Taos Regional Airport (IATA: TSM, ICAO: KSKX, FAA LID: SKX) is a public use airport eight nautical miles (15 km) northwest of the central business district of Taos, in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is owned by the Town of Taos.[1] FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 classifies it as a general aviation airport.[2]

Taos Regional Airport
IATA: TSM ICAO: KSKX FAA LID: SKX
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Town of Taos
Serves	Taos, New Mexico
Elevation AMSL	7,095 ft / 2,163 m
Coordinates	36°27′29″N 105°40′21″W
Map
SKX Location of airport in New Mexico / United States Show map of New Mexico SKX SKX (the United States) Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 4/22 5,803 1,769 Asphalt 13/31 8,600 2,621 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations 13,250 Based aircraft 43
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Although many U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned SKX by the FAA and TSM by the IATA[3] (which assigned SKX to Saransk Airport in Saransk, Russia).[4]

Facilities

Taos Regional Airport covers 832 acres (337 ha) at an elevation of 7,095 feet (2,163 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 4/22 with an asphalt surface 5,803 by 75 feet (1,769 x 23 m).[1] On August 25, 2017, the second runway was opened.[5] Designated 13/31, it also has asphalt surface, and is 8,600 by 100 feet (2,621 x 30 m).[6]

For the 12-month period ending April 7, 2009, the airport had 13,250 aircraft operations, an average of 36 per day. These operations included 95% general aviation, 3% air taxi, and 2% military. At that time, there were 43 aircraft based at the airport: 88% single-engine, 5% multi-engine and 7% ultralight.[1]

Airlines and destinations

This section does not cite any sources. (January 2022)

Historical airline service

Taos has seen scheduled airline service by several commuter air carriers. The Santa Fe Airline Company provided the first known service in 1973 and 1974 with flights to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. In 1974 and 1975, Mountain Air provided flights to Denver, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Zia Airlines from 1975 through 1978 operated flights to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Mesa Airlines came to Taos from 1987 through 1991 with flights to Albuquerque and seasonal service to Denver using Beechcraft 99, Beechcraft 1300, and Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft. Rio Grande Air, based in Taos, operated flights to Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque from 1999 through 2004 also using Cessna Caravans. Other carriers which briefly operated flights to Albuquerque were: JetAire in 1985, Sierra West in 1987, and Westward in 2005. During the winter ski season of 2000/2001, Ozark Airlines (later changing to Great Plains Airlines) operated twice-weekly flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth using 32-seat Fairchild Dornier 328JETs.[7]^{[clarification needed]}

There was no commercial service from 2005 until the current provider, Taos Air, began winter ski-season service in late 2018 with flights to Austin and Dallas Love Field airport also using Fairchild Dornier 328Jets. During the 2019–2020 ski season, Taos Air expanded with flights to Los Angeles via the Hawthorne Municipal Airport and to San Diego via the McClellan–Palomar Airport. There was no service during the 2020–2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, but service resumed later in 2021 with flights during the summer season. Winter and summer seasonal service has since resumed and the carrier is working to provide year-round service.[8] In June 2022, service to Austin was moved to Austin Executive Airport.[9]

Accidents and incidents

• 1 March 1991: The pilot of a Cessna T210M, registration number N761MU, was killed when the aircraft crashed about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the airport after departing in freezing rain and snow. The accident was attributed to the pilot's decision to take off in icing conditions exceeding the aircraft's ability to continue flight. A contributing factor was inadequate pre-flight deicing.[10]
• 29 March 1992: A Rockwell 690A, registration number N111FL, crashed into rising terrain after taking off at night in low visibility. The pilot and four passengers were seriously injured and one passenger was killed. The accident was attributed to the pilot's failure to maintain the climb, compounded by poor visibility.[11]
• 24 February 2000: A Cessna 182E, registration number N2988Y, crashed during a visual flight rules approach at night. The pilot and sole occupant, who had reported difficulty seeing the runway due to snowfall, was killed. The accident was attributed to the pilot's decision to disregard weather information and fly under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions (VFR into IMC).[12]
• 8 November 2002: An IAI 1124A Westwind, registration number N61RS, crashed during an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach, killing both pilots. The accident was attributed to "The pilot's inadvertent flight into mountain wave weather conditions while IMC, resulting in a loss of aircraft control."[13]
• 10 July 2013: A Flight Design CTSW, registration number N424CT, flew into sudden extreme turbulence while maneuvering in the airfield traffic pattern; the aircraft dropped, rolled, and struck the ground in a nose-low attitude, killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other. Investigators determined that the aircraft had flown into a dust devil, resulting in a loss of control.[14]
• 18 June 2015: A Northwing Design Apache Sport ultralight trike, registration number N51311, suddenly "[fell] out of the sky" during a right turn soon after takeoff, striking the ground and killing the pilot. Investigators were unable to determine a reason for the pilot's apparent loss of aircraft control.[15]

References

External links

• Taos Regional Airport, official Town of Taos page
• Aerial photo as of 5 October 1997 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Terminal Procedures for SKX, effective October 6, 2022
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for SKX
  • AirNav airport information for KSKX
  • ASN accident history for TSM
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures