Mar 25, 2009 2:25 pm US/Pacific
The Scoop: Sac Executive Airport Strip 12-30
R.E. Graswich
It's a question that's been in the air since the Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor plane crash killed 23 people on this spot in 1972 – should runway 12-30 at Sacramento Executive Airport be shut down?
Today, Sacramento leaders may finally be ready to permanently close the notorious runway – but not for safety reasons.
It's all about money – Exec Airport is losing money, and closing the runway would save maintenance dollars and allow development where the runway now takes up space.
A new Executive Airport master plan is under consideration by Sacramento County officials. They run the place. The plan lays out several possibilities to save money and put new buildings up on land that would become available.
Karen Doron, the Executive Airport Spokeswoman says they have several plans for residents to look at, but closing runway 12-30 isn't a done deal. "No decisions have been made on closing any runways," said Doron. "These are draft alternatives. . . We've got four different alternatives for the land side and four different alternatives for the air side."
The county could pick up over 100 acres for development if they close runway 12-30. And that would still leave the Executive Airport with two full runways.
No matter what happens to the runway, here's something that will never go away – the memorial for 12 children and 11 adults who were killed when a plane skipped off runway 12-30 and crashed into an ice cream parlor, right here, on September 24, 1972.
I'm R.E. Graswich and that's the Scoop.
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