South Alabama Regional AT Bill Benton Field
79J · Andalusia, Alabama · Covington County · map
South Alabama Regional AT Bill Benton Field is a public-use airport, 4 miles east of Andalusia, Alabama, 310 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 11/29, is 6,000 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A with additive) and about 26 based aircraft. The FAA counts about 65,700 takeoffs and landings a year.
The airport
- Codes
- FAA 79J
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 310 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- weekends, 7:30 am to 4:30 pm; Monday to Friday, 6:30 am to 12:00 am
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A with additive
- Repairs
- airframe: major repairs; engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tiedown
- On the chart
- New Orleans sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 2W
- In the FAA's files since
- April 1940
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/29 | 6,000 × 100 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 11: PAPI, four lights on the right, tree 102 ft high 2,795 ft from the end
- Runway 29: PAPI, four lights on the left, tree 54 ft high 1,535 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 123.05 | |
| Approach and departure | 133.45 | |
| Dothan and center (remote transmitter) Low | 134.3 | |
| 79J Automated weather (ASOS) | 134.875 |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 334-640-6689.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Takeoffs and landings a year about 65,700, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates.
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
Aircraft registered in Andalusia from the FAA register
16 aircraft are registered to owners in Andalusia, Alabama: 11 piston singles, 2 gliders, 1 turboprop, 1 piston twin, 1 business jet. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Individuals are counted, never named. All aircraft registered in Alabama.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 5 since 1982, 1 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file
- Activate PAPI runway 11 and 29; medium-intensity runway lights runway 11/29 - the common traffic frequency.
- Jed blackwell
- 100LL self serve available 24 hours.
- Markings fair due to fading
- This airport has been surveyed by the national geodetic survey.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 5, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.