three or four daily departures. The airport was one of Eastern's smallest stations and was a stop on a route between Atlanta and Charlotte. Famed World War I fighter ace and eventual CEO of Eastern Airlines, Eddie Rickenbacker, once made an unannounced stop. "Captain Eddie" inspected operations and visited briefly with employees; his visit that day was featured in Life magazine. Historical airline service Eastern Airlines served the airport from 1947 until 1964 as a stop on a route between Atlanta, GA and Greenville/Spartanburg, SC. Southern Airways took over the former Eastern service from 1964 through 1974 flying the same route as Eastern. Bankair provided commuter airline service from 1978 until 1984 with flights to Columbia and Greenville/Spartanburg, SC Sunbird Airlines began service in 1985 operating as Piedmont Commuter on behalf of Piedmont Airlines with flights to Charlotte, NC. In early 1986 Sunbird changed to CCAir and service ended in late 1986. In 1989 Piedmont merged with USAir and from 1992 through 1993, CCAir returned to Anderson operating as USAir Express, again with commuter flights to Charlotte. The airport has been served briefly by other commuter airlines and air taxi service, including ImagineAir in 2005. Accidents and incidents On June 16, 2012 1:30 p.m. an experimental airplane crashed in some trees near the airport runway. The pilot and sole passenger were not injured. On April 27, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. a Cirrus SR22 crashed on approach 600 yards of the runway, killing the pilot and injuring the passenger. On December 9, 2004 at 10:20 a.m. a Diamond DA40 en route to Anderson Regional was diverted due to poor visibility. The airport's instrument landing system, which helps pilots land in low visibility, was turned off due to an extension on the main runway. The plane crashed en route to a neighboring airport, killing all three on board. See also Georgia World War II Army Airfields References External links Anderson Regional Airport Anderson Air Show Airports in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Anderson County, South Carolina Transportation in Anderson County, South Carolina 1937 establishments in South Carolina Airports established in 1937