Tucker/Kalispell AirportHonorable Members of the Kalispell City Council:
It has come to my attention that some of your residents would close the
Kalispell Airport and are petitioning you to take that action to that
effect. I would urge you to gather all the facts, and confirm their
accuracy, before undertaking that consideration.
Not only do I and many of my fellow pilots frequent your airport,
spending money on hunting, fishing, and other recreation, it is not
unusual that we find occasion to transport someone in need to visit an
ill or shut-in family member or deliver goods to someone in need.
I also understand that false claims about airport safety are being made.
I would invite each of you to visit my small recreation city, McCall,
Idaho where our 6,000 foot runway is well inside the city limits, only a
few blocks from the downtown area, and only two blocks from a
supermarket and the Post Office.
- Each day an average of 135 aircraft fly in and out over the
city of McCall (many more per day in busy months).
- When winds are from the south, single engine aircraft, twins,
small and mid-size jets, fire fighting aircraft, helicopters, and
military and medical aircraft alike, use the north departure and south
approach (runaway 16) where they right over the downtown area.
How many problems have we had? In the many years I can personally
recall, there has never been an incident that affected the safety of a
bystander in the city. Moreover, to be scientific and clear headed, in
Kalispell, the odds are much greater that someone will be killed or
injured in the explosion of a gas heater than by an aircraft. My guess
is that you all know of some unfortunate victim of a gas explosion. Do
you know anyone in downtown Kalispell who was killed or injured by a
departing or arriving aircraft?
I presume that no one is suggesting outlawing gas heaters and I know the
citizens of Kalispell expect to be led by those in command of clear
thinking and scientific understanding about relative risk equations.
I know a few communities similar to Kalispell that managed to close
their airports because a few misinformed citizens wanted to eliminate a
little occasional noise. In every case, the citizens regretted the
decision. Small aircraft age good citizens and provide many kinds of
help when we are in need. In some cases, these small airports have been
re-opened at considerable cost.
I have also heard a few untruths regarding airport funding. Being your
business, I know you have already sorted out the truth and separated it
from uninformed rumors.
Thank you for hearing me on this important matter.
____________________________________
Robert W. Tucker, Ph.D.
General Aviation Pilot
N831BA / N29407
PO Box 1230
175 Crowley Lane
McCall, ID 83638