Taos Regional Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 7,095 feet above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 4/22 with an asphalt surface measuring 5,803 by 75 feet. On August 25, 2017, the airport's second runway was opened. The second runway designated 13/31 also features an asphalt surface and measures 8,600 by 100 feet. For the 12-month period ending April 7, 2009, the airport had 13,250 aircraft operations, an average of 36 per day: 95% general aviation, 3% air taxi, and 2% military. At that time there were 43 aircraft based at this airport: 88% single-engine, 5% multi-engine and 7% ultralight.
Airlines and destinations
Past airline service
Taos has seen scheduled airline service by several commuter air carriers. Mountain Air provided flights to Denver, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque in 1974, Zia Airlines from 1975 through 1978 and the Santa Fe Airline Company 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 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 operated twice-weekly flights to Dallas/Ft. Worth using 32-seat Fairchild Dornier 328JETs.
Accidents and incidents
1 March 1991: The pilot of a Cessna T210M, registration number N761MU, was killed when the aircraft crashed about 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.
29 March 1992: A Rockwell 690A, registration number N111FL, crashed into rising terrain after taking off at night in low visibility; the pilot and 4 passengers were seriously injured and 1 passenger was killed. The accident was attributed to the pilot's failure to maintain the climb; poor visibility was a contributing factor.
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.
8 November 2002: An IAI 1124A Westwind, registration number N61RS, crashed during an Instrument Landing System 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."
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.
18 June 2015: A Northwing Design Apache Sportultralight trike, registration number N51311, suddenly " 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.
