For the week of  September 12 - 18, 2001

Air shutdown hits 
Blaine County

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"We haven’t been given any [other] instructions at this point. We’re prepared to do whatever we’re instructed to do."

- Pete Kramer, Hailey airport chief of operations

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By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer

All flights out of Hailey’s Friedman Memorial Airport were grounded Tuesday morning at 7:37 a.m. following a nationwide order from the Federal Aviation Administration to shut down the national air system.

The lack of air transportation affected a wide array of businesses and services in Blaine County, which relies heavily on air transportation to connect with the outside world. Express photo by David Seelig

The order was in response to coordinated hijackings and air attacks by terrorists Tuesday in New York and Washington. It was the first time in history that every airplane in the United States was grounded at once. It affected a wide array of businesses and services in Blaine County, which relies heavily on air transportation to connect with the outside world.

Stranded travelers were forced to extend their stays at hotels or scramble for scarcely available rental cars. Overnight mail service was out of the question. And even electronic bank transactions, which must be verified by paperwork that is flown to central processing centers, were expected to be delayed.

The price of gasoline was expected to climb and the availability of fresh meat and seafood was threatened.

By 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, just two and a half hours after the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center, the airport passenger terminal at the Hailey airport was all but vacated with the lights dimmed and only a few people standing at the car rental counters.

A SkyWest Airlines twin turboprop airplane sat idle on the tarmac. The plane had been scheduled to depart at 9:42 a.m.

The plane’s pilot, Jeff Timmerman, and two members of his crew, said they heard about the disaster by radio while flying toward Hailey.

"We’re going to find a TV," Timmerman said walking with the crew members to an awaiting car. Otherwise the three were unsure what they would do next.

Timmerman said he didn’t know when his plane would be allowed to leave.

At 9:30 a.m., airport chief of operations Pete Kramer was in his office. He said a representative from the FAA office in Salt Lake City had called with orders to shut down the airport.

"We haven’t been given any [other] instructions at this point," Kramer said. "We’re prepared to do whatever we’re instructed to do."

The FAA reported Tuesday afternoon that the earliest flights would resume was Wednesday at 11 a.m. eastern time.

Airport manager Rick Baird was on vacation and not scheduled to return until Sept. 24.

At about 9:50 a.m. Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling was preparing to leave his Hailey office to help with securing the airport.

"I’m just trying to deal with some airport issues," he said. At the county courthouse and other buildings, it was "business as usual."

Femling said he was waiting for updates from the Bureau of Disaster Services in Boise.

He declined to discuss specific security measures.

Sun Valley Aviation manager Wayne Warner said about a dozen corporate pilots and their passengers were stalled in the aviation service building’s lobby Tuesday morning watching events unfold on television.

Canceled air service affected not only passengers but also air freight service.

A Federal Express customer service representative said his company was accepting packages Tuesday, but he didn’t know when they would be delivered.

"Minor delays" in first class U.S. Postal Service deliveries could occur, Ketchum postmaster John McDonald said, because first class mail is sometimes carried by air. Overnight service was definitely canceled.

"The postal service has a very good network of trucks," which would continue to carry the mail, he said.

Chris Williams, owner of Williams Market in Ketchum, said most of his store’s shipments arrive by ground. He predicted that the New York Times and perhaps fresh flowers, however, may be temporarily unavailable.

At the Sun Valley Lodge front desk, employee Julie Phaal said at around 10 a.m. that 83 guests had extended their stay. "I think there’s going to be more," as the day progresses, she said. Usually, no more than about five guests per day extend their stays this time of year, she said.

Bret Barton, manager of Mountain West Bank on Sun Valley Road in Ketchum, said Tuesday afternoon, "we have had a couple of people ask if the banks were in jeopardy."

Barton expected some transactions to be delayed, but for accounts to otherwise be safe. He said banks send deposit slips and other paperwork to central processing centers in Seattle, Portland, Spokane and other cities to be "proofed" with electronic records. Until air service resumes, that can’t happen.

The Avis Rent A Car office in Hailey ran out of cars to rent for one-way trips Tuesday afternoon. Sales person Tanya Barton-Torres said she hoped to have cars available Wednesday, but people were failing to return their cars on time, perhaps opting to drive cross-country with them.

"We’re trying to accommodate people as best we can," she said.

Hertz Rent A Car was in a similar situation. A sales person there reported making 30 one-way rentals Tuesday, when she would expect to make only one or two under normal circumstances.

Stuart Siderman, owner of Mountain Pride, which supplies most Wood River Valley restaurants with fresh meat and seafood, said most of what he sells arrives by air. He didn’t expect new arrivals until Friday, but he wasn’t worried about a potential shortage because restaurants were predicting slow business.

"Who’s going to go out for dinner?" he said.

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.