Vernon Regional Airport

Vernon Regional Airport is a small, non-towered airport 2.3 NM southwest of the centre of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

Mission Hill
The original airport was at Mission Hill, about 1.0 NM southwest of the city centre. During World War I, the site was a Canadian Expeditionary Force training camp. In early summer 1919, Lieut. G.K. Trim arrived in Vernon by train to spearhead the formation of a local branch of the Aerial League of Canada (returned airmen). Landings at Mission Hill that August were Lieut. Ernie O. Hall, Capt. Ernest Charles Hoy, and Lieut. G.K. Trim. After that visit, Hoy continued eastward to make the first successful flight over the Canadian Rockies. In June 1921, Col. Scott Williams landed and made several public presentations on the future of aviation. The next arrival was pilot John M. Patterson in a Yukon Airways and Exploration Co biplane in September 1928.

The ideal location of Mission Hill on a trans-Canada air route prompted the Vernon City Council to purchase Mission Hill in late 1929, funded by a $4,000 bond issue. In April 1930, John Henry Tudhope landed. That May, Radium Flying Service opened a flying school. In 1931, the two runways and infrastructure were completed, a temporary airport licence was issued, and a road through the site was diverted. This appears to have been the Kelowna–Vernon highway. That October, the upgraded airport officially opened and an air pageant was presented.

In February 1932, the permanent licence was issued. In July, the second air show was held. That year, the airport was declared a customs port of entry. During the following years, the location became a popular stop for passing aircraft. In November 1936, Air Commodore Herbert Hollick-Kenyon landed the largest plane, an Electra 10-A, while surveying a Vancouver–Lethbridge air route.

In 1939, civil aviation ceased at Vernon for the duration of World War II, when the DND leased the airport from the city for $247.50 annually, which was the interest payable on the bonds.

Okanagan Landing
During 1940, the city examined other potential airport sites and decided on an area near Okanagan Landing. The property had been considered during the 1936 air route survey but was unsuitable because of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) right-of-way. However, the Okanagan Landing–Vernon trackage had lost its significance to CP and was abandoned in August 1940 and the rails lifted.

In 1946, the city purchased the identified 52 acre for $12,000 and spent $6,000 on development to create a 1950 ft runway. However, the DOT would not grant an airport licence unless the runway was at least 2500 ft. Lacking funds to purchase additional land, the city postponed action. Richard Hamilton (Dick) Laidman, who wished to start a flying school at the airport, personally negotiated for months with the adjacent First Nations band. The outcome enabled the city to lease a 600 by parcel of land. Following development, the DOT granted the licence in July 1947. However, the extended length may have been only 2200 ft.

The Vernon Flying Club was the sole tenant during the late 1940s and early 1950s. At the latter time, the grass runway was paved and the city hangar was built. Since then, many private and corporate clients have been based at the facility, totalling almost 80 aircraft during the 1970s, when the Regional District of North Okanagan administered the airport.

In 1962, customs facilities were established. In 1969, the Vernon Flying Club flew Ernest Hoy from Calgary to Vancouver with stops in Golden and Vernon, where a 50th anniversary celebration of the Rockies crossing was held.

After a relatively brief period of regional district oversight, the extension of the city limits in the 1980s restored city control. The airport obtained a $450,000 federal grant to create a safer realignment of the runway. The 3510 by runway opened with pilot-operated lighting in July 1986. In 1988, the airport received a $621,000 federal grant for improved lighting and a non-directional radio beacon. The next year, gophers disabled the new runway lighting by chewing through the insulation on the underground wiring.

When examined in the mid-2010s, the desirability of extending the runway was found to be cost prohibitive. In 2017, the province provided $823,700 toward repaving the entire runway and some stabilization work.

The 130 aircraft based at the airport in 2015 are projected to increase to almost 180 by 2035. The airport operates in uncontrolled airspace. A recreational drop zone exists for skydiving on the northwest side. The infrastructure includes the public terminal building, hangars, fuel storage, and firefighting equipment. BC Transit connects the airport and Vernon.

Climate
Fog, snow, and blizzard conditions impact operations. The average annual snowfall is 91 cm, which requires frequent plowing in winter.

Accidents and incidents

 * August 1946: A Fleet Finch plane crashed short of the runway and burst into flames. Pilot Robert Filtness burned to death and a bystander died of shock. Filtness had applied for a charter to operate a flying school from the airport.


 * September 1955: A de Havilland Tiger Moth stalled on approach, spun to the ground, and was totally destroyed.


 * May 1967: After take off, a Cessna 172 crashed into a mountain killing the pilot and three skydivers on board. The same day, a returning skydiving plane ran out of gas and glided back to the airport.


 * December 1976: After take off, a homebuilt aircraft plunged into Okanagan Lake killing the pilot and passenger.


 * August 1977: The nose wheel tire, which had been slashed by vandals, blew on landing, causing $1,000 damage to a small plane.


 * July 1979: The pilot and three passengers died when a Cessna 172 crashed just short of the runway.


 * February 1988: A small plane skidded off the end of the runway after an aborted take off.


 * July 1991: A vandal slashed plane tires on three occasions over two weeks.


 * November 1991: A dangerously low small plane clipped a tree prior to landing.


 * August 1994: A homebuilt autogyro crashed during a forced landing.


 * December 1994: A pilot sustained a broken pelvis from crash landing an ultralight aircraft.


 * December 1995: Rob Harris (skysurfer) plunged to his death while filming a commercial.


 * July 1996: Vandals damaged runway lights and ripped out wiring.


 * July 1998: When a homebuilt aircraft landed a foot short of the runway, the propeller hit the ground.


 * March 2002: A world-class skydiver twisted her parachute lines and died on landing.


 * August 2003: The pilots of an Air Canada Airbus A319 making a visual approach to the Kelowna Airport did not realize that the Vernon Airport Runway 23 was in their line of sight. About 1.3 NM out and 730 ft AGL, the crew executed a go-around. A Cessna 152 in the vicinity triggered the traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS). After ascending, the Airbus was redirected to the Kelowna Airport.


 * September 2008: A pilot died when his ultralight crash landed.


 * July 2012: The pilot and passenger died when a Piper PA-34 Seneca clipped two trees on take off, crashed into a sports field, and burst into flames.


 * May 2013: During the landing approach, an experimental I-TEC Maverick began to spiral down before the pilot regained control. He steered the contraption beyond a school property, before crashing in the adjacent woods.


 * April 2014: A pilot taxiing a Cessna 177 Cardinal lost control and slammed into a hanger. That same week, the tail rotor of a Bell 205 clipped a windsock on take off. The rotor sustained minor damage, but the windsock was shredded.


 * December 2015: After experiencing mechanical difficulties immediately following takeoff, a small plane crashed in a field directly across from the airport.


 * May 2022: A single-engine plane landed on the runway without having its landing gear extended. A similar incident had happened in 2018.


 * July 2023: A small plane ran off the runway on landing.