WARWICK, RI – January 13, 2025 – Today, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) announced that it has completed the removal of airspace obstructions near Quonset State Airport, which presented safety hazards to the airport’s takeoff and landing zones. RIAC is engaged in a Federal Aviation Administration-required systematic airspace obstruction removal process at publicly owned airports throughout Rhode Island, where growing trees or other vegetation located in the flight path of state airports threaten to impede the safe takeoff and landing of aircraft.
The Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s highest priority is to ensure that runways and airports remain safe for the public and surrounding property owners. In 2019, RIAC initiated a strategic business planning process for all five of Rhode Island’s general aviation airports, which included extensive community input and identified projects and priorities for state airports for the next decade.
A key component of the General Aviation Strategic Business Plan included an aerial survey identifying current and potential airspace obstructions and plans for obstruction removal. Sadly, the implications of obstructions are not a hypothetical here in Rhode Island. In 2003, two pilots were killed in a plane crash at Westerly State Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited obstructing trees as a contributing factor in the crash.
RIAC knows that all in the community have a shared goal to ensure the safety of pilots, passengers, and local residents, and is continuing to work cooperatively with property owners to negotiate fair market airspace easements and replacement landscaping at and around all State airports, including Newport State Airport (UUU), Westerly State Airport (WST), North Central State Airport (SFZ) and Block Island State Airport (BID) through spring 2025. More information and Frequently Asked Questions regarding RIAC’s statewide obstruction removal project can be found at https://flyri.com/riac/obstruction-removal/.
About the Rhode Island Airport Corporation: The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) was formed on December 9, 1992, as a semi-autonomous subsidiary of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation to operate and maintain the state’s airport system. The powers of the corporation are vested in its seven-member board of directors, all of whom are appointed by the governor. RIAC is responsible for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the six state-owned airports and the supervision of all civil airports, landing areas, navigation facilities, aviation schools, and flying clubs. In addition to Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, RIAC is responsible for five general aviation airports throughout the state: Block Island, Newport, North Central, Quonset, and Westerly. For more information, visit RIAC at https://www.flyri.com.
