Advisory board urges formal runway vehicle procedures after near-misses at Cleveland Municipal Airport

Cleveland Municipal Airport officials and tenants pressed the Cleveland Airport Advisory Board on July 16 about recent near-misses between aircraft and ground vehicles and recommended new procedures and training.

Board members said the incidents included a pilotreport of a side-by-side vehicle on a runway, a local instructoraccount of a golf-cart‑type vehicle that forced a go‑around, and a national example in which a mower operator was struck and killed. "The runway surface is reserved strictly for aircraft operations, period," said Greg Mottle, an airport advisory board member and flight instructor, during the presentation.

The board said the airport must adopt detailed procedures for authorized vehicles entering, crossing or using active runways, establish a formal training program for vehicle operators and create an oversight system to confirm compliance. Mottle cited Federal Aviation Administration guidance and read parts of the applicable advisory circular to the board, noting that airport operators are responsible for establishing vehicle‑access rules and training.

Flight school owners and longtime tenants told the board they had seen safety lapses. Dustin Newell, who identified himself as the owner of the airportflight school and an air traffic controller by trade, said, "These last 2 years, I've seen nothing but safety issues." A pilot statement read at the meeting described an event on May 20 in which a vehicle moved onto the runway while a Cessna was accelerating for takeoff; the pilot reported climbing out about 50 feet above the vehicle and later called it a runway incursion.

Board members pointed to FAA advisory guidance (advisory circular 150, as cited at the meeting) that recommends minimizing vehicular activity on movement areas, training vehicle drivers who must enter movement areas, using NOTAMs to close runways for work when possible and requiring vehicle radios and beacons. Mottle said Cleveland's rules already require radios and rotating beacons for vehicles on the runway but recommended going further with formal training and oversight.

Public works staff described current mitigation steps: a NOTAM schedule for routine mowing and an hourly announcement practice at the FBO to warn pilots when ground activity is taking place. "We'll be out there tomorrow, to do the FOD removal, sweeping of the runways, taxiways around all the buildings," Cody Arnold of Public Works told the board, describing an immediate cleanup commitment.

No formal motion to adopt the boardmemberrecommendations was made at the meeting. The advisory board forwarded the discussion and recommended procedures to airport leadership for further development and possible future action.

Board members said the goal is to reduce risk and avoid liability. Mottle warned that an injury or death would bring intense outside scrutiny and said he hoped new procedures, training and oversight would be in place before another serious incident.

Less urgent operational changes discussed included increasing driver training, equipping supervisory vehicles with headsets to maintain radio contact during noisy mowing operations, and using AWOS or other broadcasts to alert aircraft when ground equipment is working on or near movement areas.

The board indicated it would return the issue for a vote once staff drafted proposed procedures and a training program.