west, its importance is now minor. Here flights under instrument flight conditions are only possible for aircraft with a total weight between 2,000 and 50,000 kilograms. The upper limit of 50 tons of take-off weight also applies to visual flight conditions .

In 2006, 15,154 aircraft movements were recorded.

Incidents

On 12 May 1965, the first prototype of the collapsed business jet HFB 320 ( air vehicle registration D-CHFB ) far from the airport in case of drawing tests from (so-called "anti-stall attempts."; See also stall ). During this flight test, the HFB 320 went into a flat spin and with it the horizontal stabilizer of the T-tail unit in an area shielded from the current. The elevator was then ineffective and the flat spin could no longer be ended. As a last resort, the pilots deployed the braking parachute, but this was ineffective. The test pilot Loren Davis was killed. The other test pilot Hans Bardill and another crew member were able to save themselves with the parachute (see also flight accident of an HFB 320 Hansa Jet near Madrid ) .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Annual statistics of the Spanish airport operating company AENA (PDF; 65 kB)

Web links