Monrovia airport

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Roberts International Airport
Roberts Field
Aerial view of Roberts Field
Characteristics
ICAO code GLRB
IATA code ROB
Coordinates

6 ° 14 '2 "  N , 10 ° 21' 44"  W Coordinates: 6 ° 14 '2 "  N , 10 ° 21' 44"  W.
Height above MSL 9 m (30  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 20 km east of Monrovia
Basic data
opening 1941
Terminals 1
Start-and runway
04/22 3353 m × 46 m asphalt

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The Roberts International Airport ( Roberts International Airport ) is the largest airport of Liberia and is located on the southern edge of the city of Harbel , about 20 kilometers east of the capital Monrovia . It is named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts , the first President of Liberia . The second airport in Monrovia is Monrovia-Spriggs Payne Airport .

history

In 1926 the US companies Firestone and Goodrich were given a part of the state territory of Liberia for rubber plantations . As a result of these economic activities, the first field airfields were built in Liberia, as this offered advantages for the accessibility of the plantations. The most important airfield was near the Fireston headquarters and was initially called Thomas Jefferson Airfield . As early as the end of the 1920s, France , Germany and Great Britain continued to expand their airmail networks, and the flight routes were based on the West African coast. In 1941 the American airline Pan American World Airways began scheduled flights with seaplanes from New York via Miami , Puerto Rico and Brazil to Monrovia. The planes landed in Mesurado Bay, and Robertsport also had an alternative airport on Lake Piso . The airline anticipated a passenger volume of around 1300 people. The airline also opened up the opportunity to replace connections to Singapore and Australia that were interrupted by the war in the Pacific Ocean . For military reasons, Liberian airfields were required to supply the North Africa front. On July 10, 1942, the first B-24 bomber landed in Liberia on Ascension Island . The previously private Firestone airfield was also taken over by the military and expanded to Roberts Field airfield (after the first Liberian president) with the help of Liberian laborers.

Since 1944 there was a permanent airlift from the USA via Brazil, Liberia, Ethiopia and Iraq to Tehran and the Soviet Union . Diplomats and armaments also traveled through this secure connection. Service on the airfield was soon recognized by the troops as an award, they enjoyed the high comfort of the Firestone plantation, enemy attacks were not to be expected.

Military use was discontinued in 1948 and the now modernized airfield was made available to the Liberian government. As a gift from the United States, Liberia received a DC-3, which was the first aircraft operated by the newly founded airline Liberia International Airways . However, flight operations to neighboring African capitals were stopped again in 1949. After the end of the Second World War, the Firestone Company insisted on the return of the airfield, after which the Liberian government created a second Monrovia airfield (Spriggs Payne Airport) on the eastern outskirts of Monrovia. This was now preferred by the newly created Liberian National Airways . Both airports achieved economic gains in the 1960s, and a dense network of domestic airlines to the country's mining centers was formed, although small aircraft were the preferred choice.

While the space shuttle was in operation, the airport was a possible emergency landing site in the event of an unscheduled landing.

present

Roberts International Airport
A UN supply aircraft with relief supplies (2003)

Liberian airlines are some of the most unsafe in the world. Liberia is one of only six countries in the world from which not a single airline company is allowed to use EU airspace or even land within the EU.

Incidents

  • On March 5, 1967 a Douglas DC-8-33 (PP-PEA) of VARIG had an accident on the flight from Rome to Monrovia. The master initially failed to initiate the descent in good time before landing. When he saw the lights at Monrovia airport, he initiated a hasty descent under visual flight rules when visibility was poor. In doing so, he let the machine sink too quickly. The DC-8 hit 1.8 kilometers from the runway ( controlled flight into terrain ). The flight engineer, 50 passengers and five people died on the ground. Of the remaining occupants, 21 passengers and 18 crew members survived the accident. The investigation report criticized the fact that the 18 surviving crew members did not make any particular effort to help evacuate the remaining passengers in the aircraft (see also VARIG flight 837 ) .

literature

  • William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . In: The Journal of Transport History . tape 21 . Manchester University Press, 1996, ISSN  0022-5266 , pp. 191-208 (English).

Web links

Commons : Roberts International Airport  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, Firestone in Liberia, pp. 194-95 .
  2. ^ William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, Pan American World Airways, p. 195 .
  3. ^ A b William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, Convergence of needs and the means, p. 195-97 .
  4. ↑ A view of a Liberian airport where a Pan American flight is about to depart. (1942). In: LIFE Images. Retrieved December 5, 2010 .
  5. ^ A b William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, Intangibles and first fruits, p. 197-98 .
  6. ^ William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, Intangibles and first fruits, p. 197-98 .
  7. ^ William R. Stanley: Air Transport in Liberia . 1996, New domestic markets, p. 200-04 .
  8. ^ Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites. GlobalSecurity.org, accessed October 7, 2011 .
  9. ↑ REPORT ... (2010-01-11) ... of a Community list of air carriers subject ... repealing Article 9 of Directive 2004/36 / EC. (PDF; 51 kB) (No longer available online.) In: EUROPEAN COMMISSION - information portal on air traffic. Formerly in the original ; accessed on October 15, 2010 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / ec.europa.eu  
  10. ↑ ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest No. 17 Volume II, Circular 88-AN / 74 (English), pp. 142–150.
  11. ^ Accident report DC-8-30 PP-PEA , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 25, 2019.