Grant County International Airport (IATA: MWH, ICAO: KMWH, FAALID: MWH) is a public use airport located six miles (10 km) northwest of the central business district of Moses LakeinGrant County, Washington, United States. Formerly a military facility, the airport is owned by the Port of Moses Lake,[1] and its 13,500-foot (4,110 m) runway is the 17th longest in the U.S.
On 24 June 1969, Japan Airlines Flight 90, a Convair 880, crashed on take-off from runway 32R at Grant County International Airport. The power was reduced on the number four engine during take-off, however, the aircraft continued to yaw to the right until the number four engine struck and slid off the runway. It burst into flames, killing three of the five crew members on board. The probable cause was a "delayed corrective action during a simulated critical-engine-out takeoff maneuver resulting in an excessive sideslip from which full recovery could not be effected."
In September 2019, Boeing stored 100 of its undelivered 737 MAX airplanes at the Moses Lake airport while it awaited clearance from the FAA and other aviation regulators to return the jet to commercial service.
Passenger air service to and from Moses Lake ended on 8 June 2010.[7]
With 4,650 acres (7.3 sq mi; 18.8 km2) and a 13,500-foot (4,110 m) main runway, it is one of the largest airports in the United States. Moses Lake is famous for good flying weather, as it is located on the east side of the Cascade Range, in the semi-arid desert of central Washington.
Grant County International Airport was an alternate landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle.[8]
Scheduled passenger flights on Big Sky AirlinestoBoise and Portland were discontinued on September 1, 2006. The service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. United Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines offered nonstop flights to Seattle from June 2009 until June 2010. The airport currently has no commercial passenger air service.
The airport was used for heavy jet training by Japan Airlines (JAL) for over forty years, until the closing of their training offices in March 2009.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The airport also had been used for flight testing of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet.[16]
It is also utilized by the U.S. Air Force and Boeing as a testing facility. Most of the traffic at the airport is general and military aviation.
In 2011, the 92nd Air Refueling WingatFairchild AFB in Spokane temporarily moved its KC-135 R/T fleet and operations to Moses Lake while Fairchild's runway underwent reconstruction and other infrastructure improvements, to include an upgrade to the base's aviation fuel distribution system.[20][21]
After the grounding of all Boeing 737 MAXs from March 2019, approximately 50 of the grounded airplanes were parked at the airport. This was originally seen as an economic opportunity for the airport,[22] but later caused concern as the number of planes stored kept increasing, to approximately 130 by October 2019.[23]
Grant Co. International Airport covers an area of 4,650 acres (1,880 ha) at an elevation of 1,189 feet (362 m) above sea level. It has five runways:[1]
Runway 14L/32R is 13,503 by 200 feet (4,116 by 61 m), with an asphalt/concrete surface
Runway 4/22 is 10,000 by 100 feet (3,048 by 30 m), with an asphalt/concrete surface
Runway 9/27 is 3,500 by 90 feet (1,067 by 27 m), with a concrete surface
Runway 18/36 is 3,327 by 75 feet (1,014 by 23 m), with an asphalt surface
Runway 14R/32L is 2,936 by 75 feet (895 by 23 m), with a concrete surface
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018, the airport had 77,335 aircraft operations, an average of 212 per day: 61% general aviation, 15% military, 10% air carrier and 14% air taxi. At that time there were 49 fixed-wing aircraft and 2 gliders based at this airport: 84% single-engine, 12% multi-engine, and 4% glider.[1]
^Hansen, Dan (November 23, 2008). "JAL ends Moses Lake stay". Seattle Times. (Spokesman-Review). Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
^King, Scott (January 24, 2011). "Fairchild relocates KC-135 flying OPS". United States Air Force. 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs. Archived from the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
Order 2001-6-22 (June 28, 2001): selecting Big Sky Airlines, to provide essential air service at Ephrata/Moses Lake, Washington, for a two-year period at an annual subsidy of $479,702.
Order 2004-12-18 (December 30, 2004): selecting Big Sky Transportation Company, Inc., to continue providing essential air service (EAS) at Ephrata/Moses Lake, Washington, for a new two-year period. This order establishes a subsidy of $1,698,922 per year for service consisting of twelve nonstop round trips to Portland and six nonstop round trip to Boise each week.
Order 2006-6-8 (June 12, 2006): directing interested persons to show cause why the department should not terminate the subsidy eligibility of Ephrata/Moses Lake, Washington, under the essential air service (EAS) program and allow Big Sky Transportation Company, Inc., d/b/a Big Sky Airlines (Big Sky) to suspend service there as of August 1, 2006.
Order 2006-8-16 (August 22, 2006): terminating the subsidy eligibility of Ephrata/Moses Lake, Washington, under the essential air service (EAS) program and allowing Big Sky Transportation Company, Inc., d.b.a. Big Sky Airlines to suspend service, if it chooses.
