The sky is getting a bit taller at the north end of Indianapolis Regional Airport’s Runway 16/34.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority recently purchased approximately four acres of land from the estate of Sharon A. Kingen along CR 500W just north of CR 500N to improve air safety at the airport, said Carlo Bertolini, Indianapolis Airport Authority director of corporate communications.
Since completing the $294,000 land purchase in December, the airport authority has been demolishing the home and outbuildings on the four-acre parcel and cutting down trees that stand directly in the flight path of planes using the runway, Bertolini said in an email.
The trees did not obstruct the flight path coming in or out of the airport, nor did they violate any obstruction standards from the Federal Aviation Administration. Local officials say they are bringing the trees down in an “abundance of caution.”
“Removing trees near runways also reduces perching points for area wildlife near the airport, which can affect safety of flight,” Bertolini wrote.