Faleolo International Airport

Faleolo International Airport
IATA: APW – ICAO: NSFA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Serves	Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa
Elevation AMSL	58 ft / 18 m
Coordinates	13°49′47″S 172°00′30″W / 13.82972°S 172.00833°W
Map
APW Location of airport in Samoa
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 08/26 3,000 9,843 Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Faleolo International Airport (IATA: APW, ICAO: NSFA) is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa. Since the airport's expansion most international traffic now uses Faleolo.

Small turboprop aircraft connect American Samoa and Samoa.

History

Faleolo Airfield

The site and location of the current airport was originally known as Faleolo Airfield.^[3] It was constructed by the United States Navy SeaBees after war broke out in the Pacific in 1942 and became an extension of U.S. Naval Station Tutuila and the Samoa Defense Group Area^[4] during the Pacific War. Faleolo Airfield was completed by the Seabees in July 1942^[5] and U.S. Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-111 was moved from Tafuna Airfield to Faleolo Airfield^[5] after the aircraft runway was completed^[3] to protect the islands of Upolu and Savai'i from an anticipated Japanese invasion. The original runway was 4,000 feet (1,219 m) x 200 feet (61 m) and was extended to 6,000 feet (1,829 m) x 350 feet (107 m) in March 1943 to accommodate a taxiway and space for basing of up to 57 fighter aircraft. Airfield support buildings and two hangars were also constructed and completed in March 1943.

Facilities

The airport is at an elevation of 58 feet (18 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 08/26 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 45 metres (9,843 ft × 148 ft).^[1] The Pavement Classification Number for the runway is 058FBXT.^[1]

Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace. It is assisted by the tower at Nadi, Fiji and the whole area is under Oceanic Control from Auckland, New Zealand.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air New Zealand	Auckland
Fiji Airways	Honolulu,[6] Nadi
Fiji Airways operated by Fiji Link	Suva[7]
Inter Island Airways	Pago Pago, Tau
Polynesian Airlines	Maota, Pago Pago
Samoa Air	Asau, Canton, Fagali'i, Funafuti, Maota, Pago Pago, Vava'u
Talofa Airways	Pago Pago
Virgin Samoa	Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney

Accidents and incidents

• On 13 January 1970, Polynesian Airlines Flight 308B, operated by Douglas C-47B 5W-FAC crashed into the sea shortly after take-off on an international non-scheduled passenger flight to Pago Pago International Airport, American Samoa. All 32 people on board were killed.^[8]
• In 2000, Air New Zealand flight NZ60 nearly overshot the runway due to a faulty instrument landing system, which had been accidentally damaged by a digger. The pilots took a number of measures to successfully prevent an accident, which were incorporated into a training video. Key points from the video that averted disaster included the pilot's unease about the ILS glideslope capture, the conflict between the aircraft's altitude and the functioning Distance Measuring Equipment, and their familiarity with the approach into Faleolo which caused them to realise they were not where they were supposed to be, had the ILS been functioning correctly. For these reasons they initiated a go around, and used the VOR/DME equipment for the second and successful approach.^[9]

References

1. Airport information for NSFA from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
2. Airport information for APW at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
3. "Building the Navy's Bases in World War II". Department of the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks, pg 213-214. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
4. "The U.S. Naval History of the Samoan Defense Group" (PDF). Lt. Commander John Buake, USNA. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
5. "History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II". Hough, Ludwig, Shaw - Chapter 3: The Southern Lifeline, pg 90. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
6. "New Samoa-Honolulu flights planned". Pacific Business News. 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
7. http://airlineroute.net/2014/01/20/fj-suvapw-jun14/
8. "5W-FAC Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
9. "NZ60 Erronious (sic) ILS Incident, Apia". YouTube. 2006-12-22. Retrieved 2009-09-30.

External links

• Current weather for NSFA at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for APW at Aviation Safety Network