Mackinac 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 ...

Mackinac County, Michigan Mackinac County ( ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace. Formerly known as Michilimackinac County, in 1818 it was one of the first cou ...

, United States. It is located northwest 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 ...

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

. It is the closest airport to Mackinac Island Airport with a refueling station, and is a major stopover destination for flights to and from Mackinac Island that require refueling. The airport 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

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 ...

facility.

Facilities and aircraft

Mackinac County Airport covers an area of at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

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 ...

designated 7/25 with a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

surface measuring . For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2015, the airport had 33,050 aircraft operations, an average of 90 per day: 55%

, 45%

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 ...

and less than 1%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. In March 2017, there were 16 aircraft based at this airport: 13 single-engine and 3 multi-engine.

Incidents and accidents

* On August 2, 1994, a Grumman HU-16 seaplane originating from Mackinac County Airport registered as N7025N collided with a moored boat in the north cove of St. Helena Island, near

St. Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered autono ...

. The pilot and boat operator had prearranged to meet in the cove. The airplane received minor damage, and the pilot, co-pilot, and seven airplane passengers reported no injuries. Two adults and a four-year-old child received minor injuries immediately prior to the collision when they were abandoning the boat. Another child remaining on the boat was fatally injured. * On July 13, 2010, a privately owned

Beechcraft Baron 58 The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production. Design and development The d ...

, registered as N3081N, en route from

Mackinac Island Airport Mackinac Island Airport is a public use airport in Mackinac County, Michigan, United States. It is located northwest of downtown Mackinac Island, Michigan in the center of Mackinac Island. The airport is owned by Mackinac Island State Park Com ...

Chicago Executive Airport Chicago Executive Airport , formerly Palwaukee Municipal Airport, is a public airport 18 miles (33 km) northwest of Chicago, in the village of Wheeling in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is owned by the City of Prospect Heights a ...

crashed shortly after takeoff from Mackinac County Airport where it had stopped to refuel. Four

Israeli-American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

citizens were killed, and another was seriously injured. * On December 3, 2011, a Great Lakes Air

Piper Cherokee Six The Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six is a series of single-engine, fixed landing gear, light aircraft manufactured in the United States by Piper Aircraft between 1965 and 2007.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 63. Werner & Werner Cor ...

registered as N33315 en route from Mackinac County Airport crashed upon approach to

. The pilot and sole passenger died upon impact. The Coast Guard commenced a search and rescue operation to recover the down aircraft, locating it in a wooded area approximately 1.6 miles north of runway 83D. The victims were Tom Phillips of Kirkland, Washington, an Amazon Executive, and pilot Joseph Phillips, Jr. of St. Ignace. The pilot's error to properly judge weather conditions was named as the cause of the crash.

References

External links

Airport page
at Mackinac County website * at

Michigan DOT The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate ...

Airport Directory
Great Lakes Air
the

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO)
Aerial image as of April 1998
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * {{US-airport-minor, 83D Airports in Michigan Transportation in Mackinac County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Mackinac County, Michigan Airports in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan