| Pagan Airstrip | |
| Faa: | TT01 |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner: | Commonwealth Ports Authority |
| Location: | Pagan Island |
| Built: | 1939–1944 1966–1970 (rebuilt) |
| Elevation-F: | 34 |
| Elevation-M: | 10 |
| Coordinates: | 18.1231°N 145.7631°W |
| R1-Number: | 11/29 |
| R1-Length-F: | 1,500 |
| R1-Length-M: | 457 |
| R1-Surface: | Turf/gravel |
| Stat-Year: | 1980 |
| Stat1-Header: | Aircraft operations |
| Stat1-Data: | 240 |
| Footnotes: | Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Pushpin Label: | TT01 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Pagan Airstrip within the Northern Mariana Islands |
| Image Map Caption: | FAA diagram of the airfield's layout |
Pagan Airstrip is a closed airfield located on Pagan Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, near the village of Shomu-Shon. The airport is owned by the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
The airfield was originally built as a Japanese fighter airstrip and was called Shomushan Field.[2] Construction took place between 1939 and 1944, with 200 workers from Japan and Korea building the runway and other defenses on the island.[3]
On June 22, 1944, the airfield was attacked by U.S. carrier aircraft, with the attack destroying four Japanese aircraft on the ground, as well as damaging buildings and runways.[4] It was subject to further bombing on September 26–27, 1944, with P-47 Thunderbolts and B-24 Liberators of the Seventh Air Force conducting attacks.[5] The airfield was once attacked again on November 25–26, 1944, with U.S. Army Air Forces P-47 Thunderbolts and U.S. Navy F4U Corsairs bombed and strafed the island, in addition to downing two Japanese aircraft.[6] In total, U.S. Army P-47 Thunderbolts and P-61 Black Widows flew 1,578 missions against the airfield between August 1944 and May 1945, with the Japanese continuously repairing the runway.
Japanese forces on Pagan surrendered in September 1945.[7]
Initial efforts to put the airfield back into service began in autumn of 1966, with US$7,000 in funding from the Mariana Islands District Legislature leading to a usable runway. In February 1967, Emmet Kay, president of Micronesia Airlines, was the first pilot to land at the airfield since World War II. A formal dedication was held on April 3, 1967.[8]
From May to October 1970, the airfield was further rebuilt by thirteen members of a U.S. Air Force Civic Action Team.
During a 12-month period ending September 26, 1980, the airport had 240 aircraft operations: 79% air taxi and 21% general aviation.
On May 15, 1981, Mount Pagan erupted,[9] with lava flows covering about one-third of the airfield.[10] Attempts by a civilian aircraft and a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion to land at the airstrip on the day of the eruption were unsuccessful, in part due to the volcano's ash cloud obscuring the airfield.
, the airfield is listed as "closed indefinitely" in the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport/Facility Directory.[11] It has not been inspected by the FAA since September 1980. A major issue with habitation and operations on the island has been the activity of the volcano, which has erupted periodically since the 1980s, the latest being in 2021.[12]