Pellston Regional Airport

Updated on Nov 29, 2023

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Airport type Public Serves Pellston, Michigan 14/32 6,513 Elevation 219 m Owner Emmet County, Michigan		Operator The City of Pellston Elevation AMSL 720 ft / 219 m Code PLN Phone +1 231-539-8441

Website www.PellstonAirport.com Address 1395 US-31, Pellston, MI 49769, USA

Landing at pellston regional airport

Pellston Regional Airport (IATA: PLN, ICAO: KPLN, FAA LID: PLN), also known as Pellston Regional Airport of Emmet County, is a public airport located one mile (2 km) northwest of the central business district of Pellston, a village in Emmet County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.

Mainly a general aviation airport, Pellston Regional Airport also functions as the primary commercial airport for the sparsely populated northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, owing to its location halfway between the region's primary cities, Petoskey and Cheboygan, as well as its close proximity to the tourist centers of Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island. One commercial airline, SkyWest, (DBA) doing business as Delta Connection currently serves Pellston Regional with two departures and two arrivals daily.

The 35,000 square feet (3,252 m²) northern lodge themed passenger terminal building was constructed in 2003 and designed by architect Paul W. Powers. The new passenger terminal building replaced a smaller terminal building that was demolished. Wireless internet service is available throughout the terminal at no charge to travelers.

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Facilities and aircraft

Pellston Regional Airport covers an area of 1,675 acres (678 ha) and contains two asphalt paved runways: 14/32 measures 6,513 x 150 feet (1,985 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 5,401 x 150 feet (1,646 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2012, the airport had 10,326 aircraft operations (down from 16,421 in 2006), an average of 28 per day: 74% general aviation, 25% scheduled commercial and less than 1% military. In March 2017, there were 38 aircraft based at this airport: 32 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 2 jet and 1 helicopter.

Statistics

FedEx Feeder is operated at the field by CSA Air.

Terminal

The current terminal serves as baggage claim, check-in, ticketing, TSA checkpoint and gates. Due to the airport being very small in size and the amount of flights, only 2 gates are necessary and both are located in the terminal. Since 2009 travel services and offices have been placed at the end of baggage claim. On a normal day, three or four people operate this airport. One airline representative manages check-in, ticketing and works as the gate agent. One is a TSA Senior Agent. The others are ground crew and baggage services. Delta/SkyWest currently has two aircraft in use, both are (50) seat Canadair Regional Jets 100/200 series (CRJ-200).

Incidents

On January 15, 2013, a Cessna 208B Cargomaster, operated by Martinaire and registered as N1120N, crashed shortly after takeoff from Pellston Regional Airport. It came down in a wooded area; there was one fatality.

On May 13, 1978, a brand new Piper Cheyenne with less than twenty hours had a CFIT two miles from the departure end of Runway 32 after failing to land at Boyne Falls airport. The NTSB investigation concluded the pilot attempted to land below published minimums for the ILS approach. The weather was extremely foggy at the time with less than 3/8 of a mile visibility and 200' ceiling while the approach called for a 600' ceiling and 2 miles visibility. A contributing factor was the finding that the middle marker for Runway 32 was not functioning at the time, possibly contributing to the disorientation of the pilot and his location relative to the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed; there were three fatalities.

On May 9, 1970, UAW President Walter Reuther, his wife May, architect Oscar Stonorov, Reuther's bodyguard William Wolfman, the pilot and co-pilot were killed when their chartered Lear-Jet crashed in flames at 9:33 p.m. Michigan time. The plane, arriving from Detroit in rain and fog, was on final approach to the Pellston, Michigan, airstrip near the union's recreational and educational facility at Black Lake, Michigan. The Learjet 23, operated by Executive Jet Aviation and registered as N434EJ, crashed into trees and caught fire short of the runway. An investigation concluded that illusions produced by the lack of visual cues during a circling approach over unlighted terrain at night to a runway not equipped with approach lights or other visual approach aids, caused the crash. The aircraft was written off; there were six fatalities.

On April 23, 1970, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, operated by North Central Airlines, destined for Sault Ste. Marie Airport, was hijacked. One hijacker demanded to be taken to Detroit. The hijacker was taken down; there were no fatalities.

References

Pellston Regional Airport Wikipedia

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