El Rico Airport

The exact reason is not officially documented, which is common for small, private airfields. However, its closure is consistent with economic factors and changing land use. As a private agricultural airstrip ('ag-strip'), its existence was tied to the specific needs of the local farming operation it served. It likely closed because it was no longer economically viable, the owner ceased aviation activities, or the land was repurposed for more profitable agricultural cultivation.

The site of the former airport has been completely reclaimed for agricultural use. Satellite imagery of the coordinates (36.042542, -119.64622) shows the land has been fully converted into cultivated farmland. There are no visible remnants of the runway, hangars, or any other airport infrastructure. The land is now indistinguishable from the surrounding agricultural fields.

El Rico Airport was a private agricultural airfield primarily serving the intensive farming operations in California's Central Valley, near Corcoran. Its main function was to support aerial application, including crop dusting, seeding, and fertilizing for the surrounding fields. A 1982 directory described it as having a single 2,200-foot turf runway. While not a major public airport, it played a small but important role in the local agricultural economy, providing a crucial base for aircraft essential to modern farming in the region.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening El Rico Airport. The land has been actively farmed for several decades, and the airport has been officially closed and removed from all aviation charts. Re-establishing an airport on the site would be impractical and is not under any known consideration.