| Eastern Sierra Regional Airport Bishop Army Airfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| USGS aerial photo as of 2006 | |||
| IATA: BIH – ICAO: KBIH – FAA LID: BIH | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works | ||
| Operator | Inyo County | ||
| Serves | Bishop, California | ||
| Location | Inyo County, east of Bishop | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 4,124 ft / 1,257 m | ||
| Coordinates | 37°22′23″N 118°21′49″W / 37.37306°N 118.36361°WCoordinates: 37°22′23″N 118°21′49″W / 37.37306°N 118.36361°W | ||
| Map | |||
  KBIH | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 7/25 | 5,566 | 1,697 | Asphalt |
| 12/30 | 7,498 | 2,285 | Asphalt |
| 16/34 | 5,600 | 1,707 | Asphalt |
| Helipads | |||
| Number | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| H1 | 40 | 12 | Asphalt |
| H2 | 100 | 30 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 26,000 | ||
| Based aircraft | 64 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (IATA: BIH, ICAO: KBIH, FAA Location identifier: BIH) is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) east of the central business district of Bishop, in Inyo County, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works and operated by Inyo County.[1]
Facilities and aircraft[]
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport covers an area of 830 acres (340 ha) at an elevation of 4,124 ft (1,257 m) above mean sea level. It has three asphalt paved runways: 7/25 is 5,566 by 100 ft (1,697 by 30 m); 12/30 is 7,498 by 100 ft (2,285 by 30 m); 16/34 is 5,600 by 100 ft (1,707 by 30 m). It also has two helipads: H1 is 40 by 40 ft (12 by 12 m) and H2 is 100 by 100 ft (30 by 30 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending October 23, 2006, the airport had 26,000 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 88% general aviation and 12% military. At that time there were 64 aircraft based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 13% multi-engine, 2% jet and 5% glider.[1]
Military use[]
The airfield was opened in April 1940. The site consisted of 897.22 acres (363.09 ha) subleased from Inyo County, California. During World War II the airfield was known as Bishop Army Airfield and was used as a sub-base to Muroc Army Airfield in 1942 and 1943 by Fourth Air Force. The site was used for aircraft flight and ordnance delivery training. In 1943 it was re-assigned to Tonopah Army Airfield, Nevada. Aircraft maintenance was also accomplished at the site as well as ordnance storage.
After the end of World War II, Bishop AAF was turned over to Air Technical Service Command as a storage airfield. On 2 May 1949, Army cancelled its initial lease of 897.22 acres (363.09 ha) with Inyo County for Bishop Airport under the War Assets Administration's Peacetime Reduction Mission, and the base was declared excess to requirements and returned to civil control.
The USAF subleased from Inyo County runway use rights and a heliport area of 4.76 acres (1.93 ha) known as the Bishop Test Site from 15 November 1965 to 19 June 1971 and from 25 November 1980 to 30 September 1985. The Air Force used the heliport area and runway for performance testing of helicopters and other aircraft. The DoD facilities included runway expansion, fuel facilities, utilities, buildings, aircraft maintenance, hospital and barracks. Today, the airport is owned by the City of Los Angeles, California and leased to Inyo County.
Accidents and incidents[]
- On March 13, 1974 a David L. Wolper Productions crew filming a National Geographic history of Australopithecus at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was killed when the Convair 440 Sierra Pacific Airlines plane crashed shortly after take off from the airport killing all 35 on board including 31 Wolper crew members (but not Wolper himself). The filmed segment was recovered in the wreckage and was broadcast in the television show Primal Man. The NTSB never determined the cause of the accident and the resort sold the airline.[2]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 , effective 2008-09-25.
- ↑ "The Primal Man Crash". Check-Six. Thursday, April 26, 2012. http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/PrimalMan-N4819C.htm. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
External links[]
- FAA Terminal Procedures for BIH, effective November 27, 2025
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for BIH
- AirNav airport information for KBIH
- ASN accident history for BIH
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures
The original article can be found at Eastern Sierra Regional Airport and the edit history here.