The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Norridgewock Airport Unhappy About Snowmobiles On or Near Runways

December 28, 2009 - NORRIDGEWOCK -- Employees at Central Maine Regional Airport are fed up with snowmobilers riding across and near runways – and the airport's federal funding might be at risk if it doesn't stop.

For several years, snowmobiles have tracked snow and ice across runways and have sped along a trail that runs parallel to a runway.

In addition to endangering pilots and snowmobile riders, the activity also violates Federal Aviation Administration regulations forbidding snowmobiling there, airport operator Kristina Wallace said.

"Number one, it's dangerous for pilots. It's dangerous for (people riding snowmobiles) if a plane comes through," Wallace said. "We have funding that we're getting from the FAA. There's $1.2 million we're going to get for a new runway. We have to abide by regulations or we could lose our funding."

A single piece of ice tracked across a runway could cause damage to a plane, Wallace said. And if a snowmobile crosses a runway as a plane is touching down, the plane would have to pull up, she said.

"No one will be able to stop in time," she said.

A snowmobile could damage lighting on the runway, too.

A few years ago, while airport personnel were cutting trees to maintain the area, a snowmobile sped near the runway and crashed into a pile of snow. The rider was taken away in an ambulance.

"That's when the FAA said no more snowmobiles," Wallace said.

She posted signs and put up heavy duty plastic fences to deter people riding snowmobiles. But people ripped down the signs, cut through the fences and continued riding on the property.

"We had such a problem last year," Town Manager Michelle Flewelling said. When employees replaced the signs and fencing, they were again torn down.

Wallace reported the issue to the Maine Warden Service. Cpl. Aaron Cross was one of the wardens to investigate the area.

"We met a groomer almost right next to the runway," Cross said. "We talked to him and told him that the trail was no longer active and he could no longer use it. ... He wasn't real happy with that because he had done it in the past."

Cross and another warden spent several nights near the trail, watching for snowmobiles. They didn't encounter any, and the problem seemed to go away, he said.

But the snowmobiles are back this year. "Already this morning I have snowmobile tracks going along the edge of the runway," Wallace said Wednesday.

"I think that people think because it's town-owned property, they have a right to use it. ... It is town property, but it's not open to use for the public unless it's for aviation purposes," she said, explaining that federal law supersedes town law.

Last year, people removed signs and fences at least three times, she said.

The snowmobile trail near the airport connects to a larger path, Cross said, so shutting it down should not block the major trail network.

By ERIN RHODA, Morning Sentinel December 26, 2009


Lakes:
Regions: Bangor


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News