CAA: GA News, "Small airports struggle to survive terrorist fallout"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Small airports struggle to survive terrorist fallout
Majority of pleasure flights prohibited
The Detroit (MI) News

 
   CANTON TOWNSHIP -- A month after the World Trade Center attacks,
anxiety levels are soaring at four regional airports in Metro Detroit
struggling to survive through no-fly restrictions. 

   Federal security measures have grounded the majority of flights from
Canton-Plymouth, Grosse Ile, Willow Run and Ypsilanti and Monroe Custer
airports since the Sept. 11 attacks. 

   The restrictions that affect airports within a roughly 23-mile radius
of Detroit Metropolitan Airport also have small businesses reeling. 

   "We just spent $5,000 paying bills for the last month and we haven't
made a nickel since," said Bill Humphrey, co-owner of Seaway Aviation in
Grosse Ile. 

   "We can't do that very often or we're out of business. This should be
one of our best times. My God, the air is great. The colors are
changing. We should be busy as a cat. Wrong, we can't move." 

   The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, lifted the ban on small
planes Sept. 28 but still bars most pleasure flights close to Metro
Airport and 30 other major airports nationwide. Students now can fly
with instructors within those areas, however, as can pilots with
advanced training on specific flight plans. 

   The U.S. Department of Defense is coordinating the edict with the
FAA, but spokesman Tony Molinaro wouldn't explain the no-fly order or
say how long it will last. 

   "We don't have any word on when any of it will change," said
Molinaro, a Chicago-based FAA spokesman. "These are security measures
that we're really not at liberty to go into publicly." 

   Managers of airports near Metro Airport nonetheless are anticipating
big changes that could drive up the cost of recreational flying and
perhaps put some of them out of business. 

   John Stout, manager of Grosse Ile Airport, worries that the
township-owned facility is so close to the Fermi Nuclear Power plant and
other energy plants that federal authorities will limit air space to the
point where it's no longer viable to continue operations. 

   "If they put in 3-5 mile restrictions around those plants, we would
be closed down," said Stout, whose airport has invested $4 million in
upgrades since 1997. 

   At Canton-Plymouth Mettetal Airport, manager Doug Kitze still is
crunching numbers, but figures losses could total tens of thousands of
dollars at the state-owned facility. Business is slowly picking up from
his flight school, helping absorb some of the costs. 

   "I have to stay afloat. I'm a survivor," Kitze said. "But I'd say
business is down at least 50 percent." 

   Willow Run airport caters much more to advanced pilots than the other
three small Wayne County airports, so it is less affected by the
restrictions. 

   Airport administrators said the mixed or muted messages from federal
authorities only increases their frustration. The order only allows
so-called "instrument flight-trained" pilots to take off from the
airports. 

   Trouble is, only about 20 percent of pilots nationwide meet the
requirements. Many of them now would rather stay grounded than go to the
trouble of filing instrument flight plans and using satellite systems
for a simple fall trip. 

   The difference between visual and instrument flying is akin to using
street signs to find your way in an unfamiliar city as opposed to using
a compass, radar and Global Positioning Systems. 

   "It's so much more of a hassle," said Nick Clapsadle, a Livonia
pilot. 

At a glance 

   Federal authorities grounded all small planes after the Sept. 11
attacks, but allowed most to resume flights Sept. 28. The exception:
Most planes leaving from airports within 20 nautical miles, or 23 normal
miles, of Detroit Metro Airport and 30 others nationwide. 

   * In southeast Michigan, restrictions affect Canton-Plymouth
Mettetal, Grosse Ile, Wayne County Willow Run in Ypsilanti and Monroe
Custer airports. 

   * Pilots certified for navigating by the use of instruments rather
than sight -- can fly from the airports. Most pilots aren't so
certified, however.

Attached Photo's:

Flight instructor Ana Fernandez, left, and private pilot Jim Freeman
check out their headsets before taking a flight at Mettetal Airport in
Canton Township. Since the terrorist attacks, private flights near major
airports are curtailed.

Lineman Kyle Bryant fills the wing tanks of a Piper Cherokee at Mettetal
Airport. He used to fill 10-15 nonflight school planes a day, now he
fills only one.

pilot.jpg

pilot2.jpg