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<br />Marian Meadows Rezone and Subdivision Final Environmental Impact Statement 3-97 <br /> 3.2.2 Transportation - Aviation <br />1 What existing airports are in the area? <br />The Easton State Airport is located about 0.25 mile west of the development site. The airport was <br />constructed in the 1930s by the federal government as an emergency field for aircraft crossing the <br />Cascade Mountains through Snoqualmie Pass. It was acquired by the State of Washington in 1958. The <br />airport runway is composed of 2,640 feet of turf and has medium intensity lighting. Trees surround the <br />airport, and there are trees in both approaches. <br />The WSDOT Aviation Division estimates that the airport is visited by approximately 30 to aircraft per <br />month, including use by recreation groups and for pilots training for mountain flying/soft field practice. <br />Glider and flying clubs are reported to frequently use the field during the summer (Wolfe 2010). <br />The airport is classified by WSDOT as a Rural Essential Airports which is a classification for airports that <br />serve the narrowest scopes of general aviation. An airport in one of these two classifications typically <br />develops due to geographic circumstances, rather than demand from the population within its service area. <br />This classification includes all land-based airports that are open to public use, but do not meet the <br />threshold criteria for Commercial Service, Regional Service, Community Service, or Local Service <br />Airports. Rural Essential Airports and Seaplane Bases have no service objectives and few facility <br />objectives, reflecting the lower level of facilities and services needed at these airports compared to the <br />other classifications. An important function of the Easton Airport is to provide for emergency landings for <br />general aviation aircraft crossing the Cascade Mountains. The airport is used periodically for firefighting <br />access largely limited to small planes and helicopters in mountainous or other areas (Wolfe 2010). <br />The Easton Airport has the potential for limitations on use during hot summer days due to its elevation. <br />Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. Lower air density reduces the amount of <br />lift generated by the wings of an airplane or the rotors of a helicopter, which may hamper an aircraft's <br />performance. Under these conditions, known as “high and hot” airplanes require a longer takeoff run, <br />potentially exceeding the amount of available runway. In addition, low air density hampers an aircraft's <br />ability to climb. In some cases, an aircraft may be unable to climb rapidly enough to clear terrain <br />surrounding a mountain airport. When these conditions are in effect, the normal safety zones along the <br />axis of an airport runway may not be adequate to ensure airplane safety or safety of persons on the ground <br />(Welch 1999). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded three aircraft accidents <br />related to takeoffs or landings at the Easton State Airport. Two of the accidents took place on the runway <br />itself. The other accident occurred during a July 10, 2007 emergency landing of a two-engine plane about <br />0.50 mile east of the extended airport centerline and about 0.25 mile south. After impact, the plane <br />erupted into intense flames.