avia.wikisort.org - Aerodrome

Mercer Airfield (ICAO: NZME) is an uncontrolled aerodrome 3.23 NM (6 km) northeast of Mercer Village in the Waikato region of New Zealand.[4]

Mercer Airfield
IATA: none ICAO: NZME[1]
Summary
Airport type	Private
Owner	Niel Young
Operator	Palms On George Ltd[2]
Location	Mercer, New Zealand
Elevation AMSL	30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	37°15′27″S 175°6′54″E[3]
Website	Mercer Airport Website
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 09R/27L 2,460 750 Grass[2]

History

Mercer Airfield was developed by Jim and Libby Lyver.[5] Little information is available however, Mercer Backpackers relocated their operations to the airport as far back as 2002.[6]

In December 2010, Mercer Airport was put up for sale by its then-owner the Auckland Recreational Airparks Trust (ARA Trust); with a tender closing on 16 December 2010.[5] It was published by the Sports Aviation Association (Auckland Chapter) Inc; that the airfield had been acquired by Niel Young.[7]

In May 2014, the Auckland Aero Club held there annual Club Competition at Mercer Airfield.[8]

In 2016, the 56th New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation Annual Rally and Conference was held at Mercer Airfield between June 1 and June 6. In addition to the NZAWA, members from the Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA) were also in attendance.[9] In November 2016, Mercer Airfield hosted the Flying NZ Northern Region Competitions.[10]

Operational information

Under the ownership of the ARA Trust, the airfield was used primarily for recreational flying.[5]

Nowadays, Mercer Airport operates primarily for commercial reasons such as skydiving, training and public flying. There are also Helicopter operations on, and north of the airfield.[11]

Mercer Airfield is used as a secondary training ground for Helicopter Flight Training Ltd.[12]

Accidents and incidents

Accidents and incidents that occurred at or near Mercer Airport include:

• 25 January 2000 - A Piper PA-23-250 over-ran the runway due to wet weather. No Injuries, however the aircraft sustained substantial damage.[13]
• 9 August 2000 - A Cessna U206 operating on a parachuting flight lost sight of the runway upon landing and 'landed short of the strip'. Pilot sustained no injuries, however plane suffered substantial damage.[14]
• 19 October 2006 - A Cessna A185E crashed on touchdown at the Airfield. The pilot suffered no injuries, however the plane flipped onto its top.[15]
• 17 August 2009 - There was a near collision near Mercer Airport.[16]
• 18 February 2012 - The engine of a Cessna 182 operating on a parachuting flight lost power on final approach and landed in a paddock before the runway. Pilot sustained no injuries, however plane suffered substantial damage.[17]
• 1 October 2015 - A minor crash occurred after a microlight plane crashed at the Airfield. The pilot suffered minor injuries, however, he did survive.[18]

See also

• List of airports in New Zealand
• List of airlines of New Zealand
• Transport in New Zealand

References

External links

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