Financially failing Biddefort Airport, from open danger to the community that used its grounds for dangerous pleasures to over controlled, closed off nuisance, may now find itself losing more than the FAA license that was preserved to the provocation of the Biddeford residents now considering voting to close it.
Airport supporters and opponents are divided about what the issue is: an airport that can’t pay its bills and can no longer be bailed out by tax payers; a corporate owned business that finally had to get tough when irresponsible citizens and their children risked airport safety; or just a plain eyesore on the landscape.
FAA spokesperson Peter Lucievanni, says that whatever the community decides to focus on, Biddefort Airport made the only decision that would allow them to remain licensed.
“There were all kinds of complaints coming in from private pilots and angry neighbors: trees so high that take-off was dangerous, an open runway that made a potentially lethal hockey court,” Said Lucievanni. “They had to fix it or shut down immediately.”
Now their receiving complaints on the other end of the spectrum. People who are angry about the tree trimming and no-trespassing.
“NTSB has a report of a pilot, who was also an instructor pilot, hit the trees at the end of the runway because he did not do a correct pre-flight check and at take off speed could not pull back on his controls because he forgot to take off his control lock. Some residents no longer have trees to protect them. I still have a good tree barrio to stop a plane and reduce noise,” said Biddefort resident Roland Pelletier.
The only consistency between accusations is that they are coming from the same people in the community.
Paul Archembault, Chairman of Close our Little Airport said, “this started out about trees and public access. But it’s not just about that anymore. Now it’s about money too.”
But some people in the community would lose their recreation and possibly their livelihood without the runway and airport.
“Maybe it’s expensive to run the airport. But it’s a great resource,” Private pilot Phyllis Landry said, adding that “if I couldn’t fly out of here I’d have o go to Sanford or Portland