Griffin–Spalding County Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Griffin Spalding Airport Authority | ||||||||||
| Serves | Griffin, Georgia, US | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 958 ft / 292 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°13′35″N84°16′32″W / 33.22639°N 84.27556°W /33.22639; -84.27556 | ||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||
 Interactive map of Griffin–Spalding County Airport | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2011) | |||||||||||
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| Sources:FAA[1] | |||||||||||
Griffin–Spalding County Airport (FAALID:6A2) is a city-owned, public-useairport located one nautical mile (2 km) south of thecentral business district ofGriffin, a city inSpalding County, Georgia, United States.[1] It is included in theNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, whichcategorized it as ageneral aviation facility.[2]
Griffin–Spalding County Airport was built in 1939.[3] Despite the relatively short length of its then 3,100-foot-long (940 m) runway, Griffin's airport hosted various large piston aircraft including theDouglas DC-3 and theAviation Traders Carvair, a cargo conversion of theDC-4 from the 1970s until the 1990s.[4] For the 12-month period ending on July 3, 2011, there were 90 aircraft based at this airport.[2]
A proposal was made by the airport authority prior to 2014 to close the airport and pay back theFAA, but the FAA rejected the proposal that year citing the closure of the airport would contradict their mission to promote aviation and improve aviation infrastructure.[5] A sum of $55.4 million in federal and state funding has been secured to relocate the airport within Spalding County. In 2024 the city manager of Griffin announced the new airport could open by 2029.[6][7]
Griffin–Spalding County Airport covers an area of 198 acres (80 ha) at anelevation of 958 feet (292 m) abovemean sea level. It is an uncontrolled airport that lies beneath, but not within theClass B airspace surroundingHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It has onerunway designated 14/32 with anasphalt surface measuring 3,701 by 75 feet (1,128 x 23 m).[1] In addition to general aviation facilities, the airport also hosts an air ambulance, an aviation division of theGeorgia State Patrol andCivil Air Patrol, and aircraft manufacturing and salvage facilities.[8][9]
On April 4, 1997, at 12:16 am, aCustom Air Service flight going toRockford, Illinois, viaAlbany, Georgia, using an Aviation Traders Carvair crashed into a disusedPiggly Wiggly grocery store 1,360 feet (410 m) beyond the departure end of Runway 32 following an engine failure during the takeoff roll. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the resulting fire and the crew, the only occupants of the aircraft, were both killed.[10] On November 21, 2003, at 12:45 pm, aBeechcraft Baron crashed due to the loss of engine power during a maintenance flight approximately one-quarter mile (0.40 km) beyond the departure end of Runway 32. The sole occupant of the aircraft, the pilot, was killed on impact with a commercial building. No other casualties were caused by the accident.[11] Another incident at the airport occurred on November 11, 2009 when a pilot attempted to flee from authorities in his DC-3 after being cited for driving his automobile on the runway. The pilot was unable to take off and was suspended from employment withDelta Air Lines following his arrest. The incident shut down the airport for 45 minutes.[12]
