Hilo International Airport

<tr style="border-bottom:2px solid; background:#efefef;"><td colspan="2">

<center>

<center>Dillingham Airfield

<center>Hana Airport

<center>Hickam Air Force Base

<center>Hilo International Airport

<center>Honolulu International Airport

<center>Kahului Airport

<center>Kalaeloa Airport

<center>Kalaupapa Airport

<center>Kapalua Airport

<center>Kona International Airport

<center>Lanai Airport

<center>Lihue Airport

<center>Molokai Airport

<center>Port Allen Airport

<center>Upolu Airport

<center>Waimea-Kohala Airport

<center>Wheeler Army Airfield

Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is an airport of the State of Hawai'i in Hawai'i County two miles east of the unincorporated town of Hilo in the United States. Hilo International Airport is designated with the International Air Transport Association code ITO. Most flights to Hilo International Airport are from Honolulu International Airport by the four major Hawai'i-based carriers: Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Pacific Wings.

Facilities

Hilo International Airport is served by two runways, Runway 8/26 and Runway 3/21. Runway 8/26 is 9,800 feet long and is used for major air carrier operations including the take-off and landing of major commercial jetliners. Runway 3/21 is 5,600 feet long and is used for general aviation operations including take-off and landing of smaller commuter airplanes.

The passenger terminal complex, including commuter facilities, is at the southern edge of Hilo International Airport and is served by an access roadway from Kekuanaoa Avenue, between the passenger terminal complex and the Runway 3/21 to the west. General aviation facilities are located along the eastern edge of Runway 3/21, also served by the terminal access roadway. A parking apron for transient military aircraft is provided at the western edge of the runway.

Disasters

Hilo International Airport was involved in one major air traffic incident that had caused air traffic controlers and its federal emergency officials to be on emergency special alert.

On April 28, 1988, an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 interisland flight from General Lyman Field (as Hilo International Airport was known then) to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and 6 crew members experienced rapid decompression when an 18 feet section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the airplane. One flight attendant was sucked out of the airplane and died. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including instances of massive head wounds. The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport in Mau'i with slight difficulty. Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication useless and had to use hand signals during landing.

Investigations of the disaster concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused almost all major United States air carriers to retire their oldest airplane models.

Resources