General Mitchell International Airport

Coordinates: 42°56′50″N 087°53′48″W / 42.94722°N 87.89667°W / 42.94722; -87.89667

General Mitchell International Airport
IATA: MKE – ICAO: KMKE – FAA: MKE
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner/Operator		Milwaukee County
Location		Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hub for		AirTran Airways Freight Runners Express Midwest Airlines
Elevation AMSL		723 ft / 220 m
Website		www.MitchellAirport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
01L/19R	9,690 to be 10,690[1]	2,954	Asphalt/Concrete
01R/19L	4,183	1,275	Asphalt/Concrete
07L/25R	4,800	1,463	Asphalt/Concrete
07R/25L	8,012 to be 9,012[1]	2,442	Asphalt/Concrete
13/31	5,868	1,789	Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations			183,278
Passengers			7,956,968
Sources: airport web site[2] and FAA[3]

General Mitchell International Airport (IATA: MKE, ICAO: KMKE, FAA LID: MKE) is a county-owned public airport located five miles (8 km) south of the central business district of Milwaukee, a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States.^[3]

It is named after United States Army Air Service General Billy Mitchell, who was raised in Milwaukee and is often regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. The airport is the main hub of Midwest Airlines, and a secondary hub for AirTran Airways. Along with being the primary airport for Milwaukee, Mitchell International has sometimes been described as Chicago's third airport, as many Chicago travelers use it as an alternative to Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway.^[4] It is also used by travellers throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. An Amtrak railway station opened at the airport in 2005. The station is used by the Hiawatha Service line running between Chicago and Milwaukee several times daily.

History

The original airfield was established in 1920 as Hamilton Airport by business owner Thomas Hamilton. Milwaukee County purchased the land on October 19, 1926, for the Milwaukee County Airport. Kohler Aviation Corporation began providing passenger service across Lake Michigan on August 31, 1929. A passenger terminal was later constructed in 1940, and on March 17, 1941, the airport was renamed General Mitchell Field after Milwaukee's military airpower advocate, Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell.^[5] On January 4, 1945, Mitchell Field was leased to the War Department for use as a World War II prisoner-of-war camp. Over 3,000 prisoners and 250 enlisted men stayed at the work camp. Escaped German prisoners were often surprised to find a large German and Polish population just beyond the fence.^[6] The present terminal opened in 1955 and was expanded significantly between 1984 and 1990. On June 19, 1986, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors officially renamed Mitchell Field to General Mitchell International Airport.^[5]

The airport is still owned and operated by Milwaukee County; however, some Milwaukee business leaders are advocating the privatization or leasing of General Mitchell International Airport in order (they say) to eliminate Milwaukee County’s budget deficit.^[7]

Awards and recognition

In October 2008, a Condé Nast Traveler poll ranked Milwaukee County’s General Mitchell International Airport fourth in the nation using categories of Location and Access, Design, Customs and Baggage, Perceived Safety and Security, as well as Food, Shops and Amenities.

Facilities and operations

General Mitchell International Airport covers an area of 2,180 acres (882 ha) which contains five asphalt and concrete paved runways ranging in length from 4,183 to 9,690 ft (1,463 to 2,954 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 219,114 aircraft operations, an average of 600 per day: 56% air taxi, 32% scheduled commercial, 10% general aviation and 1% military.^[3] The main building houses the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, a non-profit museum on the concession level; the usual retail outlets, including a small food court; and a branch of Renaissance Books which is believed to be the world's first used book store in an airport.^[8] An observation lot along the northern edge of the airport is open to the public, and tower communications are rebroadcast using a low-power FM transmitter for visitors to tune in on their car radios. A Wisconsin historical marker documenting the airport's history is also located there.^[9]

A Midwest Express Dornier 328JET on the tarmac in front of the airport's 200-foot (61 m) high control tower

Statistics

In 2008, a record 7,956,968 passengers used the airport, a 3.62% increase over 2007 with 7,713,144. The airport is owned and operated by Milwaukee County. Mitchell's 12 airlines offer over 200 daily departures. Over 40 airports are served nonstop or direct from Mitchell International. It is the largest airport in Wisconsin. The airport terminal is open 24 hours a day.^[10]

Expansion

Mitchell International is expanding the buffer zone on their runways after an accident on January 21, 2007, when Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded off the runway after aborting takeoff. According to the FAA, most airports are encouraged to have a buffer zone no shorter than 1,000 feet (305 m), although many airports do not meet this requirement.

Construction to provide this buffer zone began at the end of the summer of 2009. Current plans call for the completion by the summer of 2011. Work is being done to the west of the airport (6th Street) to move the road to allow enough room. Work is also being done to the south of the airport. College Avenue will be rebuilt to travel through a tunnel to allow a buffer zone over the road. This is similar to work already in place to the west on Howell Avenue.

There is also a "Master Plan" idea to significantly increase terminal area by either stretching the existing terminal (in some cases, to almost double the size) or begin construction of an entirely separate terminal. Nearly all cases will involve major reconstruction on the airport itself, and will have a huge impact on the airport's future traffic.^[11]

Accourding to the Fall 2007 Newsletter, the proposed Concourses F and G would be built just below the Concourse E stem.^[12]

In July 2007, General Mitchell International Airport completed a 10 gate addition to Concourse C along with new rampside boarding gates for Midwest Connect in Concourse D. US Airways was moved to Concourse C, leaving all of Concourse D for Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect until June 1, 2008 when Great Lakes Airlines started its Milwaukee service. Concourse E has also been renovated due to the larger passenger volume.

Airlines and destinations

Interior of main terminal

General Mitchell International Airport has 48 gates and 40 jetbridges on 3 concourses in one terminal. All international arrivals lacking border preclearance must pass through the International Arrivals Building.

Midwest Airlines is the largest carrier with the most gates at the airport. AirTran Airways and Delta Air Lines also have sizable presences.

Terminals and destinations

Concourse C

Concourse D

Concourse E

Cargo carriers

Military presence

The airport also hosts the General Mitchell Air National Guard Station, home to the 128th Air Refueling Wing (128 ARW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the Wisconsin Air National Guard flying the KC-135R Stratotanker. The wing performs both Federal and State missions and consists of approximately 1000 Air National Guard personnel, both full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technicians (ART), as well as traditional part-time guardsmen, available for world-wide deployment in support of Air Mobility Command and combatant commander tasking. The wing also maintains a KC-135 flight simulator, providing training profciency for its own crews as well as other KC-135 flight crews in other air refueling wings and air mobility wings in the Regular U.S. Air Force, the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard.

Prior to 2007, the military installation was known as General Mitchell Air Reserve Station and was also home to the 440th Airlift Wing (440 AW), an Air Mobility Command (AMC)-gained unit of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) flying the C-130H Hercules. While based at General Mitchell ARS, the 440 AW numbered in excess of 1500 full-time AGR, ART and part-time traditional reservists. Pursuant to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005 action, the 440 AW relocated to Pope AFB, North Carolina in 2007 and the former AFRC facilities were turned over to the Air National Guard, resulting in the installation's renaming.

Ground transportation

The Milwaukee Airport Rail Station provides service to Milwaukee as well as Chicago.

• Badger Coach has frequent trips between Mitchell Airport, Downtown Milwaukee, Madison, Johnson Creek, and Goerkes Corners.^[13]

• Airport Connection has routes from the Airport to the Amtrak Station, the Milwaukee Airport Rail Station, (MKA), parking lots, Sheboygan, and the Fox Valley Area.^[14]
• Milwaukee County Transit System Route 80 serves the Airport with a $2 fare to anywhere in the county.^[15]
• Amtrak has a station platform close to the airport and uses the Hiawatha Service.^[16]
• Wisconsin Coach Lines as Airport Express operates frequently to O'Hare Airport (ORD), Midway Airport (MDW) and General Mitchell Airport (MKE) from Waukesha, Milwaukee(Downtown Amtrak/Greyhound Station), Racine, and Kenosha.^[17]

Incidents and accidents

• On 4 August 1968, a Convair CV-580, flying as North Central Airlines flight 261, collided in mid-air with a privately owned Cessna 150. The Cessna cabin remained attached to the Convair's forward baggage compartment. The Convair made a safe emergency landing at Milwaukee. The 3 Cessna occupants were killed. The Cessna was on a VFR flight from Lombard, Illinois to Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. It was determined that the inability of the Convair 580 flight crew to detect the Cessna 150 visually in sufficient time to take evasive action, despite having been provided with three radar traffic advisories caused the crash. Visual detection capabilities were reduced by the heavy accumulation of insect smears on the windows of the Convair. Visibility was further reduced by haze, smoke and sunglare, and by the inconspicuous colour and lack of relative motion of the Cessna.

• On September 6, 1985, Midwest Express Flight 105 crashed upon takeoff from Milwaukee. This was Midwest's first (and, as of September 11, 2008, only) fatal accident, when one of the airline's Douglas DC-9s crashed while taking off from Milwaukee, bound for Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. According to NTSB reports, the crash was caused by improper pilot reaction when the plane’s right engine failed due to stress corrosion cracking. The improper flight control inputs caused an uncommanded roll and accelerated stall. The 31 people on board died.^[18]

• On August 31, 2005 a Midwest Airlines, Boeing 717 bumped a weed spraying truck and damaged the plane’s left wing. No one was hurt in the incident.

• A Northwest Airlines DC-9, Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded 400 feet (120 m) off the end of a snowy runway 7R on January 21, 2007 at Milwaukee International Airport. The accident was due to an explosion in one of the engines, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff. The aircraft was headed for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and was to continue on to Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Amongst the 104 people aboard, only one back injury was reported.^{[19][20][21][22]}

• On January 23, 2007 two Freight Runners Express cargo planes collided and burned on a taxiway. Both pilots were able to escape without injury. The planes were a Cessna 402 and a Beech 99. Investigation found Air Traffic Control to be at fault for the incident.^[23]

• On June 4, 2007 A Cessna Citation II crashed on take off after reporting a runaway trim tab. The pilot issued a distress signal within five minutes after taking off from KMKE. The plane then crashed into Lake Michigan two miles (3 km) off shore. The plane was carrying an organ transplant team from the University of Michigan back to Willow Run Airport. There was a crew of two and four passengers aboard. All six died.

• On November 13, 2007, a Midwest Connect flight from Milwaukee bound for Dayton was in a near-miss situation with a United Express jet heading to Chicago O'Hare International Airport from Greensboro while flying over northern Indiana. Air traffic controllers with Chicago Center directed the Midwest Connect flight to begin its descent while traveling head-on towards the United Express CRJ a few thousand feet below. The planes came as close as 1.3 miles (2.1 km) apart horizontally and 600 feet (183 m) vertically.^[24] The Midwest Connect Dornier 328JET was just above the United Express aircraft and descending while they were closing in on each other. An audible TCAS alarm in the Midwest Connect cockpit alerted the pilots of the proximity, allowing them to pull up in time.

• On April 22, 2008, a Chautauqua Airlines flight from St. Louis to Milwaukee experienced engine failure and landed safely at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. Of the 32 passengers on board, none were injured.^[25]

• On September 12, 2008, at 7:13 PM, a Cirrus SR22 heading from Milwaukee bound for Lakeland Airport in Vilas County crashed a half a mile southwest of the Airport. All three people on board died.^[26]

• On December 29, 2008 a Midwest Connect flight made an emergency landing at General Mitchell International Airport after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The plane, bound for Flint, Michigan, returned to General Mitchell International Airport and landed without incident. None of the 40 passengers were injured.

See also

• Wisconsin World War II Army Airfields

References

External links

United States Air Force portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: General Mitchell International Airport

• General Mitchell International Airport Official site
• Fly MKE
• Wisconsin Airport Directory: General Mitchell International AirportPDF (138 KB)
• Michigan Airport Directory: General Mitchell International AirportPDF (40.7 KB)
• Milwaukee Airport Railroad Station
• flyertalk.com Guide to the Milwaukee Airport
• FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 19 Nov 2009
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KMKE
  • ASN accident history for MKE
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KMKE
  • FAA current MKE delay information
• Great Lakes Aviation [2]
• 128th Air Refeuling Wing, Wisconsin Air National Guard [3]

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