Grumman Bethpage Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: ~~BPA~~,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: ~~KBPA~~) – also known as Grumman Airport, Bethpage Airport, and Grumman Field – was an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located in Bethpage within the

Town of Oyster Bay The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three towns that make up Nassau County, New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is the only town in Nassau County to extend from the North Shore to the South Shore o ...

, in Nassau County, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The airport was also the former headquarters of

Grumman Aerospace The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 19 ...

and was home to

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage (NWIRP) – also known as Northrop Grumman Site Facility – was a United States government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility established in 1941, with the mission to design, fabricate, and ...

History

Grumman opened the Grumman Bethpage Airport in 1936, after outgrowing its facilities at the nearby Republic Airport in East Farmingdale; the company also erected its corporate headquarters and aircraft manufacturing factories on the site. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the uptick in military aircraft manufacturing, testing, other operations saw a major uptick, leading to Grumman upgrading the facilities. The upgrades included improving the airport's runways; the engineering services for the runway improvements were carried out by an engineer from

South Farmingdale South Farmingdale is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Farmingdale area, which is anchored ...

, Henry Holzmacher. Over the course of its existence, Grumman used the airport and its facilities to manufacture and test a significant number of its airplanes and spacecraft, including many of its fighter jets as well as the

Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed sp ...

s used for the Apollo moon landings. In 1975, Grumman proposed opening up BPA to general aviation traffic. The proposal would have generated additional revenue for Grumman, and it would have enabled competition with Republic Airport in general aviation traffic. Being surrounded by then by dense housing developments on all sides, the proposal was met with stiff opposition from both local residents and the Town of Oyster Bay. The plan was ultimately called off. By the late 1980s, near the end of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, operations at the airport had decreased. A major blow to the airport came in 1989, when the George H.W. Bush Administration cancelled the federal contract for the manufacturing of F-14D fighter jets, which some economists claim quickened the demise of the airport.

Closure and subsequent history

In 1990, the airport was closed. Following its closure, it was redeveloped, with large portions becoming the Bethpage Business Park. The facility at the site formerly used to manufacture the Apollo Lunar Modules was subsequently repurposed and now serves as a facility for

Grumman Studios Grumman Studios is a sound stage complex in Bethpage, New York, United States, with seven sound stages and of paved outdoor space. Description The project's principal owner is Parviz Farahzad, whose production company is Lunar Module Park, LLC ...

. The building which formerly housed the headquarters of Grumman subsequently became

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

's headquarters. Manufacturing operations continued at the site until 1996 – two years after Grumman and Northrop merged to form

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

. As of 2024, Northrop Grumman continues to have some offices on the site of the former airport. A portion of the airport property was also redeveloped into Grumman Field.

Toxic plume cleanup

The former Grumman property is the source of a large toxic plume which has impacted the groundwater around the facility. The contamination and subsequent discoveries have led to scandals involving state & federal government agencies, the United States Navy, and Grumman – and caused the site to be designated as a

Superfund site Superfund sites are Pollution, polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. Sites include landfills, mines, manufacturing facilities, processing plants where toxic waste h ...

. Cleanup of the contamination is ongoing as of 2024, and many barrels of toxic waste have been uncovered throughout the area over the years.

Accidents and incidents

On August 16, 2015, a Hawker Beechcraft BE35, en route from Francis S. Gabreski Airport in

Westhampton Beach, New York Westhampton Beach is an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton, in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,721. History Westhampton Beach Village ...

Morristown Municipal Airport Morristown Airport is in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, three miles east of downtown Morristown and 40 miles west of Manhattan, New York City. Operated by DM AIRPORTS, LTD, it is in the Whippany section of Hanover. The National Pla ...

Whippany, New Jersey Whippany ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 8,863. Whippany's name is derived from the Whippanong ...

, crashed in

Hicksville, New York Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 43,869 at the time of the 2020 census. History Hamlet namesake Valen ...

after experiencing an engine failure and being guided to Grumman Bethpage Airport (which by had been redeveloped prior to the accident). The pilot of the plane was attempting to make an emergency landing at Republic Airport after being advised of nearby airports, but was later advised by an air traffic controller that the closest field was Grumman Bethpage. The pilot then attempted to divert instead to the nonexistent runway at Grumman Field, and subsequently crashed at the South Oyster Bay Road railroad crossing. The crash killed the pilot, injured the passenger, and caused service disruptions on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

Nassau County Police Heliport

The Nassau County Police Heliport (FAA ID: 8NY9) is a publicly owned police heliport, located in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Isla ...

. The heliport was activated in November 1941 and is used by the

Nassau County Police Department The Nassau County Police Department (also referred to as the Nassau Police & Nassau County Police and abbreviated as NCPD) is the law enforcement agency of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York (state), New York, Unit ...

as a base for some of its police helicopter operations. It is located on the north side of the former Grumman Bethpage Airport. The facility has one helipad – Helipad H1; the helipad has an asphalt surface and is in size.

References