Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
MCAS El Toro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AMSL 383 ft / 117 m | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 33°40′34″N 117°43′52″W / 33.67611°N 117.73111°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro (ICAO: KNZJ, FAA LID: NZJ) was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California.
Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682-acre (19 km2) home of
Following its decommissioning the site was used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of the BBC's
History
In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations. Fox sought the most expeditious and low cost option and thus chose the already existing airports of
The base headquarters was established on 4 November 1942, and the first landing occurred in late November when Major Michael Carmichael, flying from
Already the largest Marine Corps air station on the West Coast, in 1944, funds were approved to double its size and operations. By the end of 1944, the base was home to 1,248 officers and 6,831 enlisted personnel.[8]
In 1950, El Toro was selected as a permanent Master Jet Base for the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. To support this new role, the aviation infrastructure at El Toro was expanded significantly. For most of the ensuing years, El Toro served as the primary base for Marine Corps west coast fighter squadrons. During the 1960s, many US Marines left for and returned from
During the presidency of Richard Nixon, MCAS El Toro was used for flights to and from his "Western White House" at San Clemente, California. On 9 August 1974, after resigning the Presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard and Pat Nixon flew from Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland to El Toro aboard VC-137C SAM 27000.
The land originally surrounding the base was mostly used for agricultural purposes when it first opened, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s, residential development began in the area; most of it was directly in the path of the base's runways, which proved to be a major problem as the constant loud noise produced by jets and helicopters passing overhead was very irritating to those living in the area. Few desired to move there because of this, causing the new neighborhoods to struggle.
In 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The station officially closed on 2 July 1999.[10]
Environmental remediation
Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the
Over the years, the VOCs had seeped into the groundwater, resulting in a plume of contaminated groundwater extending for three miles (5 km) to the west of the station. In July 2005, the Department of the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Program Management Office (PMO) issued a public notice stating that the cleanup of the contaminated soil was complete.[11]
The cleanup of the groundwater is being handled by the Irvine Desalter Project,
Conversion proposals
The closing of MCAS El Toro ignited a political firestorm over the eventual fate of the facility. With the existing infrastructure, some favored converting the base into an international airport. Those favoring the new airport tended to come from northern Orange County (desiring the convenience of a closer airport), and from areas in Newport Beach that are within the arrival and departure noise zones surrounding John Wayne Airport (hoping to close that airport in favor of the new one at El Toro).
Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as
In November 1994, voters passed Measure A, designating the property's land use to commercial aviation in the Orange County General Plan. A March 1996 ballot measure attempted to overturn Measure A, but failed. Since that time, the county released reports recommending conversion of El Toro into a commercial airport.[13][14]
The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated
While many county residents were not persuaded of the need for a larger airport, regional transportation planners insisted that the county must share in handling a greater portion of the millions of passengers traveling by air in Southern California.[16]
Sale
The Department of the Navy hired the
Accidents and incidents
- 19 November 1958: An F4D Skyray fighter jet overshoots the runway and is struck by a southbound San Diegan. Train No. 74 hits the F4D at 75 miles (121 km)-per-hour. All three locomotive units and cars #3430, #3165, #3144, #1399, #3100, #3094, #3082 derail after hitting the F4D. No fatalities and only a few injuries result.[18]
- On 25 June 1965, a U.S. Air Force Okinawa crashed just after takeoff at MCAS El Toro, killing all eighty-four on board.[19]
- On 23 Jan 1967, two Douglas A-4 Skyhawk jets were wing-tipping on approach. Pilot Frank Gambelli had lost his radio in a rainstorm, and he was wing-tipping with Pilot James Powell over Leisure World on approach. Visibility was practically zero. The two jets collided and both pilots ejected. Pilot Powell ejected safely, but was thrown into the side of a building when his parachute caught on the top of the building and was slammed into it and died. Pilot Gambelli landed next to St. Nicholas Catholic Church just at the end of service. GSgt H.W. Oviatt raced out of the church and took pilot Gambelli back to the base.[20] The wreckage of the jets crashed onto two buildings in Leisure World, killing four people on the ground.[21]
- On 30 July 1970, a Lockheed Martin KC-130F of VMGR-352 crashed and burned during a maximum effort landing, killing 4 of 5 crewmen on board.
- On 6 June 1971, a midair collision occurred between Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a Marine Corps F-4B Phantom being flown to MCAS El Toro, claiming 50 lives. The DC-9, with 44 passengers and 5 crew members aboard, impacted into a remote canyon approximately three miles north of Duarte, California along with one of the crew members of the fighter whose wreckage was found in another canyon approximately .75 miles southeast of the DC-9's crash site. One of the Marines in the fighter survived the accident.[22]
- On 4 July 1986, 21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal, Howard Foote Jr., an aviation mechanic at El Toro, took an A-4 Skyhawk on an unauthorized 90-minute joyride over southern California. Foote, an accomplished glider pilot, was despondent after learning that due to a medical condition, he would never be able to fly in the Marines. He landed the aircraft safely and was subsequently discharged under less than honorable conditions after serving 4+1⁄2 months in confinement.[23][24]
- On 12 Feb 1987, a MAG-46crashed, shortly after takeoff, into a steep, brush-covered ridge between Bell and Trabuco canyons. All three crewmembers on board, Major Dudley Urban, Major William Anderson, and Staff Sergeant Bradley Baird, died in the crash.
- On 24 April 1988, Marine Corps Colonel Jerry Cadick, then commanding officer of vertebraand collapsed a lung. Col. Cadick survived and retired from the Marine Corps. The crashed F/A-18 remained largely intact but was beyond repair.
- On 22 January 1991, Marine Corps Colonel James Sabow apparently committed suicide amid allegations of base corruption, specifically using military aircraft for personal use. His family and friends denied he committed suicide and pointed out that Col. Sabow had pledged to fight the charges against him just minutes before his death in phone conversations with other officers.[26] According to a 1996 lawsuit by his family, Sabow was murdered because he threatened to expose an authorized covert operation at El Toro involving some of his fellow officers, CIA-sponsored airlifts to Central and South America, running arms and drugs.[27]
- On 2 May 1993, during the 1993 MCAS El Toro airshow, an F-86 Sabre crashed on the runway after failing to pull out of a vertical loop. The F-86 pilot, James A. Gregory, died on impact. No one was hurt on the ground. The airshow continued. Normally the F-86 performed with a MiG-15, but the pilot of the MiG-15 was ill that day and the F-86 was doing a solo run.[28]
Notable events
- The MCAS El Toro Air Show took place annually from the 1950s until 1997. It featured the U.S. Navy B-2 stealth bomber. Other displays featured military vehicles. The show also had a large gathering of vendors of military items and memorabilia. The final Air Show in 1997 drew an estimated two million visitors.[citation needed]
- MCAS El Toro was regularly used for flight operations by SAM 27000.
- In 2006, an abandoned F/A-18 hangar in Irvine California was sealed to create, in effect, a giant pinhole camera, and a panoramic print of the El Toro Air Station was formed on a light-sensitive muslin cloth measuring 111 feet wide, 32 feet high. Under the direction of Laguna Beach photographer Jacques Garnier, the image, known as "The Great Picture," was originally produced as part of the Legacy Project - a photographic and historical record of the base before being transformed into what is now the Orange County Great Park. This is believed to be the largest photographic image ever taken by a camera.
- From 2005 to 2012, depending on the year, there were small air shows, fireworks, family New Year's Eve (the balloon dropped at 9 pm) and other events related to Growing the Park, at the Great Park, the new name for the site.[31][32]
See also
- List of United States Marine Corps air stations
- Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Naval Outlying Landing Fields also used by Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in World War 2
Notes
- PDF, effective 2007-07-05
- ^ a b M.L. Shettle, Jr. "MCAS El Toro". Historic California Posts: Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The California State Military Museum.
- ^ Hardigree, Matt (24 October 2010). "Top Gear USA: The Stig's New Track". Jalopnik.
- ^ a b c d Shettle 2001:73
- ^ O'Hara, MCAS El Toro, p.7.
- ^ Rottman 2002:414
- ^ De Chant 1947:60
- ^ Sherrod 1952:441
- ^ Freeman, Paul. "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: California - Southeastern Orange County". El Toro MCAS (NZJ), El Toro, CA.
- ^ a b Shettle 2001:75
- ^ "July 2005, Public Notice - Cleanup of Contaminated Soil Successful at IRP Site 24 VOC Source Area, No Further Action Proposed". Department of Navy Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2006.
- ^ "Water Quality". Irvine Desalter Project. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2006.
- ^ El Toro Chronology; Chronology of the war over El Toro Airport
- ^ Guide to the Collection on the Development of the El Toro Airport MS.R.141
- ^ Pasco, Jean O. (14 May 2001). "O.C., Cities Have Spent $80 Million on El Toro". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ Jean O. Pasco (24 February 2002). "Most Voters Oppose Airport at El Toro Base". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Lennar Corporation press release (30 August 2005) "Changing of the Guard" Ceremony Conducted between Lennar, LNR, City of Irvine, and the U.S. Department of the Navy
- ^ "Train Derailed As Jet Crashes". Madera Tribune. Vol. 67. Maderna Tribute. 20 November 1958. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing C-135A-BN Stratolifter 60-0373 Santa Ana-El Toro MCAS, CA (NZJ)". Aviation Safety Network.
- ^ "Santa Ana, CA Fighter Jets Collide In Mid Air, Jan 1967 | GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods". www.gendisasters.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ "1967 — 5 Die as Jets Collide Over Leisure World" (PDF). The Historian. Laguna Woods, California: Historical Society of Laguna Woods. November–December 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 N9345 Duarte, CA". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- LA Times. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Rogoway, Tyler (28 November 2015). "The Tale Of When A Marine Mechanic Stole An A-4 Skyhawk For A Joyride Over California". Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ Beene, Richard (25 April 1988). "300,000 Watch in Horror as Fighter Crashes Spectators Say F/A-18 Jet Appeared to Stall as Pilot Was Making a Loop". L.A. Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Inquiry Into El Toro-Based Colonel's Shooting Death Reopened by Marines". Los Angeles Times. 14 December 1991. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Schou, Nick (17 February 2000). "Who Killed Col. James Sabow? Was Marine Corps Col. James Sabow the victim of a military cover-up?". Orange County Weekly. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "500,000 Witness Deadly Crash : Aviation: The pilot of a Korean War-era jet, killed in a fireball on an el Toro runway in front of the air show crowd, is the third to die in eight years". Los Angeles Times. 3 May 1993.
- ^ "The Good Life at San Clemente". Time. 29 September 1975. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007.
- ^ Jones, Charisse (25 April 1994). "Songs and Salutes for Nixon's Final American Journey". The New York Times.
- ^ http://www.airshowreview.com/review.php?Airshow=2012-MCASElToro [bare URL]
- ^ "Great Park officials ponder wisdom of free events". 11 March 2013.
References
- Books
- De Chant, John A. (1947). Devilbirds: The Story of United States Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Harper and Brothers Publishers.
- O'Hara, Thomas (1999). Images of America - Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-0186-7.
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle - Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939 - 1945. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- Sherrod, Robert (1952). History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press.
- Shettle Jr., M. L. (2001). United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II. Bowersville, Georgia: Schaertel Publishing Co. ISBN 0-9643388-2-3.
- Kranser, Leonard (2002). Internet for Activists - A hands-on guide to Internet tactics field-tested in the fight against building El Toro Airport. Dana Point, CA: iUniverse. ISBN 0-595-23857-2.
External links
- Official
- Department of the Navy - Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office Archived 2016-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Other
- Info on the air station from Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields
- HD commercial footage filmed on location
Media related to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro at Wikimedia Commons
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for NZJ
- AirNav airport information for NZJ
- ASN accident history for NZJ
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for NZJ