Columbia Metropolitan Airport

Columbia Metropolitan Airport
USGS aerial image - 21 January 1994
IATA: CAE – ICAO: KCAE – FAA LID: CAE
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Richland-Lexington Airport Commission
Serves		Columbia, South Carolina
Location		Lexington County, near Columbia, South Carolina
Hub for		UPS Airlines
Elevation AMSL		236 ft / 72 m
Coordinates		33°56′20″N 081°07′10″W / 33.93889°N 81.11944°W / 33.93889; -81.11944
Website		www.columbiaairport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
5/23	8,001	2,439	Asphalt/Concrete
11/29	8,601	2,622	Asphalt
Helipads
Number	Length		Surface
	ft	m
H1	50	15	Concrete
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations			98,239
Based aircraft			100
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Columbia MAP

Location of Columbia Metropolitan Airport, South Carolina

Columbia Metropolitan Airport (IATA: CAE, ICAO: KCAE, FAA LID: CAE) is the main airport for Columbia, South Carolina. The airport lies five miles (8 km) southwest of Columbia's central business district, in Lexington County.^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger service is provided by five scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators. Two fixed-base operators also serve the Metro facility with various charter flights. The airport maintains a newly dedicated air cargo terminal, the Columbia Airport Enterprise Park (CAE Park) and Foreign Trade Zone #127. Columbia Metropolitan Airport recently completed a $45 million terminal expansion and renovation. Annually, the airport serves about 1 million passengers and processes more than 168,000 tons of air cargo.

Scheduled passenger service

Airlines	Destinations
American Eagle	Dallas/Fort Worth
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental
Delta Air Lines	Seasonal: Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines	Atlanta
Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines	New York-LaGaurdia
Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines	Detroit
United Express operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles
United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles
US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin	Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National
US Airways Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines	Charlotte, Washington-National
US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines	Charlotte
US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines	Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington-National

UPS Southeastern Regional Hub

In August 1996, United Parcel Service opened an $80 million Southeastern Regional Hub at the airport. The hub offers next day, second day and third day air service. The buildings encompass 352,000 square feet (32,700 m²) and the 44-acre (180,000 m²) ramp is large enough to hold 22 DC-8 aircraft. The hub can process 42,000 packages an hour. Other major air cargo companies serving the airport include ABX Air and FedEx Express.

Facilities and aircraft

Columbia Metropolitan Airport covers an area of 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) which contains two runways: 11/29 measuring 8,601 x 150 ft (2,622 x 46 m) and 5/23 measuring 8,001 x 150 ft (2,439 x 46 m). It also has a 50 x 50 ft (15 x 15 m) helipad.^[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 98,239 aircraft operations, an average of 269 per day: 47% air taxi, 38% general aviation, 11% scheduled commercial and 4% military. At that time there were 100 aircraft based at this airport: 60% single-engine, 25% multi-engine, 14% jet and 1% military.^[1]

Services

The Airport hosts several services, including a gift shop, the Everett Adams Memorial chapel,restaurants and bars inside the terminal, and an eatery. Free wireless Internet service is provided throughout the airport as well as small number of recharge stations with access to outlets.

Police/Fire Rescue Services are provided by the Columbia Metro Airport Department of Public Safety. Public Safety Officers are South Carolina Police Academy Class 1 officers, and South Carolina Fire Academy IFSAC Firefighter II, and Airport Firefighter. Some have Basic EMT Certifications. The Department has Three ARFF units, One RIV unit, One Fire Pumper, and a Service Truck. Law Enforcement is covered by Four Patrol Vehicles. The Department provides fire services at the FAR 139 level only. Structural Firefighting is handled by Lexington County Fire Service.

History

The airport was constructed in the 1940 as Lexington County Airport. In 1940 the United States Army Air Corps indicated a need for the airfield as part of the buildup of its forces after World War II began in Europe. The earliest recorded Air Corps use of the airport was when the 105th Observation Squadron began flying Douglas O-38 and North American O-47 light observation aircraft beginning on 24 September.

In 1941, the airport came under formal military control and an immediate construction program began to turn the civil airport into a military airfield. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also constructed. Buildings were ultimately utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Although some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tar paper.

While under construction, the 65th Observation Group used the unfinished facilities at the airfield between 1 September and 1 December 1941, flying a mixture O-47s, O-49 Vigilant and O-52 Owl light observation planes as part of the "Carolina Maneuvers" in the Fall of 1941 performing reconnaissance and aerial photo duties.

On 8 December 1941, the Columbia Army Airbase was activated with Lt. Colonel Dashe W. Reeves as commander. It was assigned to Third Air Force, III Air Support Command. The 121st Observation Squadron was moved to the new air base from nearby Owens Field, replacing the 105th OS which was sent to Langley Field, Virginia and the Marine Corps airfield at Cherry Point North Carolina to fly antisubmarine patrols. The 121st OS, which had also been flying observation flights as part of the "Carolina Maneuvers", began antisubmarine patrols over the Atlantic coast using O-47s and L-4 Grasshoppers.

The 96th Air Base Squadron was initially assigned as the base host unit for ground support squadrons, being replaced by the 19th Air Base Group in February 1942. The antisubmarine patrol mission was reassigned to Charleston AAF which was much better suited for it, as Charleston was located right on the Atlantic coast. Columbia Army Airfield's mission was changed become a training base for B-25 Mitchell medium bomber aircrews.

In addition to the main facility, Columbia AAB had jurisdiction over several satellite and auxiliary airfields in support of the bomber training mission:

• Barnwell Army Airfield, Barnwell, South Carolina
• Congaree Army Airfield, Eastover
• North Army Airfield, North, South Carolina
• Walterboro Army Airfield, Walterboro, South Carolina
• Johns Island Army Airfield, Johns Island, South Carolina

Doolittle Raid B-25Bs aboard USS Hornet

A-26B-15-DL (41-39186)

One of the earliest units to train at Columbia AAB was the 17th Bombardment Group, which arrived on 9 February 1942. The squadrons of the 17th Bomb group came to Columbia AAB from Pendleton Field, Oregon to fly antisubmarine patrols off the east coast of the United States. When the group arrived in Columbia its combat crews were offered the opportunity to volunteer for an "extremely hazardous" but unspecified mission which ultimately turned out to be the famous Doolittle Raid on Japan. On 17 February, 24 full combat crews from amongst the group were detached from Eighth Air Force and transferred to Eglin Field, Florida where they received intensive training for three weeks in simulated carrier deck takeoffs, low-level and night flying, low altitude bombing, and over water navigation. Contrary to popular belief, the volunteers who made up the crews of the Doolittle Raid did not train for the Raid itself at Columbia.

The 21st Bombardment Group became the B-25 Operational training unit at Columbia on 21 April 1942, until the unit was reassigned organizationally to Key Field, Mississippi on 22 May. The 21st was replaced by the 309th Bombardment Group, which exchanged designations with the 21st, being reassigned from Key Field.

The 329th Bomb Group (and its successor designations) was the major operational training unit (OTU) at Columbia AAB during World War II, providing crew and replacement training in B-25s until 1 May 1944 when the 309th was re-designated as the 329th Bombardment Group. It was subsequently re-designated as the 329th Army Air Force Base Replacement Unit on 1 August 1944.

Known B-25 Groups that trained at Columbia AAB were:

• 310th Bombardment Group, 16 May-14 August 1942
• 321st Bombardment Group, 1 August–September 1942
• 340th Bombardment Group, 20 August-20 November 1942

Beginning in 1943, the 309th performed replacement training, rather than group training. On 1 October 1944, Columbia AAB was reassigned to III Bomber Command, and the training units were again re-designated as the Columbia Combat Crew Training Depot (Medium Bombardment). All sub-bases and satellite airfields were either reassigned or inactivated. On 1 February 1945, Columbia was relieved from assignment to Third Air Force, and was transferred to First Air Force. The base unit was re-designated as the 129th Army Air Force Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station) (Light), and the mission was changed from training B-25 crews to A-26 Invader Light bombardment crews.

The 319th Bombardment Group (light) arrived at Columbia on 28 February 1945 from Twelfth Air Force in Italy for conversion training from B-25s to A-26s. The group left for Okinawa on 27 April 1945.

Training at Columbia Army Air Base was phased down during the summer of 1945. Several units arrived at the base from overseas to inactivate during September and October. It was inactivated on 30 November and returned to civil authorities, which converted it back to an airport, however, the 350th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to Columbia Metropolitan Airport on 16 July 1947 as part of the Air Force Reserve, but it was never equipped or manned. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949

Columbia Army Air Base historical marker	Bombardment Groups historical marker
319th Bombardment Group historical marker	The Doolittle Raiders historical marker

Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), 1998

The current terminal was opened on May 30, 1965 and renovated in 1997. It replaces a terminal built in the early 1950s which, itself, is a replacement of a terminal built several years earlier in the early 1950s.^[2]

It has also served as the hub for the abortive low-cost carrier Air South and is currently a hub for United Parcel Service. Since the late 1980s, capital improvements have been undertaken, including a renovated and expanded terminal, a new parking garage (completed in 2003), the lengthening of the runways, and better interstate access.

Delta Air Lines started service to Columbia on its first route after it re-entered passenger service in August 1934. Delta would operate nonstop service from Columbia to Charleston, Asheville, Jacksonville, Augusta, Savannah and New York LaGuardia. Delta introduced DC-9 Jet service to Columbia on March 7, 1966 with Flight 521 from Charleston continuing on to Atlanta. Eastern Airlines provided service to Charlotte, Washington and New York.Piedmont Airlines started service to Columbia from Augusta, Florence, Charlotte in 1962. Southern Airways provided service to Charleston and Greenville/Spartanburg. In January 1978 Eastern started Atlanta-Columbia Nonstop service as a result of a route swap with Piedmont Airlines. Piedmont got Eastern's Chicago-Louisville route. Southern Airways terminated service in December 1978, six months before their merger with North Central Airlines to form Republic Airlines. Atlantis Airlines started service in 1979 for a brief time using Twin Otter aircraft. Piedmont Airlines introduced Columbia-Miami Nonstop service in January 1980 but all service was discontinued June 1980 leaving only Eastern and Delta. In November 1982 Piedmont Airlines returned to Columbia with flights to Charlotte and later Newark. American Airlines would start service in 1985 to Raleigh/Durham and United Airlines would enter the market with service to Charlotte and Chicago O'Hare. People's Express and Continental came to Columbia in the Mid 80's. Freedom Airlines operated Convair Aircraft to Columbia in 1983. United Express entered the market May 24, 1999 with service to Washington Dulles and later added Chicago O'Hare on July 1, 2000. Northwest Airlines came to Columbia on October 6, 2003, offering service to Detroit. On October 30, 2005, American Eagle returned to the Columbia market after a 9-year absence, this time to have service to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Spirit Airlines tried flying Columbia to Ft. Lauderdale but the route started May 22, 2008 and ended the following March. In 2009 Allegiant Airlines offered low cost service to Orlando-Sanford International Airport and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, yet the service did not last. They also flew a Columbia-St. Petersburg/Clearwater Fla. route starting in December 2006, but discontinued it early the following February. On October 31, 2010 US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin began non-stop service to New York-LaGuardia International Airport.

Incidents

Further information: 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash

A Volpar E18S (N47A) crashed February 26, 1971 while attempting to land at Columbia Metro. The aircraft crashed during poor visibility and fog while performing a missed approach killing the pilot and 7 passengers.^[3]

A Beech C90 (N711FC) crashed December 20, 1973 while attempting to land at Columbia Metro. The aircraft collided with trees after descending below minimum descent altitude during poor visibility. The pilot and a passenger were killed and another passenger was seriously injured.^[4]

A Learjet 60 (N999LJ)^[5] attempted to take off from runway 11 of Columbia Metro on September 19, 2008, but crashed into the hillside across a road beyond the end of the runway. Four people died in the crash, the two survivors were musicians Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein. Both suffered major burns, but survived due to the care they received at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia.^[6] However, Goldstein died less than a year later from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and cocaine.^[7]

Features

• The airport's two airplane runways measure 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and 8,600 feet (2,600 m) in length, respectively.
• The airport runways can accommodate an airplane of any size, including the Boeing 747 and the military C-5A.
• The airport contains its own police department, fire station, and post office (Air Mail Facility.)
• Decorative and semi-natural ponds bordering the sides of the airport terminal can be used by the airport fire department to put out fires.
• The Columbia Metropolitan Airport's two moving sidewalks are each 200 feet (61 m) long, the first in South Carolina.
• The air traffic control tower is 105 feet (32 m) tall.
• More than 1.1 million passengers travel through Columbia Metropolitan Airport each year.
• More than 1,400 people work at the airport.

In popular culture

• An opening scene in the 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was shot in the Columbia Metropolitan Airport terminal although it is labeled as "New York Airport."

See also

	Aviation portal
	South Carolina portal
	Military of the United States portal
	United States Air Force portal
	World War II portal

• South Carolina World War II Army Airfields

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} FAA Airport Master Record for CAE (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20
2. ^ http://www.columbiaairport.com/ airport section, history subsection
3. ^ National Transportation Safety Board. MIA71AM076
4. ^ National Transportation Safety Board. MIA74AM049.
5. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26803108/
6. ^ Eppley Rupon, Kristy; Rick Brundrett (2008-09-20). "Pilot, copilot, 2 others die in crash carrying performers". The State. http://www.thestate.com/local/story/530614.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 
7. ^ Drug overdose killed DJ AM, official says CNN.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.

Other sources

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

External links

• Columbia Metropolitan Airport, official site
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
• FAA Terminal Procedures for CAE, effective 20 October 2011
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KCAE
  • ASN accident history for CAE
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCAE
  • FAA current CAE delay information
• B-25 From Columbia AAB salvaged from Lake Murray

North American B-25C Mitchell (41-12634 (c/n 82-5269)) crashed into Lake Murray on 4 April 1943 due to engine failure. All crew survived. Wreckage found at bottom of lake. Recovered from depth of 150 feet 19 September 2005. The plane was transported to the Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham, Alabama to undergo preservation (not restoration). Forward fuselage is on public display.