Watertown, US 🇺🇸 Closed Airport
ICAO
US-11213
IATA
-
Elevation
300 ft
Region
US-CT
Local Time
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 41.6143° N, -73.059303° E
Continent: North America
Type: Closed Airport
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The exact closure date is not officially documented. However, analysis of historical satellite imagery indicates the heliport was decommissioned between 2008 and 2012. Markings for the helipad, clearly visible in 2004 and faintly in 2008, are no longer present in imagery from 2012 onwards. Aviation databases began listing the heliport as 'closed' by 2013.
The closure was due to economic and corporate reasons. The heliport was a private facility for the A.J. Oster Company. Such facilities are expensive to maintain, insure, and operate. The closure likely resulted from a change in corporate ownership, management priorities, or a cost-cutting initiative. The timeline of its closure coincides with major corporate restructuring, including the formation of its parent company, Global Brass and Copper, in 2007, which often triggers a review and elimination of non-essential, high-cost assets like a private heliport.
The heliport is permanently closed and has been physically removed. The site of the former landing pad is now an unremarkable grassy area on the grounds of the industrial building at 500 Frost Bridge Road, Watertown, CT. The associated building remains an active industrial site, currently operating as a metal service and distribution center for the Wieland Group, which acquired the A.J. Oster company.
The heliport's significance was purely corporate and local. It did not serve public or military functions. When active, it was used for private executive transport. Operations would have involved a light corporate helicopter (e.g., a Bell 206 JetRanger or similar) flying company executives and key personnel to and from the Watertown facility. Common destinations would have included major regional airports (like Bradley, JFK, LaGuardia), other company locations, or meetings in financial centers like New York City, allowing them to bypass traffic. It serves as an example of corporate infrastructure that was more common in the late 20th century but has since declined in use.
There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the heliport. The trend for corporations has been to divest from private aviation assets due to high operational costs and alternative travel options. Since the physical infrastructure has been removed and the original company has been absorbed into a larger international entity, a reopening is considered extremely improbable.