Mon, Apr 06, 2009
Runways Need To Be Lengthened To Support Commercial
Service
Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) in Connecticut remains the
object of a bitter three-way tug-of-war between two towns and the
state.
The airport is owned by the City of Bridgeport, but lies
entirely within the boundaries of the Town of Stratford. The last
scheduled airline service there ended in 1999, in part because both
its runways are under 5,000 feet long.
Bridgeport said the runways needed to be lengthened to bring
back the airlines. Stratford NIMBYs fought back. The state of
Connecticut has talked about taking over the airport to move
forward with the expansion plan it approved. Stratford has
countered that it wants to buy the airport itself.
The latest chapter in the story is a mandate from the FAA for
overrun safety zones for the runways. A chartered Piper Navajo with
nine on board overran the runway in April 1994, and the NTSB ruled
the eight fatalities were caused by fire, produced by collision
with the rigid blast fence at the end of runway 6. There have been
three accidents in which planes crashed through the fence and out
onto Stratford's Main Street.
As ANN reported, in September 2008 leaders
broke ground on a $27 million renovation project at BDR, including
plans for several new hangars, as well as a new general aviation
terminal.
The US Army agreed in the past to sell an old engine plant to
the city of Bridgeport to provide just over an acre of land in the
needed area, allowing re-routing of Main Street and installation of
a 300-foot-long Engineered Materials Arresting System. But NIMBYs
painted that as a runway lengthening, and blocked it.
Now, The Connecticut Post reports there's a deal to sell the
Army's plant to Stratford, which wants to develop the land. The
City of Bridgeport filed suit Thursday to stop that sale. The FAA
is not amused, and has threatened to take over the airport through
eminent domain laws to end the bickering and get the needed safety
improvements done.
So, that makes a four-way tug-of-war.
More News
Aero Linx: International Flying Farmers IFF is a not-for-profit organization started in 1944 by farmers who were also private pilots. We have members all across the United States a>[...]
From 2017 (YouTube Version): Remembrances Of An Israeli Air Force Test Pilot Early in 2016, ANN contributor Maxine Scheer traveled to Israel, where she had the opportunity to sit d>[...]
"We renegotiated what our debt restructuring is on a lot of our debts, mostly with the family. Those debts are going to be converted into equity..." Source: Excerpts from a short v>[...]
Also: B-29 Superfortress Reunion, FAA Wants Controllers, Spirit Airlines Pulls Back, Gogo Galileo Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganiz>[...]
Chart Supplement US A flight information publication designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts which contains data on all airports, seaplane bases, and heliports open to >[...]