French Frigate Shoals Airport | |||||||||||
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 USFWS aerial image | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
| Owner | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | ||||||||||
| Serves | Tern Island (Hawaii) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 6 ft / 2 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 23°52′11″N 166°17′05″W / 23.86972°N 166.28472°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  French Frigate Shoals Airport | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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French Frigate Shoals Airport (ICAO: PHHF, FAA LID: HFS) is a private use airport on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, a coral atoll, in Hawaii, United States. It is owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,[1] as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned HFS by the FAA[1] but has no designation from the IATA (which assigned HFS to Hagfors Airport in Hagfors, Sweden[2]).
The airfield was completed in 1943 by the Seabees from the Naval Base Hawaii, and used from that time into the 21st century supporting a wide variety of activities at the French Frigate shoals. During WW2 the airstrip provided an emergency landing for various aircraft, including a twin-engine transport aircraft that was close to ditching in the ocean with over 30 passengers but was able to land safely at the airport.
Previously, only seaplanes landed at the French Frigate shoals lagoons or it had to be visited by boat.
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for HFS PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 29 July 2010.
- ^ "HFS / ESOH - Hagfors Airport, Hagfors, Sweden". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-08-30.