Salinas Municipal Airport, Salinas, CA

Location:  Salinas is located 10 miles  east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at about 52 feet  above sea level. Salinas is about eight miles from the Pacific Ocean and has a mild climate.  Salinas is known for agricultural and also as the hometown of author John Steinbeck

Airport History:  The airfield was opened in 1942 as Salinas Army Air Base and was a subpost to Fort Ord during the war.  It was an incoming personnel processing center and pilot training facility.

In 1944 the 348th Night Fighter Squadron was moved from Florida to California at Salinas and Flying P-70s and A-20 Havoc training fighters were used in training replacement pilots through the end of the war.  The airfield was eventually returned to civilian control.

Salinas Airport Today:

Salinas Municipal Airport is a general aviation facility of approximately 760 acres, with three runways serving single and twin engine aircraft and helicopters, as well as an increasing number of turbo propeller and turbine-powered business jets. Salinas has an air traffic control tower in operation twelve hours a day, seven days a week. The terminal includes a restaurant facility, and staff and professional offices. About 96% of the 200+ aircraft based at the Salinas Municipal Airport are from the Salinas/Monterey/Watsonville area. The rest are from the San Francisco Bay Area and other California locations. Forty additional T-Hangars have recently been built at the airport.

Aerial Photo:


Airport Services & Amenities: AdvanceTech Aircraft Maintenance; Air Trails/Verticare; Airmotive Specialists, Inc.; Airplane Company Inc.; Bill Potts Painting; Cal-Pacific Airmotive; California International Airshow; Central Coast Aviation Services; Gold Coast Aviation; Light Sport Airplanes West; Serv Aero Engineering; Soilserv; T and P Aero Refinishers; Restaurant on the field; The Landing Zone; Lodging within 1 mile;
Special Events:  Salinas is the home of the California International Airshow.

Airport Area Accident History:

Accident occurred Sunday, February 22, 2009 in Salinas, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/29/2009
Aircraft: CHAMPION 7ECA, registration: N2835G
Injuries: 2 Serious.
While the pilot was intentionally maneuvering at a low altitude above a river, he struck a set of power lines, which spanned across the river below the tree line. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the water, substantially damaging the right wing and fuselage. Local law enforcement reported three power lines, which spanned the river, were down and a loss of electrical power was reported in the area around the time of the accident. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine prior to the accident.
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Incident occurred Monday, July 21, 2008 in Salinas, CA
Aircraft: MD Helicopters Inc MD 900, registration: N902CS
Injuries: 3 Uninjured. This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. On July 21, 2008, at 1209 Pacific daylight time, an MD Helicopters, Inc., MD 900, N902CS, experienced a loss of anti-torque control and made a hard landing at the Salinas Municipal Airport (SNS), Salinas, California. California Shock Trauma Air Rescue, d.b.a. CALSTAR, operated the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a positioning flight. The helicopter sustained minor damage to the skids. The pilot and 2 flight nurses were not injured; there was no patient on board. The flight departed from the San Jose Regional Medical Center (RMC) helipad with a planned destination of SNS. A company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed. According to the pilot, while on a 1-mile final, he noted that he was using more left pedal than he thought was necessary for the flight profile. He requested with SNS tower to perform a right 360-degree turn and then continue on to the CALSTAR ramp. Once the turn was completed, he continued on with his intended landing spot, as everything appeared normal. The pilot brought the helicopter to an 8- to 10-foot hover, the nose broke to the right, and the helicopter started an uncommanded right spin. He reported that full left pedal had no affect on stopping the spin. He then performed a hovering autorotation per the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM) while simultaneously rotating both twist grips to idle power. The helicopter landed hard and bounced off the ground about 10 inches, coming to rest about 45 degrees to the right of the first touchdown point. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector responded to SNS to examine the helicopter. He along with CALSTAR maintenance personnel found that the thruster cable control rod end had failed; Directional Control Rod Assembly - Thruster Extension part number 900C2010582-103. The part and associated hardware were shipped to the Safety Board's Metallurgical Laboratory, Washington, D.C., for further examination. ===
Accident occurred Saturday, March 25, 2006 in Salinas, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 4/25/2007
Aircraft: Mooney M-10, registration: N9533V
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
The airplane was being operated by the solo private pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. Witnesses said the pilot arrived at the airport on Friday evening to pickup the accident airplane, which he had just purchased. They said the pilot refused a checkout in the new airplane, and planned to depart after dark, in deteriorating weather conditions, for his home, stating he needed to be home before Monday. Local pilots convinced him to delay his departure until the following morning. The pilot declined a second offer of a checkout in the airplane the following morning. A pilot-rated witness said he spoke with the pilot the morning he departed, while the pilot preflighted and fueled the accident airplane. The witness said he checked local weather via a computer for the pilot. He said weather to the east was not conducive to VFR flight, and he tried to convince the pilot to fly south to avoid the weather and rising terrain to the east. According to the witness, the last thing the pilot asked before leaving was the identifier for an airport to the southeast, which he input into a handheld global positioning system (GPS) unit. The witness said a direct route to that airport would not have taken the pilot far enough south to avoid the weather. The witness said when the airplane departed about 0900, the ceiling was about 1,600 feet above ground level, and the visibility was 5 miles in rain. The airplane wreckage was located east-southeast of the departure airport along an approximate direct route to the airport the pilot entered into the GPS. An FAA aviation safety inspector who visited the accident site, said the airplane impacted in hilly terrain, in a nose low, near vertical attitude. He said the airplane did not pass through brush and low trees located directly behind the wreckage. Photographs taken at the accident site, showed uniform, sharp aft and upward crushing of the entire leading edge of both wings. The empennage was crushed and folded downward, and twisted to the right, consistent with the airplane spinning at impact. The foreman of the ranch where the airplane crashed, reported that on the morning of the accident there was low cloud cover, and three-quarters of a mile visibility in rain. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The pilot's continued flight into known adverse weather, and his failure to maintain sufficient airspeed, which resulted in a loss of control and an inadvertent stall/spin during cruise flight. Factors associated with the accident are a low ceiling with reduced visibility, and an inadvertent stall/spin. ===
Incident occurred Wednesday, July 30, 2003 in SALINAS, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/28/2004
Aircraft: Bell 222, registration: N29KH
Injuries: 4 Uninjured.
The commercial helicopter pilot reported that while in cruise flight, the helicopter developed a severe vibration. The vibration was so extreme that he was not able to read any of his flight instruments. He declared an emergency, started a slow descent, and made a run-on landing to a dirt field. A post-incident inspection revealed that the right forward transmission lift link had failed at the lower rod end assembly. The failure point was in the threaded area of the rod end. The total time on the failed part (p/n 222-331-626-105) was 3,890.8 hours total time since new. The lift link assembly was the original part installed on the incident helicopter. The lift link assembly was shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board, Materials Laboratory and forwarded to Bell Helicopters for further analysis. It was determined that the link fracture was a result of fatigue in a thread root of the lower elastometric rod end bearing housing. No material discrepancies or deficiencies were found in the rod end bearing housing. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident as follows: The fatigue failure (fracture) of the right forward transmission lift link during cruise flight, which resulted in a severe vibration and an emergency landing. ===
Accident occurred Sunday, July 06, 2003 in Salinas, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/28/2004
Aircraft: Bell 47 G5, registration: N7938J
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The commercial pilot reported he had made several passes with the helicopter during an aerial application flight. On the downwind leg of the accident approach, the engine shuttered violently, then quit. The pilot performed a run-on landing. During the landing sequence the main rotor blade made contact with the tail boom of the helicopter, severing the tail rotor gearbox. The engine of the helicopter was externally inspected, and the aft section of the engine case was ruptured. The engine was disassembled, and the number 3 piston connecting rod was discovered to be broken. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The failure of a piston connecting rod during an aerial application, which resulted in a total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. ===
Accident occurred Thursday, January 16, 2003 in SALINAS, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 12/28/2004
Aircraft: Cessna 152, registration: N25562
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
On the landing rollout the airplane encountered a crosswind, veered off the runway, and nosed over. The student stated that he made a normal approach to runway 13, correcting for a small crosswind from the left. On final the airplane was at 65 knots with 30 degrees of flaps extended. The right wheel touched down first followed by the nose wheel. The left wheel had almost made contact with the ground when a crosswind from the left lifted up the left wing, which caused the airplane to veer to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the airplane from turning left by applying right rudder, right brake, and simultaneously turning the ailerons to the left. The airplane continued in the turn, and the pilot noted that as he added aileron the airplane would continue to increase the turn to the left. At that point he decided to abort the landing. He added full power, which caused the turn to increase. The airplane had departed the runway and was headed for a runway sign in a dirt area. He decided to add left rudder to complete the turn to the left to avoid the runway sign. Once the nose wheel contacted the wet dirt, it dug into the ground and broke off. The airplane came to rest inverted. The student pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The student pilot's inadequate compensation and his failure to maintain directional control. Contributing factors were wet and dirt terrain. ===
Accident occurred Friday, June 29, 2001 in Salinas, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 3/30/2004
Aircraft: Bell 206B, registration: N2269A
Injuries: 3 Uninjured.
The helicopter rolled over onto its right side after the student pilot improperly positioned the cyclic control during liffoff to a hover. According to the instructor, the student was lifting the helicopter into a hover when he applied slight right cyclic. The instructor reported he was guarding the controls at the time, and announced verbally he had the controls. As he attempted to lower the collective and center the cyclic, he noticed the student still had his hands on the controls and was continuing with a right cyclic input and increase in collective. The helicopter subsequently rolled onto its right side. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: the student's improper use of the cyclic controls and his failure to relinquish aircraft control, and the flight instructor's inadequate supervision. ===
Accident occurred Wednesday, August 30, 2000 in SALINAS, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 7/17/2001
Aircraft: Bell 206B-3, registration: N207EH
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The pilot of the agricultural application helicopter completed chemical application at one site and then proceeded to a second application site. While setting up to begin application at the second site, the helicopter struck 12KV electrical power transmission wires without the pilot ever seeing them. He landed the helicopter and observed that the rotor pitch change links were damaged. The pilot attributed the accident to improper reconnaissance of the area prior to starting the application. The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows: The pilot's inadequate visual surveillance of the worksite to see and avoid power transmission wires.
Airport Approach / Landing: