Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport[1][2] (IATA: TBN[3], ICAO: KTBN, FAALID: TBN), also known as Forney Field, is a public and military use airport located at Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States.[1] The airport's passenger terminal is operated under the control of the U.S. Army and general aviation is under the direction of a board named by the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert.[4] Formerly known as Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field, it is served by one commercial airline with scheduled service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport covers an area of 237 acres (96 ha) at an elevation of 1,159 feet (353 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 15/33 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,037 by 150 feet (1,840 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2016, the airport had 25,807 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 50% military, 32% general aviation and 18% scheduled commercial. In June 2021, there were 14 aircraft based at this airport: 9 single-engine and 5 military.[1]
On August 4, 1955, American Airlines Flight 476, a Convair CV-240 flying from Tulsa to New York crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, after the No. 2 engine caught fire. While descending the right wing caught fire and eventually failed, crashing in a forest 1 km NW of the airport. All 30 occupants (3 crew, 27 passengers) died. The investigation revealed a defective cylinder in the No. 2 engine failed, causing the fire.[21]
Order 2007-3-5: selecting Big Sky Transportation Co., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines, and Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at the above communities (Burlington, IA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Jackson, TN; Marion/Herrin, IL, Owensboro, KY) for the two-year period from June 1, 2007, through May 31, 2009, using 19-seat Beech 1900D turboprop aircraft as follows: Big Sky at Cape Girardeau, Jackson, and Owensboro for a combined annual subsidy of $3,247,440; and Great Lakes at Burlington, Fort Leonard Wood, and Marion/Herrin for a combined annual subsidy of $2,590,461.
Order 2009-10-13: selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized EAS at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for the two-year period from November 1, 2009, through October 31, 2011, at an annual subsidy of $1,292,906.
Order 2010-9-9: selecting Hyannis Air Service, Inc. d/b/a Cape Air to provide EAS at Fort Leonard Wood, for an annual subsidy of $1,478,102, also for a two-year period beginning when the carrier inaugurates service. An additional $959,664 in annual subsidy may be incurred when all-cargo flights are used to transport luggage to/from Fort Leonard Wood.