Montgomery Field is a public airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located in San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, six miles (10 km) north of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 (CBD) of San Diego. The airport covers 456 acres (185 ha) and has three runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s and two helipad

Helipad

Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...

s. The runway configuration is 28 Right/10 Left-28 Left/10 Right parallels with Runway 5/23 crossing at midfield.

The Federal Aviation Administration has maintained an Air Traffic Control Tower at the airport since 1965. It is located on the north side of the airport, just east of Taxiway C and Runway 23/5.

It is named for John J. Montgomery

John J. Montgomery

John Joseph Montgomery was an aviation pioneer, inventor, professor at Santa Clara College.On August 28, 1883 he made the first manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flights of the United States, in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego, California...

, an aviation pioneer who in 1883 made the first manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flights in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. Montgomery Field is one of the nation's busiest airports for small aircraft and has a number of flying clubs, flight schools, plus business turboprops and jets based there. San Diego FD bases aircraft there. King Schools, Inc.

King Schools, Inc.

King Schools, Inc. is an American computer software company headquartered in San Diego, California, USA. The company has historically focused on the creation of Computer Based Training or E-learning, to assist individuals in obtaining their Pilot certification in the United States...

 is based nearby and their aircraft are based at the airport. Since Summer 2009, King Schools (in conjunction with Cessna) has been flight testing the prototype Cessna 162 Skycatcher Light-Sport Aircraft at or around the airport.

Accidents and incidents

• On September 25, 1978, a Cessna 172
  Cessna 172
  The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing fixed-wing aircraft. First flown in 1955 and still in production, more Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft.-Design and development:...
  
   registered as N7711G took off from Montgomery Field and proceeded to Lindbergh Field to do a practice instrument landing (ILS) approach. On approach to Lindbergh, PSA Flight 182
  PSA Flight 182
  Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, registration N533PS, was a Boeing 727-214 commercial airliner that collided with a private Cessna 172 over San Diego, California on September 25, 1978. Pacific Southwest Airlines' first accident involving fatalities, the death toll of 144 makes it the...
  
   (N533PS) was on an easterly downwind descent for landing. The PSA Boeing 727
  Boeing 727
  The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
  
   overtook and collided with the Cessna from behind, causing N7711G to disintegrate and flight 182 to crash. This incident led to the establishment of Terminal Control Area
  Terminal Control Area
  A terminal control area , also known as a terminal manoeuvring area in Europe, is an aviation term to describe a designated area of controlled airspace surrounding a major airport where there is a high volume of traffic...
  
  s/TCAs. This was the first positive control airspace surrounding airports.
• On February 19, 2010, a Cirrus SR-22 Turbo Gen-3 registered as N443CP, was stolen from Montgomery Field and proceeded to LAX.