Mercer Airfield

Mercer Airfield
IATA: none ICAO: NZME[1]
Summary
Airport type	Private
Owner	Neil Young
Operator	Palms on George Ltd[2]
Location	Mercer, New Zealand
Elevation AMSL	30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	37°15′27″S 175°6′54″E / 37.25750°S 175.11500°E / -37.25750; 175.11500[3]
Website	Mercer Airport Website
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 09R/27L 2,460 750 Grass[2]

Mercer Airfield (ICAO: NZME) is an uncontrolled aerodrome 3.23 NM (6 km) northeast of Mercer Village in the Waikato region of New Zealand.^[4]

Mercer Airfield was developed by Jim and Libby Lyver.^[5] Little information is available however, Mercer Backpackers relocated their operations to the airport as far back as 2002.^[6]

In December 2010, Mercer Airport was put up for sale by its then-owner the Auckland Recreational Airparks Trust (ARA Trust); with a tender closing on 16 December 2010.^[5] It was published by the Sports Aviation Association (Auckland Chapter) Inc; that the airfield had been acquired by Neil Young.^[7]

In May 2014, the Auckland Aero Club held their annual Club Competition at Mercer Airfield.^[8]

In 2016, the 56th New Zealand Association of Women in Aviation Annual Rally and Conference was held at Mercer Airfield between 1 and 6 June. In addition to the NZAWA, members from the Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA) were also in attendance.^[9] In November 2016, Mercer Airfield hosted the Flying NZ Northern Region Competitions.^[10]

Under the ownership of the ARA Trust, the airfield was used primarily for recreational flying.^[5]

Nowadays, Mercer Airport operates primarily for commercial reasons such as skydiving, training and public flying. There are also Helicopter operations on, and north of the airfield.^[11]

Mercer Airfield is used as a secondary training ground for Helicopter Flight Training Ltd.^[12]

Accidents and incidents that occurred at or near Mercer Airport include:

• 25 January 2000 – A Piper PA-23-250 over-ran the runway due to wet weather. No Injuries, however the aircraft sustained substantial damage.^[13]
• 9 August 2000 – A Cessna U206 operating on a parachuting flight lost sight of the runway upon landing and 'landed short of the strip'. Pilot sustained no injuries, however plane suffered substantial damage.^[14]
• 19 October 2006 – A Cessna A185E crashed on touchdown at the Airfield. The pilot suffered no injuries, however the plane flipped onto its top.^[15]
• 17 August 2009 – There was a near collision near Mercer Airport.^[16]
• 18 February 2012 – The engine of a Cessna 182 operating on a parachuting flight lost power on final approach and landed in a paddock before the runway. Pilot sustained no injuries, however plane suffered substantial damage.^[17]
• 1 October 2015 – A minor crash occurred after a microlight plane crashed at the Airfield. The pilot suffered minor injuries, however, he did survive.^[18]

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