Summit Airport is a public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located north of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...

of Middletown, in New Castle County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, United States. It is privately owned by Summit Aviation, Inc. It is included in the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

(FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...

for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a reliever

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

facility. The airport hosts a variety of aviation-related events throughout the year. It hosts a multi-week Women in Aviation and Law Enforcement Seminar sponsored by the

Delaware State Police The Delaware State Police (DSP) is a division of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security and is responsible for traffic regulation and law enforcement across the US State of Delaware, especially in areas underserved by loc ...

. The airport has hosted training missions for medivac helicopter crews. It is also a maintenance base for military Chinook helicopters. The airport has been a source of controversy for storing an

ATR 42 The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR (aircraft manufacturer), ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France. On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aér ...

purchased to serve in drug enforcement efforts in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The plane is unairworthy and unable to fly, and it thus is taking up space and rent.

Facilities and aircraft

Summit Airport covers an area of which contains two

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

s. Runway 17/35 measures 4,488 x 65 ft (1,368 x 20 m) with an asphalt surface. Runway 11/29 measures 3,601 x 200 ft (1,098 x 61 m) with a turf surface. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2016, the airport had 31,390 aircraft operations, an average of 86 per day: 99%

and less than 1%

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

. This is down from 89,600 aircraft operations in 2002. In 2016, there were 21 aircraft based at the airport, all single engine

airplanes An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, ...

. This was down from 103 based aircraft in 2002.

Accidents and incidents

* On November 9, 2008, a Rotorway Executive 162F experimental helicopter was damaged during an engine runup at the Summit Airport. The helicopter's chain drive oil system had just been repaired. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot’s excessive use of cyclic during the engine run-up. Contributing to the accident were the pilot’s inexperience and gusting wind conditions. * On December 1, 2008, a Piper PA-32 experienced a "sudden loss of airspeed and rapid increase in descent rate that was not altered by the application of power." The aircraft made it to the airport, but it landed hard and all three landing gear collapsed. The aircraft slid off the runway, and the wing spar and engine firewall were damaged. After the accident, the pilot said he had been flying from the right seat, making it difficult to read the instruments; the pilot also said he had encountered windshear on final. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control while landing in gusty conditions. * A small plane crashed near the airport in April 2010. * On August 18, 2013, a Cessna 172S Skyhawk crashed while on a student pilot solo flight. On the last landing, the plane touched down hard and bounced. The pilot tried to release back pressure to compensate, and the aircraft bounced again. After the power was pulled to idle, the plane hit the ground a third time and came to a stop. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot’s improper recovery from a bounced landing.

References

External links

* Airports in Delaware Transportation buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware Middletown, Delaware Transportation in New Castle County, Delaware Buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware Aviation in Delaware {{Delaware-airport-stub

Facilities and aircraft

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links