Plaquemine, US πΊπΈ Closed Airport
US-11565
-
12 ft
US-LA
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 30.259899Β° N, -91.286201Β° E
Continent: NA
Type: Closed Airport
Keywords: LA15
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Designation | Length | Width | Surface | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
16/34 |
2600 ft | 80 ft | TURF | Active |
The airport was likely closed and abandoned sometime between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. While it was still depicted on a 1983 topographical map as 'Wilbert Landing Strip', a 1995 aerial photograph shows the runway as extant but unused, and by 2004 the area had been converted to agricultural use.
The closure was due to economic and operational factors. As a private airfield owned by a large agricultural and lumber company (A. Wilbert's Sons), its use likely declined as transportation needs changed or the cost of maintenance was no longer justified. The land was more valuable for its primary purpose, agriculture, leading to its reclamation for sugarcane cultivation.
The site of the former airport has been completely converted back to farmland. Current satellite imagery shows the area is an active sugarcane field, fully integrated with the surrounding agricultural landscape. The faint outline of the former north/south runway can sometimes be discerned in imagery depending on the crop cycle, but no physical remnants of the airport, such as hangars or markings, exist.
Wilbert Airport was a private general aviation airfield. Its primary historical significance is its connection to the A. Wilbert's Sons Lumber and Shingle Company, a historically prominent and major landowner in Iberville Parish. The airport was not listed on aeronautical charts in 1944 but appeared by 1949. It featured a single, unpaved turf runway, approximately 2,500 feet in length. Operations would have consisted of small, private aircraft (like Cessnas or Pipers) used for corporate travel and other private business related to the Wilbert company. It never served commercial or public traffic. The ICAO identifier 'US-11565' is a non-standard designation often assigned by databases to smaller, private, or closed airfields not in the official FAA system.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Wilbert Airport. The land has been successfully and profitably repurposed for agriculture by its owners. Given the availability of other public-use airports in the region, there is no practical or economic incentive to convert valuable farmland back into a private airstrip.
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