Photos: Aircraft, Hangars at Kansas Airport Damaged in Storm
March 10, 2017
High winds damaged hangar buildings and aircraft at Johnson County Executive Airport (KOJC) in Olathe, Kan., on Monday night.
One county-owned hangar building on the east side of the airport was destroyed, Johnson County manager Hannes Zacharias said. Five county hangars on that side of the airport experienced “significant damage,” he said. The winds damaged three private hangars as well.
Four county hangars on the west side sustained minor damage.
Many planes were damaged. County officials had not determined the number of aircraft damaged. The county noted, however, that each hangar building could accommodate up to 14 planes.
The National Weather Service determined that 80 to 85 mph straight-line winds, not a tornado, caused the damage at the airport. Several tornadoes touched down in other areas of the Kansas City metropolitan area as severe weather hit the area on Monday night.
After the storm, the airport closed overnight. It reopened to “limited operations” on Tuesday morning, Zacharias said. It is again open for flights.
Johnson County Executive Airport is about 23 miles south-southwest of downtown Kansas City, Mo. It has one 4098-foot runway. Air Associates of Kansas and KCAC Aviation operate FBOs and charter aircraft at the airport.