Medina Municipal Airport

From the early 1960’s through the late 1970's the airport was privately owned and was known as Freedom Field Inc. I was the only mechanic on the field the summer of 1977. I have no information on when the airport was founded. The airport was unique in that it had a Pitts Special aerobatic biplane broker on the field, a B-25 bomber was parked at the north end near the SR 94. At that time the airport was also a Cessna Aircraft 'zone' Warehouse. Brand new Cessna aircraft were flown from Wichita KS and stored on the airport until sold to Cessna dealers in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Because of this, the airport had every type of single engine Cessna available on the field to purchase. There was a bit of a controversy in 1977 because someone in Cleveland suggested that the very small Freedom Field could have been used as a reliever airport for jet cargo aircraft from Cleveland Hopkins. Mr. Freed, the owner of the airport pointed out on local media that the individual suggesting this did not even bother to check if that was feasible within the confines of the small airport.

Parking spaces were expanded at the airport in 2013 when a helicopter based at the airport began taking up half of the parking space the Federal Aviation Administration recommends the airport has.[5]

The airport received a $90,315 federal grant in 2015 to improve efficiency and safety at the airport. It funded rehabilitation of an aircraft parking apron.[6]

The airport received a $168,750 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022 to update its master plan and layout.[7] The airport is also considering purchasing 30 additional acres of land to build additional corporate hangars and a maintenance facility as well as to extend a runway by 400 feet.[8]

The airport was the center of controversy in 2022 when it was found a 17-year-old airport worker organized a supercar photoshoot at the airport. Cars were taken onto the airport's runway and driven at high speeds, even as aircraft were taking off and landing.[9][10]

Medina Municipal Airport covers an area of 283 acres (115 ha) at an elevation of 1,190 feet (363 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt runways designated 01/19, with a surface measuring 2,867 x 60 feet (874 x 18 m), and 09/27, with a surface measuring 3,556 x 75 feet (1,084 x 23 m).[1][11][12]

For the 12-month period ending September 23, 2020, the airport had 79,685 aircraft operations, an average of 218 per day: 98% general aviation, 2% air taxi, and a few military and ultralight. At that time, there were 54 aircraft based at this airport: 49 single-engine and 3 multi-engine airplanes as well as 2 helicopters.[1][11][12]

The airport has a fixed-base operator that sells fuel and offers amenities such as general maintenance, avionics services, a conference room, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, and more.[13]

• On October 27, 1999, a Cessna 210L was destroyed during an attempted landing at the Medina Municipal Airport. According to one witness, the airplane initially approached Runway 27 at Medina and made a low approach "not more than 20 feet above the runway." The airplane then climbed, circled at "no more than 500 feet," and entered a left downwind for Runway 36. It turned towards the runway for landing, then descended where the witness lost sight of it. The witness further stated that at no time did the engine sound abnormal. Another witness said that the aircraft hit electrical transmission wires on final approach and "came down immediately." A flight instructor in another airplane on the ground observed the airplane descend below the approach end of Runway 36. He wasn't sure of what he was seeing due to the low, twilight visibility, but then observed a blue flash of light. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain proper altitude during the final approach segment of the visual approach.[14]
• On September 25, 2001, a Piper PA-32 Cherokee Six was substantially damaged during a forced landing after take-off from Medina Municipal Airport. The pilot reported that the plane had 60 gallons of fuel onboard and that the aircraft's engine runup seemed fine. After takeoff, the engine "popped" and quit, and smoke began emanating from the left side of the engine. A witness reported seeing the airplane was too low before impacting the ground, and that they could not hear the airplane's engine running. The probable cause of the accident was found to be fatigue failure of the dual magneto mounting flanges that resulted from undetected contact damage sustained during a previous installation, which resulted in its separation from the engine during take-off.[15]
• On March 26, 2003, a Cessna 150G impacted a hangar and two parked airplanes at the Medina Municipal Airport. After startup, the pilot said that the engine began to "race," and the airplane "lunged" forward. Though the pilot closed both the throttle and the mixture and applied breaks, the aircraft continued to roll forwards. The pilot used rudder to attempt to steer the plane away from the hangar, but the right wing contacted the corner of the building, and the airplane spun to the right and impacted two parked airplanes before coming to a stop. An engine run on the aircraft by a mechanic after the accident found that the brakes alone held the aircraft stationary. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to follow published procedures while starting the engine, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane.[16]
• On September 10, 2004, a Cessna 172M was substantially damaged during an aborted takeoff at the Medina Municipal Airport. While performing his fourth takeoff of the day, the pilot said the aircraft was "slow to lift," and he decided he would not safely climb above the wires at the end of the runway. The pilot subsequently reduced power to idle, applied the brakes, and extended flaps; however, the airplane still traveled off the end of the runway, impacted a fance, and nosed over on the ditch. A witness at the airport reported hearing a change of engine power during the airplane's takeoff roll, followed by the sound of tires "squelling on the pavement" before the aircraft overran the runway. Investigation of the engine found the number 3 cylinder was providing low compression due to a fractured cylinder ring. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the partial loss of engine power due to inadequate maintenance and by failure to comply with service instruction for low engine compression.[17]
• On July 7, 2005, a Cessna 421B was substantially damaged while landing at Medina Municipal Airport. Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the pilot decided to return to the airport due to a high oil temperature indication on the left engine. The pilot used the VOR instrument approach to runway 27. He extended the landing gear at the final approach fix and noted a "3 green" landing gear indication, which was confirmed just prior to touchdown. The aircraft touched down normally, but the left wing subsequently dropped toward the ground, and the airplane began to veer left. The airplane traveled off the left side of the runway, struck a ditch, and came to rest upright. The probable cause of the accident was found to be an overload failure of the left main landing gear attachment assembly.[18]
• On December 13, 2005, a Mendenhall Lancair 235 impacted a snow bank situated alongside the runway and subsequently nosed over at the Medina Municipal Airport. After touching down on the snow-contaminated runway, the aircraft "immediately began drifting toward the left side of the runway." The pilot attempted to correct for the drift using right rudder but "lost directional control" and departed off the left side of the runway. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing due to an icy runway.[19]
• On July 20, 2011, a Beech C35 Bonanza experienced a total loss of engine power after takeoff from Medina Municipal Airport. Though the flight instructor attempted to return to the airport, they instead made a forced landing 400 feet from the runway. The pilots onboard had been practicing takeoffs and landings on an instructional flight when the engine lost power about 200 feet above ground level. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation due to an age-related failure of the engine-driven fuel pump. Also causal was the failure of the maintenance facility to overhaul the fuel pump and the failure of the operator to ensure that the pump was overhauled.[20]
• On October 8, 2017, a Cessna 150 flown by a student pilot landed hard, bounced, and porpoised before coming to rest on the runway, causing substantial damage to the engine mounts. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and porpoise.[21]

• Aerial photo as of 12 October 2000 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Terminal Procedures for 1G5, effective October 5, 2023
• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for 1G5
  • AirNav airport information for 1G5
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for 1G5