Sault Ste. Marie Airport

For the airport in Michigan, United States, see Sault Ste. Marie Municipal Airport.
Sault Ste. Marie Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorSault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation
LocationSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL632 ft / 193 m
Coordinates46°29′06″N 084°30′34″W / 46.48500°N 84.50944°W / 46.48500; -84.50944
Websitesaultairport.com
Map
CYAM is located in Ontario
CYAM
CYAM
Location in Ontario
CYAM is located in Canada
CYAM
CYAM
CYAM (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
04/22 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
12/30 6,000 1,829 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Number of passengers211,277
Aircraft movements57,376

Sault Ste. Marie Airport (IATA: YAM, ICAO: CYAM) is an international airport located 8.0 nautical miles (14.8 km; 9.2 mi) west-southwest of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada at the far eastern end of Lake Superior and the beginning of the St. Mary's River.

History

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The Canadian government opened the airport in 1961 and operated it until 1998, when it handed control over to the newly formed Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation (SSMADC) under the terms of the National Airports Policy. Of the 23 Ontario regional, local, or small airports handed over under the policy, the Sault Ste. Marie airport is the only one not affiliated with a municipality, since the city of Sault Ste. Marie declined to assume control.[1]

In 2002, the SSMADC opened Runway Park, an entertainment and recreation area, on unused airport property to help generate revenue to support the airport's operation.

Historical airline jet service

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Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Air Canada Express Toronto–Pearson
Bearskin Airlines Sudbury, Thunder Bay
Porter Airlines Toronto–Billy Bishop

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
FedEx Express Sudbury, Toronto–Pearson
SkyLink Express Hamilton (ON), Sudbury

Operations

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The Sault Ste. Marie airport has equipment to support instrument approaches for all-weather operation, and a Nav Canada control tower. Air Canada Express operates four daily roundtrip flights to Toronto Pearson International Airport using the Dash 8-400 and the Bombardier CRJ200. Porter Airlines operates two daily roundtrip flights to Toronto Billy Bishop Airport using the Dash 8-400. Sunwing Airlines seasonal winter charters operate every Thursday roundtrip flights to London International Airport to Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport (Varadero) using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.[2] Its runways are designed to handle medium-sized transport jets such as the Airbus A320, Airbus A319 and Boeing 737; operations to Sault Ste. Marie consist of Dash 8 aircraft, and, seasonally, of Boeing 737 jets.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on a call-out basis from the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge. CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft with no more than 30 passengers.[3]

A new record number of 216,172 passengers travelled through the airport in 2018.[4]

General aviation operations

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The airport hosts the flight-training campus for Sault College and the Sault Academy of Flight flying school, resulting in frequent training flights in the vicinity. The Sault Ste. Marie airport has frequent medevac, business aviation, and charter operations. It is a frequent stopping point for private pilots.

Ministry of Natural Resources Fire Management & Flight Training Centre

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Sault Ste. Marie Airport is home to the Ministry of Natural Resources Fire Management Centre and Flight Training Centre. The 622-square-metre facility is the first of its kind in Ontario. It is equipped with one of the most advanced flight training devices available, which simulates the sights, sounds and motions of the Canadair CL-415 water bomber aircraft used to fight forest fires in Ontario.[5]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at YAM airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger traffic[6]
Year Passengers
2010 118,932
2011 173,676
2012 184,705
2013 187,165
2014 198,092
2015 202,557
2016 212,493
2017 214,532
2018 216,172
2019 211,277
2020 46,327
2021 13,651

Incidents and accidents

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  • On May 26 2013, flight POE689, a Dash 8-400 (registration GLQO) operated by Porter Airlines, suffered a tailstrike while landing on runway 30. There were no injuries but the aircraft received significant damage. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada cited an unstable approach that continued to a landing as a contributing factor.[7]
  • On February 24 2015, flight JZA7795, a Dash 8-102 (registration C-GTAI) operated by Jazz Aviation touched down approximately 450 ft (140 m) before the threshold of runway 30 while attempting to land in conditions of poor visibility. The aircraft received significant damage, requiring replacement of both nose and main landing gear. It also struck an approach light, which was damaged beyond repair and subsequently replaced. The Transportation Safety Board noted that the approach was flown above the required stabilized approach speed, and furthermore that this was the case for 84% of flights on the incident aircraft's flight data recorder, indicating a systemic deviance from stabilized approach SOPs. Shortly after this incident, Jazz Aviation revised the relevant section of its operating manual.[8]
  • On May 2 2021, a Canadair CL-415 (registration C-GOGH), a water bomber operated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, unintentionally landed with gear up during a training exercise, receiving significant damage to the belly of the aircraft.[9]
  • On April 2 2024, C-GERR, a Zlin Z242L operated by Sault College, crashed on landing during a training flight. The two occupants were taken to hospital and the runway closed.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sault Ste. Marie Airport: About the Airport
  2. ^ "WG374 (SWG374) Sunwing Flight Tracking and History".
  3. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Sault airport sets passenger level record for June".
  5. ^ Ministry of Natural Resources Press Release
  6. ^ "Sault airport sets passenger level record for June".
  7. ^ Government of Canada, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (2015-02-12). "Air transportation safety investigation A13O0098 - Transportation Safety Board of Canada". www.tsb.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  8. ^ Government of Canada, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (2023-06-27). "Air transportation safety investigation A15O0015 - Transportation Safety Board of Canada". www.tsb.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  9. ^ Government of Canada, Transportation Safety Board of Canada (2021-11-04). "Air transportation safety investigation A21O0030 - Transportation Safety Board of Canada". www.tsb.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
  10. ^ Flood, Alex (2024-04-02). "BREAKING: Sault College training plane crashes, two taken to hospital". SooToday. Village Media. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
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