Ford Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Dickinson County, Michigan, United States. It is located three miles west of the central business district of Iron Mountain, in the central
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...
. The airport offers scheduled passenger service by one commercial airline, SkyWest Airlines, an affiliate of
Delta Connection
Delta Connection is a regional airline brand name for Delta Air Lines, under which a number of individually owned regional airlines primarily operate short- and medium-haul routes. Mainline major air carriers often use regional airlines to ope ...
, which is subsidized by the
Essential Air Service
Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which had been served by certificated airlines prior to deregulation in 1978, maintained commercial service. Its aim is t ...
program. It is also a hub for
FedEx Feeder
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
operator
CSA Air
CSA Air is a cargo airline based in Kingsford, Michigan, United States. It operates express cargo services in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and South Dakota, operating 34 flights a day. Its main base is Ford Airport in Iron Mountain, Michigan a ...
.
Ford Airport serves the greater Dickinson County area, which includes the cities of Iron Mountain, Kingsford and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
in
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and the bordering
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
communities of
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
and Niagara. Its service area also includes portions of
Iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
and
Menominee
The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recog ...
counties in Michigan and
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
and Marinette counties in Wisconsin.
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 ...
Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...
(EAA) hosts events for community members, most notably Ford Airport Days. They often feature restored warbirds like B-25 Mitchell bombers and A-26 Invaders. The event also gives people the opportunity to fly drones, hosts tributes to veterans, and develops interest in aviation among youth.
The airport received $1,000,000 from the
US Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...
in 2020 as part of the
CARES Act
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, is a $2.2trillion Stimulus (economics), economic stimulus bill passed by the 116th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, ...
to help it mitigate the effects of the
covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Facilities and Aircraft
Ford Airport covers an area of 720 acres (291 ha) at an elevation of 1,182 feet (360 m). It has two asphalt paved runways: 1/19 is 6,501 by 150 feet and 13/31 is 3,808 by 75 feet. Runway 1/19
has approved ILS, GPS and LOC/DME approaches. In addition, the Iron Mountain VOR/DME (IMT) navigational facility is located at the field.
In 2022, Dickinson County started considering a renovation of the terminal at Ford in hopes to hosting larger aircraft. A consultant has been hired to help the airport plan.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018, the airport had 6,966 aircraft operations, an average of 19 per day: 62% air taxi, 21% commercial service and 17% general aviation. In December 2022, there were 33 aircraft based at this airport: 22 single-engine, 8 multi-engine, 2 jet and 1 helicopter. Both based and transient general aviation aircraft are supported by the fixed-base operator (FBO) Kubick Aviation Services, which offers aviation fuel, aircraft parking and hangars, aircraft rental, courtesy cars, pilot lounges, snooze rooms, and more.
Ford Airport enhances regional air travel safety by maintaining an Aircraft Rescue
and Firefighting (ARFF) 'Index A' trained team and related equipment.
Airline and destinations
Passenger
Top destinations
Cargo operations
Accidents & Incidents
*On July 27, 1965, a Beechcraft 65 Queen Air crashed while attempting to land at Iron Mountain. The crew voluntarily shut down one engine to simulate a failure, but the aircraft had insufficient speed to maintain flight and crashed short of the runway. Both occupants received minor injuries.
*On July 3, 1974, a
Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to Novem ...
crashed on approach to Iron Mountain. The pilot encountered poor visibility on approach and descended to look for the runway when he struck a bank. Factors contributing to the crash were a failure to initiate a go-around, an incorrect altimeter setting, runway misalignment, and weather worse than forecasted.
*On October 17, 1974, a Beechcraft Model 18 impacted terrain short of the runway while attempting to land. The pilot descended below the Minimum Descent Altitude on an instrument approach. The sole pilot onboard was killed. The aircraft was operated by the same company as the Model 18 that crashed earlier in the year.
*On January 6, 2000, a Beechcraft Travel Air en route to Ford crashed south of the airport. The airplane was reported on the airports ILS when the pilot reported moderate rime icing to air traffic controllers. The pilot received fatal injuries. The accident's probable cause was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain proper glidepath and obstacle clearance. Contributing factors were found to be dark nighttime conditions, airframe icing, flight into adverse weather, and conditions conducive to pilot fatigue.
*On August 3, 2021, a
Cessna 172 Skyhawk
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Bombardier CRJ-200 parked nearby. The Skyhawk passed 200 feet behind the jet while mechanics increased engine power for a maintenance test. The blast from the jet lifted the 172's tail, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and strut.
*On December 25, 2021, a
Lancair IV-P
The Lancair IV and IV-P are a family of four-seat, low-wing, Landing gear, retractable-gear, Composite construction, composite monoplanes powered by a 550 cubic inch Continental TSIO-550 Turbocharger, twin-turbocharged piston engine.Vandermeull ...
crashed after takeoff from Ford. The pilot, who, along with one passenger, received minor injuries, said there was a starter generator failure annunciator on climbout. The pilot troubleshot the issue, but the engine eventually lost all power, and the pilot was forced to land off-airport. The accident is under investigation.
U.S. Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...