FAA Grants Help Texas Airport Build Fence

It was a very near thing last week. A group of Kansas wildlife officials flying into Topeka aboard the agency's Cessna 421 hit a deer on the runway. Luckily, no one was hurt and the aircraft was only slightly damaged. Even the deer apparently survived. But it's the kind of accident that could happen to any pilot at any time.

Now comes Kerrville/Kerr County Municipal Airport (TX), where the deer and the antelope play. Seldom is heard a discouraging word, unless a plane gets in the way.

That's why Kerrville Municipal wants to build a fence around its runway. Sure, the national security thing is also a consideration, but the overall idea is to keep the runway safe by building a six-mile long fence.

The 10-foot tall fence is chain link, topped with another foot of barbed wire, according to the Kerrville Daily Times. It should be finished by the middle of next year.

Most of the $523,000 needed to pay for construction of that fence comes from the FAA. About 10-percent comes from the city and county in th way of local matching funds.

"The fence is the standard recommended height from the FAA for wildlife control," Pearce told the Kerrville Daily Times. "We recognize that we have a wildlife control issue, preventing deer and antelope from getting into the operational side of the airport."

FMI: www.kerrville.org/airport/Default.htm