Transportation Accident- Aircraft
An aviation accident is defined as an occurrence associated with the operation of an
aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards with the intent to fly and
all persons have disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the
aircraft sustains damage or structural failure, and/or the aircraft is missing or is
completely inaccessible. Franklin County has 4 operational airports, all located in
densely populated areas. However, there have been only two reported air crashes in
the county.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 defines an aviation accident as
an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between
the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons
have disembarked, in which a person is fatally or seriously injured, the aircraft sustains
damage or structural failure and/or the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.
Air crashes are an ever-present danger because of the unforgiving nature of flight.
Aircraft are designed to minimize the chance of failure, and pilots are trained with safety
as a primary consideration. Despite this, accidents still occur, although statistically,
flying is arguably the safest form of transport. The relative rarity of incidents, coupled
with the often-dramatic outcome, is one reason why they still make headline news. The
odds of a plane crash today are distinctly low compared to those in other transportation
modes, but the chance of fatalities in such a disaster is notably higher.
Areas adjacent to airports present the greatest potential locations for an aircraft
incident. Franklin County has four airports in highly populated areas. Should a plane go
down, chances are high it could hit people or property on the ground. This increases the
county’s vulnerability to an air crash incident. Three of the airports are operated by the
Columbus Regional Airport Authority: Port Columbus, Rickenbacker, and Bolton Field.
The fourth, Don Scott Field, is operated by The Ohio State University.
Nationally, the airports serve as a vital link between the Central Ohio business
community and their principal destinations. Businesses benefit from a brief two-hour
flight to 60% of the nation’s population, 60% of the nation’s manufacturing, and 60% of
the nation’s purchasing power.
Port Columbus
Port Columbus International Airport was opened in 1929 as part of the first
Transcontinental Air/Rail Service from New York to the West Coast.
Over 6.9 million passengers used Port Columbus in 2008, making it the second busiest
year in the airport’s history behind the 7.7 million in 2007.
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker is an international cargo-dedicated airport, a multimodal logistics hub, a
charter passenger terminal, a U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone, and a major component of the
economic engine of Central Ohio.
Bolton Field
Bolton Field, constructed in 1970, serves as a reliever to Port Columbus. It has 5,500
feet of runway and parallel taxiway. It serves corporate and business transportation,
aircraft re-fueling and maintenance, aircraft charters, flight training, recreational flying,
aerial advertising, and traffic reporting. Events and activities such as fly-ins, banner
towing and ballooning also take place on airport grounds.
The Ohio State University Airport – Don Scott Field
Don Scott Field is home to 230 aircraft, including single and multi-engine, piston and
turbine engine aircraft and rotorcraft.
In 1967, the crew of a TWA 707 mistook the OSU Airport for Port Columbus. After
shuttling all passengers and baggage to Port Columbus, and removing all galley
equipment and seats, the plane was light enough to depart for the larger facility across
town.
Even with such proximity to aircraft activity, there have been only two air crashes
reported for Franklin County by the NTSB.
The first was on January 7, 1994. A United Express Jetstream J4101 commuter plane
stalled while executing the ILS approach to runway 28L during a snowstorm. The plane
struck a concrete block building about 1.2 miles east of the runway. Seven of the 12
people on board died. The plane was destroyed by a post crash fire. There was damage
on the ground to numerous trees, the storage warehouse was destroyed along with
heavy mechanical equipment and an automobile, which were inside.
The second reported air crash was on September 1, 2008. A scheduled cargo flight, an
Air Tahoma Convair CV-580, took off from Rickenbacker on a flight to Mansfield, Ohio.
The pilot radioed he was returning