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Mcmurdo Station Ice Runway Airport |
The Ice Runway (ICAO: NZIR) is the principal runway for the U.S. Antarctic Program during the summer Antarctic field season due to its proximity to McMurdo Station. The other two runways in the area are the snow runway at Williams Field (NZWD) and the compacted snow runway at Phoenix Airfield (NZFX), which replaced Pegasus Field (NZPG) in 2017.
C-5 Galaxy unloading at sea ice runway, near McMurdo Station, 1999.
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Ice Runway |
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| | Summary |
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| Location | McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
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| Elevation AMSL |
1 ft / 0 m |
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| Coordinates |
77°51′14″S 166°28′07″E / 77.85389°S 166.46861°E / -77.85389; 166.46861 |
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| Map |
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NZIR
Location of airfield in Antarctica
By Alexrk2 | CC BY-SA 3.0.
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| Runways |
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| Direction |
Length |
Surface |
| ft |
m |
| 11/29 |
10,000 |
3,048 |
Ice |
| 16/34 |
10,000 |
3,048 |
Ice |
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| Source: DAFIF |
The sea ice runway is capable of handling wheeled aircraft, which have included to date: Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Lockheed P-3 Orion. In the summer season of 2009/2010 the RNZAF trialed a modified Boeing 757 operationally. The intention is to use the Boeing 757 for passenger transport, thereby freeing up capacity for C17 cargo space.
The annual sea-ice runway for wheeled aircraft is constructed at the start of each season and is used until early December when the sea ice begins to break up. Subsequently flight operations are moved back to Williams Field. Pilots landing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft on the sea ice runway report that the surface is stable, not unlike landing on concrete. The similarity with land bases ends when the jet aircraft rolls to a stop, however. The nearly 450,000 pound (= 201 tons) weight of the plane, including cargo and passengers, causes it to sink into the ice, albeit only a matter of inches. A laser light is trained on the aircraft to measure the settlement rate. The $200 million aircraft is moved to a new location on the six-foot-thick ice as a safety measure if the 10-inch red line is reached, according to the News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington.
C-141 Starlifter on Ice Runway, near McMurdo Station, 1996.
Accidents and incidents
On 31 October 1960, a United States Navy Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star from Oceanographic Development Squadron Eight crashed while attempting to land on the Ice Runway. The pilot and co-pilot were badly injured, but the other crew received minor injuries or were uninjured. The aircraft was not recovered, and was simply allowed to sink when the ice melted in the spring.
Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; additional terms may apply.
| General Info
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| Country |
Antarctica
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| ICAO ID |
NZIR
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| Time |
UTC+12(+13DT)
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| Latitude |
-77.853950
77° 51' 14.22" S
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| Longitude |
166.468761
166° 28' 07.54" E
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| Elevation |
1 feet
0 meters
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| Magnetic Variation |
144° E (05/06)
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| Communications
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ICE TWR
Opr 3 hrs prior to, til 30 min after sked OPS.(E)
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126.2
134.1
270.6
340.2
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| INTL DISTRESS |
2182
4123
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| MCMURDO CNTR |
118.2
360.2
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| Communications Remarks |
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| EMR |
(2182 As rqr) (4123 USAP).
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| CNTR |
(9032 11256 5726 SSB) Grd freq cont mnt dur opr season, nml 1 Oct to 25 Feb annually.
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| Runways
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| ID |
Dimensions |
Surface |
PCN |
ILS
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| 11/29 |
10000 x 220 feet
3048 x 67 meters |
ICE. |
- |
NO
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| 16/34 |
10000 x 220 feet
3048 x 67 meters |
ICE. |
- |
NO
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| Navaids
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| Type |
ID |
Name |
Channel |
Freq |
Distance From Field |
Bearing From Navaid
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| TACAN |
ZIR |
ICE RUNWAY |
075X |
- |
At Field |
-
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| Supplies/Equipment
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| Oil |
O-156, MIL L 23699 (Synthetic Base)Turboprop/Turboshaft Engine
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| Other Fluids |
HPOX, High pressure oxygen servicing
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| Remarks |
CAUTION |
Rwy brg strength surveyed for United States Antarctic Program (USAP) acft only -ALL OTHERS USE AT OWN RISK. For addn info call C-1-843-218-5316/5757. |
| FLUID |
1(LHNIT) 2(LPOX) |
| FUEL |
JP-8 |
| JASU |
2(GTC-85) 4(AM32-A) 6(ESSEX B809) |
| MISC |
No hgr space avbl. Ice rwy posn determined annually by late Aug, avbl Oct - Dec,Ice rwy mrk with 4' x 4' black panels at 400' intervals for the entire length of the rwy, Feet remaining boards for the entire length of the runway. Heliportlctd S77 51.1' E166 42.8', elev 60', for USAP participants only. Lcl std time equivalent to NZ lcl std time. 25(NGH heaters). No ovrn, ice rwy grooved entire len, rwy hdgs chg annually. Ref to tmpry chg and other NOTAM info related to annual sea ice rwy, publ on MCMURDO.USAP.GOV |
| OIL |
O-156 |
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We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
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