Two Storms, Two Airports... And A Lot Of Broken Planes

The tornado "just came through in an instant," Lima County Regional Airport (KAOH)manager Cindy Pyles told the local paper. But what a destructive instant it was.

An initial count had 18 aircraft destroyed by the Thursday twister at the airport, one of two hit by devastating storms that cut a swath of damage through Ohio last week. Aircraft ranging from the Sheriff's Office helicopter to trainers and even jets were destroyed, while other machines were damaged -- and only two to four survived in airworthy condition.

Despite material damage that runs into the millions, no human injuries were reported at the airport.

Before the storm, Pyles's most serious problem was a contentious drainage-ditch plan. "It makes me sick," she told the Lima News as she looked on as awed workers collected pieces of abstract metal that were once parts of aircraft or buildings. "I think we've salvaged two planes out of this mess."

Another storm -- this one hitting Wednesday night -- also wrecked havoc at Wood County Airport (1GO) near Bowling Green, about 45 miles northeast of KAOH. Airport worker Sara Teasdale discovered the damage when she drove out to check how the airport fared Wednesday night.

"I went out and checked by the hangars and I was like, 'Oh my God,'?" said Ms. Teasdale.

Airport manager Mike Hodges told the Toledo Blade the storm destroyed the southernmost of three 55-by-220-foot aircraft storage hangars, and badly damaged a second one. As you can see from the photos, the planes inside suffered.

"It basically lifted the building up and took it off its posts and transplanted it," Hodges said. "Of the 18 planes [damaged], there were probably at least a dozen that were close to totally destroyed."

Eyewitness Elenore Austin, who lives next to Lima Regional's access road, noted the sudden and unexpected nature of the storm.

"Oh man, it was just black. Boy, was I scared."

Two of AOH's four hangars were shredded by the twister's violent winds. Firefighters from several departments --including Perry Township, Lima and Westminster -- responded to the airport. When they saw standing pools of avgas from breached fuel tanks, they escorted everyone out -- at least until they rendered the fuel safe. County officials declared a state of emergency.

In addition to the tornados, extreme weather lashed other parts of Ohio as well, creating problems ranging from power outages to flooding. A fireman in Wellington in the northern part of the state drowned trying to rescue two teenagers trapped by a flooded river.

Tornados are the most powerful windstorm known, with winds of over 100 and even over 200 miles per hour. Short of keeping the aircraft in a military-type Hardened Aircraft Shelter, there are not many things that aircraft owners and operators can do to defend against property damage caused by these storms.

(Aero-News thanks reader Brad Gilmer for his photos of the devastation at Wood County Airport, and sends our thoughts out to those who were hit by the storms.)

FMI: www.nssl.noaa.gov/NWSTornado/