Grosse Ile Municipal Airport is two miles south of Grosse Ile, in

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States Census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the 19th-most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Detroit. The coun ...

. It is owned by the Township of Grosse Ile. The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2017–2021 categorized it as a local reliever airport facility. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter

location identifier A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for staffed air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programm ...

for the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

and

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

, but Grosse Ile Municipal Airport is ONZ to the FAA and has no IATA code.

History

In 1929 the airport opened as Naval Reserve Air Base Ile, with a training school, seaplane base and dirigible hangar. In 1930 Thomas Towle used the hangars to build his Towle TA-3 diesel powered amphibian. Renamed as Naval Air Station Grosse Ile during World War II, the installation operated until 1969, when it was closed and turned over to the Township in 1971 for use as a general aviation airport. A memorial garden sits directly behind Township Hall, the former Hangar One, to honor the men and women who served in the armed forces at the

Naval Air Station Grosse Ile Naval Air Station Grosse Ile was a Naval air station located on the southern tip of Grosse Ile, Michigan. It operated from 1927 until late 1969, and is now a township airport. During World War II NASGI was one of the largest primary flight trainin ...

. The airport taxiways are getting a major renovation that should be completed next year. On the evening of September 25, 2018 an EF1 tornado, one of a three tornado outbreak in the area, crossed the airfield at about 9:00 PM local time. In 2020, DBusiness Magazine listed Grosse Ile one of the Top Regional Airports for corporate aviation.

Facilities

The airport covers and has two concrete runways: 4/22 is 4,846 x 100 ft (1,477 x 30 m) and 17/35 is 4,425 x 75 ft (1,349 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2020, the airport had 16,000 aircraft operations, or roughly 44 per day. All are

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. For the same time period, there are 70 aircraft based on the field: 57 single-engine and 9 multi-engine

airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

, 3

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, and 1 jet. The airport is reached by taking Jefferson Street to the Grosse Ile Parkway and turning right onto Meridian Road. Continue on Meridian Road and turn right onto Groh Road. Watch for the Township Hall sign on the left (about 200-250 yards), which marks the entrance to the parking lot. The airport offices are on the second floor. The airport has an FBO offering fuel, aircraft parking, catering, courtesy cars, conference rooms, crew lounges, snooze rooms, showers, and more.

Accidents & Incidents

*On September 2, 1996, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee crashed while on initial climb out of Grosse Ile and subsequently impacted a river while on route to Jackson. Of the four onboard, the pilot and one passenger received serious injuries, and another two passengers received fatal injuries. Witnesses reported the aircraft appeared to be struggling to climb and then entered a steep left bank, losing altitude steadily until it impacted terrain. Other witnesses say they couldn't hear the engine running. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's exceeding the critical angle of bank required to maintain altitude. *On July 11, 2002, a plane crashed into the Detroit River after takeoff from Grosse Ile. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the two aboard, who were not injured. *On June 23, 2011, a small plane crashed at Grosse Ile when its landing gear collapsed on landing. There was one pilot aboard. *On July 11, 2020, an ultralight aircraft crashed into a residential area while operating at Grosse Ile Airport.

References

External links

* * * {{Airports in Michigan Airports in Wayne County, Michigan Airports established in 1929 Historic American Engineering Record in Michigan

History

Facilities

Accidents & Incidents

See also

References

External links