The storm that moved through Springfield late Wednesday brought strong winds and maybe a tornado to northern Sangamon County. Springfield Airport Authority Executive Director Mark Hanna said just before midnight, reports of damage on site were received.
That includes structural damage to four of the smaller hangars on the south side of the main entrance road. Some of the hangars at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport were blown over and caused fence damage.
“We did lose a few trees in that area as well. But staff was in over the evening hours, amended the fence to maintain security,” Hanna said. “And the airport does remain open. The American Airlines early morning flight did depart on time this morning.”
Hanna said the hangars are owned and operated by the Air Combat Museum. And for the most part, they had stored different parts and accessories for their ongoing projects that they have at the museum.
“There were no airworthy aircraft in these hangars. There were these smaller, usually a single smaller, one-unit type of hangars. And no one was hurt and there was no…. significant damage to any airworthy aircraft.”
“There is a fair amount of cleanup and disposal, obviously the building parts and the dismantling…and disposal of the buildings themselves” Hanna said.
"The airport remains open. The flight this morning (American Airlines) left on time at 6 a.m. or shortly before and everything throughout the day remains on time as scheduled."
