AIRPORT SITE FOR RELIEF WORK AS FACILITY DRY

Amidst the rolling hills and bluffs edging the Mississippi River Valley, the most appropriate site for local airports often is in the level flood plain.

And although many of the municipal airports between St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn., are situated in areas that aren't typically prone to flooding, the summer of 1993 has been anything but typical.

The presumed protection of levees has proven to be an inadequate safeguard as record floodwaters have breached the barriers at many airports along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

But the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport remains dry, thanks to the massive diversion channel levee that separates the airfield from the inland lake that was the diversion channel.

Airport Manager Randy Holdman said the Cape facility is the only airport along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Memphis that's operating with a control tower. It's also the only airport in that long stretch large enough to handle some of the aircraft being used in flood relief efforts.

"In July we had 150 military and 300 to 400 civilian flights related to flood relief efforts," Holdman said. "With some of the other airports closed, we've also had more general air traffic."

On Thursday, for example, a young private pilot got lost in the Perryville area with no place to land. "We talked him down and got him on the ground in Cape Girardeau," Holdman said.

Statewide, at least 15 airports have had to close due to flooding, from Kansas City and Jefferson City on the Missouri River, to St. Louis and Perryville on the Mississippi.

In the St. Louis area alone, eight airports are flooded, leaving Cape Girardeau as the sole fully-equipped facility along the river.

Many of the inundated St. Louis airports likely will face significant repairs and won't resume full operations for months, even after the water has receded, Holdman said.

"The problem with some is that they're right beneath the current," he said. "The Spirit of St. Louis Airport is under the current and might have significant damage, so these could be down for a while."

With so many airports under water, Holdman said, many pilots are surprised to learn the Cape Girardeau facility is dry.

Military aircraft have used the airport to bring supplies and equipment to battle the flooding. In July a C-130 carrying emergency water pumps for Perryville landed there. Numerous state officials also have flown in to survey flood damage.

"With our 6,500-foot runway and its load capacity, we can basically take anything in the Air Force inventory or in commercial aircraft," Holdman said.

National Guard helicopters leaving the Cape airport also have flown Army Corps of Engineers officials on check flights over the Mississippi River levees.

Holdman said some flooded businesses in the St. Louis area also have inquired about facilities that might be available at the airport in Cape Girardeau.

The airport manager said commercial boardings have increased during July and into August.

An upshot of the facility's usefulness during the flood crisis could be a more "marketable" airport, he said.

"I think it's going to help heighten awareness of the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport as a regional airport."

Once the floodwaters recede, Holdman said, the airport likely will serve as a staging area for future disaster and emergency response exercises, such as last year's "Steel Cure II." It involved several federal, state and local agencies responding to a mock earthquake.