Coordinates: 18°27′25″N 066°05′53″W / 18.45694°N 66.09806°W / 18.45694; -66.09806

Fernando Ribas Dominicci Airport's runway can be seen at the top right of this photo of San Juan's ship dock

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (IATA: SIG, ICAO: TJIG, FAA LID: SIG), also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is a small airport in Miramar, which is a district in the municipality of San Juan,Puerto Rico. It is adjacent to the new Puerto Rico Convention Center, the San Juan Bay, and the Pan American Cruise Ship Terminal, and overlooks Cataño.

While Isla Grande's main operation is with general aviation, it is still a commercial airport, dealing with some domestic and international commercial flights.

History

Isla Grande was Puerto Rico's main international airport until 1954, when Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport was built. Until that year, international airlines such as Lufthansa, Iberia Airlines, Pan Am and other majors flew to Isla Grande. However, since Isla Grande airport was not built to accept jets, all international airlines then moved their operations in Puerto Rico to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, then named Isla Verde International Airport.

Isla Grande was renamed in honor of United States Air Force Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, an F-111 pilot who was killed in action during Operation El Dorado Canyon; the 1986 airstrike of Libya.

A controversy regarding Isla Grande and Dorado Airport surfaced in 2003. Dorado Airport wanted to expand and attract the private aviation sector that has been Isla Grande's main business for so long. Dorado airport eventually became a victim of urban development in Dorado and no longer exists.

On October 26, 2003, the airport made history by becoming the first Puerto Rican site of a SCCA Grand Prix race.

In 2006, after a detailed impact study and many rumors about the future of the airport, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that Isla Grande airport would remain open for the foreseeable future, mostly because of its key function as the primary reliever for the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

Incidents

On April 11, 1952 Pan Am Flight 526A crashed into the sea just after take off due to engine stoppege killing 52 out of 69 passengers and crew.

On December 21, 1994, a United Airlines Boeing 757 flight enroute to San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport mistakenly landed at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport.

In December 2002, a helicopter that had been rented from a company that operates out of this airport was hijacked and taken to a jail in Ponce, where six inmates boarded the helicopter, forcing the pilot to drop them off at a farm. The pilot was able to fly back after he lied to the prisoners about their whereabouts, making them jump off the helicopter and zig-zagging the helicopter to prevent them from shooting at him. Soon after, all escapees were found by the police.

Facilities

Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport covers an area of 102 acres (41 ha) which contains one runway:

• Runway 9/27: 5,542 x 100 ft (1,689 x 30 m), Surface: Asphalt

Airlines

Accidents and incidents

• June 7, 1992: An Executive Air (for American Eagle) CASA 212 flying from Dominicci Airport crashed short of the runway in Mayagüez, killing both crew members and all three passengers.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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