Columbia Airport (California)

Airport in California, United States

Columbia Airport

CAL FIRE OV-10 and S-2T aircraft performing a flyby over Columbia Airport in March 2007

* IATA: COA
* ICAO: none
* FAA LID: O22

Summary
Airport type| Public
Owner| County of Tuolumne
Location| Columbia, California
Elevation AMSL| 2,121 ft / 646 m
Coordinates| 38°01′50″N 120°24′52″W﻿ / ﻿38.03056°N 120.41444°W﻿ / 38.03056; -120.41444
Runways
| Direction | Length  | Surface

|
|

ft  | m
11/29  | 2,607  | 795  | Turf
17/35  | 4,673  | 1,424  | Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
| Aircraft operations (year ending 6/25/2019)| 45,657

|

Based aircraft| 103

Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Columbia Airport (IATA: COA, FAA LID: O22) is located a mile southwest of Columbia, in Tuolumne County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of Tuolumne.[1]

## Facilities

[edit]

Columbia Airport covers 356 acres (144 ha) and has two runways: 17/35 is 4,673 x 75 ft (1,424 x 23 m) asphalt and 11/29 is 2,607 x 50 ft (795 x 15 m) turf.[1]

In the year ending June 25, 2019, the airport had 45,657 aircraft operations, average 125 per day: 96% general aviation, 4% air taxi and <1% military. 103 aircraft were then based at the airport: 95 single engine, 7 multi-engine, and 1 helicopter.[1]

## Cal Fire Firefighting Air Attack Base

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The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) operates an aerial firefighting air attack base at the airport with five aircraft based at the airfield. The typical complement of aircraft is one Rockwell OV-10 tactical (spotter) airplane, two Grumman S-2T air tankers, and one Sikorsky S-70i helicopter.[2] The base also hosts a helitack crew, a team of wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to fires. In addition to the firefighting mission, the helicopter is also equipped with a hoist for search and rescue missions. The Columbia Air Attack Base has facilities for refilling water and retardant on up to six firefighting aircraft, on rotation.[3]

## Historical air service

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The airport had scheduled passenger airline service operated by Yosemite Airlines, a small commuter air carrier which was based at Columbia Airport, from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) as well as the airline's timetables, Yosemite Airlines flew nonstop and direct service between the airport and Sacramento International Airport (SMF), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) with small Beechcraft, Cessna and Piper prop aircraft.[4][5][6] The airline's route maps from this same time period also show nonstop service from the airport to Lake Tahoe, Modesto and Stockton.[7]

In 1999, Scenic Air, another commuter airline, was operating daily nonstop service between the airport and Oakland International Airport (OAK) with Grumman Gulfstream I propjet aircraft.[8]

The airport was used as a filming location for several sequences in the 1992 film Radio Flyer. [9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for O22 PDF, effective June 13, 2024.
2. ^ "Columbia Air Attack Base".
3. ^ McCarthy, Guy (2022-04-21). "Fire Hawk helicopter ready for fire season at Columbia Air Attack Base". The Union Democrat. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
4. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 & April 1, 1981 editions, Official Airline Guide (OAG), San Francisco-Columbia schedules
5. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, Jan. 24, 1977 & Dec. 11, 1979 Yosemite Airlines timetables
6. ^ Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide (OAG)
7. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Yosemite Airlines route maps
8. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Oakland-Yosemite National Park schedules
9. ^ "Radio Flyer". Film America.

## External links

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*   * Resources for this airport:
* FAA airport information for O22
* AirNav airport information for O22
* ASN accident history for COA
* FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
* SkyVector aeronautical chart for O22

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