Miami Seaplane Base

Miami Seaplane Base (IATA: MPB, FAA LID: X44) is a public-use seaplane base located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the central business district of Miami on Watson Island in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.

Miami Seaplane Base
The airport in 30s
IATA: MPB ICAO: none FAA LID: X44
Summary
Airport type	Public use
Owner	City of Miami, Florida
Operator	Chalks Airline, Inc.
Serves	Miami, Florida
Location	Miami-Dade County, Florida
Elevation AMSL	0 ft / 0 m
Coordinates	25°46′42″N 080°10′13″W
Website	www.miamiseaplanebase.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m NW/SE 15,000 4,572 Water
Statistics (1926)
Aircraft operations 1,950 Based aircraft 1
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

History

In 1926, Chalk's International Airlines built an air terminal on a landfill island, Watson Island, where it continued to operate for over 75 years. Its scheduled and other flights by flying boats and amphibian aircraft served many points in the Bahamas and other nearby destinations.

Chalk's moved its flights to its main engineering and operating base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after the attacks of September 11, 2001, because of security concerns around PortMiami and increased helicopter traffic around Watson Island. Chalk's ceased operations in December 2005.

The Seaplane Base is utilized by many operators throughout the year for flights within Florida and to The Bahamas.

Grumman Mallard amphibian of Chalks Airlines at the seaplane base in 1989 after arrival from the Bahamas

Airlines and destinations

Scheduled service

Airlines	Destinations
Tropic Ocean Airways	North Bimini

Charter operators

Airline	Operating region
Tropic Ocean Airways	The Bahamas, Florida
Fly The Whale	The Bahamas, Florida
Miami Seaplane Tours	Florida
Tailwind Air	The Bahamas, Florida

Accidents and incidents

On July 1, 2018, a Tropic Ocean Airways Cessna 185 crashed on landing into the Miami Seaplane base when the aircraft nosed over into the water. The amphibious airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut, empennage, right wing aileron, rudder, and elevator. The pilot was the sole occupant of the aircraft and sustained minor injuries, which was attributed to the pilot's failure to use the before landing checklist.^[2]

See also

• Aviation portal

• List of airports in Florida