Pegasus Field
| Pegasus Field | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | NZPG |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 5 m (16 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 8 miles south of McMurdo Station |
| Start-and runway | |
| 15/33 | 3048 m × 45 m ice |
Pegasus Field ( ICAO : NZPG ) on the Ross Ice Shelf was the southernmost of the airfields of the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, seven nautical miles to the north . The runway , which is around 3050 meters long and 45 meters wide, was located 5 meters above sea level on a blue ice field , consisted of ice and could be used by aircraft with landing gear all year round . The other two airfields are Williams Field (ICAO: NZWD), whose snow runway only has runnersequipped aircraft can approach, as well as Ice Runway (ICAO: NZIR) on the offshore sea ice , which is only available during the Antarctic summer.
The airfield is named after Pegasus , a C-121 Lockheed Constellation still visible in the snow there , which crashed on October 8, 1970 in bad weather. Nobody was harmed on board.
On September 11, 2008, the crew of a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III landed successfully with night vision devices on Pegasus Field. Previously, in the permanent darkness of the Antarctic winter, air traffic had been restricted to emergencies, with burning fuel barrels being used as approach lights .
Pegasus Field was closed in December 2016 due to the deteriorating quality of the ice and replaced by Phoenix Airfield , which consists of compacted snow.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ grid north
- ↑ Transport Accident Investigation Commission: "RNZAF Boeing 757, NZ7571 landing below published minima, Pegasus Field, Antarctica, 7 October 2013" , Wellington (New Zealand), p. 14, published December 2014, available online on TAIC website
- ↑ Peter Rejcek: "Night vision Air Force successfully tested new capability to fly any time of year to McMurdo." , The Antarctic Sun, September 26, 2008 Retrieved on March 13, 2015
- ↑ NZDF Airlift Missions Renew Lifeline For Scientists In Antarctica. (No longer available online.) December 9, 2016, archived from the original on January 6, 2017 ; accessed on February 26, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ US Antarctic Program Inter-agency Air Operations Manual - United States Antarctic Program. Retrieved February 26, 2017 .
