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Fayetteville airport board agrees on clean-up, case-by-case inspections after FAA 'aeronautical use' guidance
Summary
After staff reviewed updated FAA guidance on 'aeronautical use' of T-hangars, the Fayetteville/Drakefield Airport board voted to coordinate a voluntary clean-up and pursue case-by-case inspections of problem hangars rather than adopt an immediate blanket ban.
Jared, an airport staff presenter, told the Fayetteville/Drakefield Airport board on Oct. 16 that new FAA guidance (referred to in the meeting as 5190.6B) tightens how airports must treat hangars funded with FAA grants and could put grant money at risk if non-aeronautical storage becomes the primary use.
"If they're not reserved for aeronautical use, they could seize our funds," Jared said, summarizing the FAA's enforcement risk and the airport's obligation to document compliance.
The board heard a detailed readout of examples the FAA deems permissible — active aircraft storage, routine maintenance, amateur-built aircraft construction and equipment used to service aircraft — and examples the agency views as problematic, including long-term storage of nonoperational aircraft, items that block access to an aircraft and excessive household storage that interferes with aircraft movement.
Board members and tenants then reviewed photos staff provided of compliant hangars (neat, aircraft accessible) and borderline or flagrant violations (piles of household goods, forklifts and material stored so access to an airplane would require moving heavy equipment). Jared said quarterly hangar inspections are already part of staff practice and that current enforcement tools have relied heavily on proof of current aircraft insurance.
Members repeatedly raised the enforcement challenge: how to target the relatively small number of problem hangars without penalizing tenants who keep tidy, usable spaces. Jared told the board that "about 90%" of hangars appear to meet FAA expectations and that the issues are concentrated in fewer than 10 units, though he urged the board to weigh safety and funding risk for the airport.
Rather than immediately drafting a new, strict hangar policy, the board agreed on an incremental approach. Members supported a voluntary, community-oriented clean-up (including a proposed on-site dumpster) timed with other projects, followed by inspections and a board review of problem cases. One member suggested using pictures and a short board review to decide whether a tenant is in violation before pursuing stronger measures.
"This is your chance to get it hauled off when you don't have to haul it off," a long-time pilot and board member said while urging a friendly, cooperative clean-up effort.
Next steps the board identified: staff will organize a tidy-up window (coordinated with other projects where feasible), continue quarterly inspections, and bring photos of suspected noncompliance to the board for a collective decision. If individual hangars remain unsafe or noncompliant after the clean-up, the board discussed more formal remedies under existing lease language and minimum standards but emphasized the need to apply any rule consistently to avoid FAA discrimination claims.
The board did not adopt new written policy at the meeting; it asked staff to place the item on the next agenda with proposed language and a timeline for the tidy-up and follow-up inspections.
