Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport

Auburn-Lewiston Airport (IATA: LEW, ICAO: KLEW, FAA LID: LEW) is a public airport in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. It opened in 1935.[1] It is five miles southwest of the cities of Auburn and Lewiston,[2] which jointly own and operate the airport.[1]

"Lewiston Municipal Airport" redirects here. Not to be confused with Lewistown Municipal Airport or Lewiston Airport.
Auburn-Lewiston Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorCities of Auburn and Lewinston
ServesAuburn and Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Elevation AMSL288 ft / 88 m
Coordinates44°02′55″N 070°17′01″W
Websitewww.FlyToMaine.com
Map
LEW is located in Maine
LEW
LEW
Location of airport in Maine
LEW is located in the United States
LEW
LEW
LEW (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 5,001 1,524 Asphalt
17/35 2,750 838 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft operations (year ending 8/19/2020)50,000
Based aircraft53
Sources: airport website,[1] FAA[2]

The airport is not served by any commercial airline, but is served by several charter airlines. The airport was the site of the Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 accident, which killed Samantha Smith, who gained global notoriety following her correspondence with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov during the Cold War.

Lewiston NAAF

During World War II, the airfield was under the control of the United States Navy for use as a base for anti-submarine patrols by Squadron VS-31. It was commissioned on 15 April 1943 as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Lewiston, and used along with Naval Air Station Brunswick to train British and American torpedo bomber pilots until 1945. Naval operations ceased on 1 December 1945,[3] and the site was declared a surplus in 1946 and handed returned to the cities of Auburn and Lewiston in 1947 and 1948.[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Auburn-Lewiston Airport covers 565 acres (229 ha) at an elevation of 288 feet (88 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt runways: 4/22 is 5,001 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) and 17/35 is 2,750 by 75 feet (838 x 23 m).[2]

In the year ending August 19, 2020, the airport had 50,000 aircraft operations, average 137 per day: 72% general aviation, 28% air taxi, and <1% military. 53 aircraft were then based at this airport: 39 single-engine, 9 multi-engine, 1 jet, and 4 helicopter.[2]

Accidents
Main article: Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808
Further information: Samantha Smith

On August 25, 1985, Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808, carrying six passengers and two crew, attempted to land at the airport when it crashed 500 feet to the right of the airport's runway centerline, killing all passengers and crew. A subsequent investigation determined that the crash was due to a combination of factors, including weather conditions, incorrect altimeter settings, and pilot error. The accident attracted global attention since one of its passengers was Samantha Smith, a 13-year-old peace activist from Houlton, Maine who gained global notoriety following her correspondence with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov during the Cold War.

See also

References
  1. "Auburn-Lewiston Airport". flytome.com. 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  2. FAA Airport Form 5010 for LEW PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 10 August 2023.
  3. "Patrol Squadron Shore Establishments" (PDF). United States Navy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-04-27. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  4. US Army Corps of Engineers (December 1995). "Ordnance and Explosives Archive Search Report for Lewiston Naval Auxiliary Air Facility" (PDF). naelibrary.nae.usace.army.mil. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
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