Those who thought they would beat the eclipse viewing traffic by soaring over it are getting a nasty reality check at little Madras Airport in central Oregon. The video below, shot by Portland NBC affiliate KGW's helicopter, shows an almost comically huge line of aircraft waiting to take the airport's main runway for departure. The planes in line for departure range from home-built kit planes to small corporate jets.
The town of Madras, which has a population of roughly 7,000 people on a normal day, saw hoards of people flood into the area to watch the once in a lifetime celestial event. The city sits perfectly on the "line of totality" and the area's weather this time of year is predictably ideal for viewing.
Making things more precarious, Madras has no air traffic control tower. So deconfliction and coordination of takeoffs and departures is done via open frequency, aircraft-to-aircraft communications. It is unclear if a temporary tower was setup for the eclipse rush or not. But regardless, with one 5,089 foot runway and one 2,701 foot runway available, and many dissimilar aircraft trying to use those runways, things can go wrong real fast. One airplane already crashed on Saturday while approaching the airport, with the pilot dying in the crash.
Hopefully everyone's trip home is safe and predictable
The town of Madras, which has a population of roughly 7,000 people on a normal day, saw hoards of people flood into the area to watch the once in a lifetime celestial event. The city sits perfectly on the "line of totality" and the area's weather this time of year is predictably ideal for viewing.
Making things more precarious, Madras has no air traffic control tower. So deconfliction and coordination of takeoffs and departures is done via open frequency, aircraft-to-aircraft communications. It is unclear if a temporary tower was setup for the eclipse rush or not. But regardless, with one 5,089 foot runway and one 2,701 foot runway available, and many dissimilar aircraft trying to use those runways, things can go wrong real fast. One airplane already crashed on Saturday while approaching the airport, with the pilot dying in the crash.
Hopefully everyone's trip home is safe and predictable
tags: madras airport , madras traffic jam , eclipse traffic , breed of speed , nathan finneman , amazing traffic
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