Mason County Airport is a county-owned public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located two miles (3 km) northeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Ludington, a city in Mason County,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

The airport sits on the land of former lawyer Charles Wing, who published the local newsletter and ran businesses in the area. The land was sold to Mason County in 1920 for use as an airport. The county airport was officially established in 1927 with a single grass runway, and the First Michigan Air Tour was held at the airport in 1928. Development at the airport was stopped during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, but a major overhaul was planned in 1939 with funds split between the county and the state. A new runway was built, and the existing runway was extended. A third runway was built in 1949, and the United States federal government provided portable lighting for the airport. Northern Air Service was the first company to provide regular commercial air service to the airport. It supported a Dow Magnesium defense plant nearby. The airport saw its biggest growth to date after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as more families bought airplanes and new hangars were built. The airport's first concrete runway was built in the early 1960s, and a second was built in 1966. That second runway was extended twice until it was just over 5,000 feet long. The airport got its second commercial service in 1969 when Miller Airline flew twice daily to

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

and

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. That service lasted until the airline folded months later. The airport hosts a number of events in the modern day, including an aviation summer camp for youth in the area.

Facilities and aircraft

Mason County Airport covers an area of which contains two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

paved

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s: 8/26 measuring 5,003 x 75 ft (1,525 x 23 m) and 1/19 measuring 3,503 x 75 ft (1,068 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had just over 9,000 aircraft operations, an average of 25 per day: 84%

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 ...

and 16%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

. For the same time period, there were 19 aircraft based on the field, all airplanes: 18 single-engine and 1 multi-engine. It is included in 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, in which it is categorized as a local

facility. The aircraft has a fixed-base operator that offers services such as fuel, conference rooms, a crew lounge, snooze rooms,

showers A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers have temperature, spray pressure and adjustable showerhead nozzle. The simplest showers have a ...

, and a courtesy car.

Accidents and incidents

* On March 26, 1993, a Cessna 182 Skylane was destroyed during an NDB approach into Mason County Airport. A witness reported the aircraft sounded normal for the approach phase of a flight, though the pilot was unable to successfully land the plane after two approaches. On the third approach, the plane sounded lower to the ground, and the witness reported suddenly hearing a "hard and fast" throttle input, though the aircraft subsequently impacted trees. The probable cause was found to be the pilot's improper instrument procedures, especially related to weather conditions below instrument approach minimums. * On July 2, 2003, a

Cessna 140 The Cessna 120, 140, and 140A, are single-engine, two-seat, conventional landing gear (tailwheel), light general aviation aircraft that were first produced in 1946, immediately following the end of World War II. Production ended in 1951, and ...

sustained substantial damage when the left main landing gear

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

separated from the landing gear during landing on runway 18 at Mason County Airport. The pilot reported a "strange wobble" on the landing rollout, and the left main gear acle then separated from the landing gear strut. Though the pilot was able to maintain directional control using the rudder, the main gear leg dropped into hole in the pavement, which resulted in the airplane nosing down causing a prop strike. The pilot reported the airplane slid to a stop and rested on the propeller and cowling in a tail up position. The probable cause was found to be the maintenance personnel's improper installation of the landing gear axle, which resulted in the separation of the axle from the landing gear.

References

External links

* Michigan Airport Directory: Airports in Michigan Buildings and structures in Mason County, Michigan Transportation in Mason County, Michigan {{Michigan-airport-stub