Pellston Regional Airport covers an area of and contains two asphalt paved runways: 14/32 measures and 5/23 is. For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2016, the airport had 9,022 aircraft operations, an average of 25 per day: 81% general aviation, 18% scheduled commercial and 1% military. In April 2017, there were 38 aircraft based at this airport: 32 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 2 jet and 1 helicopter.
The current terminal serves as baggage claim, check-in, ticketing, TSA checkpoint and gates. Due to the airport being very small in size and the amount of flights, only 2 gates are necessary and both are located in the terminal. Since 2009 travel services and offices have been placed at the end of baggage claim. On a normal day, three or four people operate this airport. One airline representative manages check-in, ticketing and works as the gate agent. One is a TSA Senior Agent. The others are ground crew and baggage services. Delta/SkyWest currently has two aircraft in use, both are seat Canadair Regional Jets 100/200 series.
Incidents
On January 15, 2013, a Cessna 208B Cargomaster, operated byMartinaire and registered as N1120N, crashed shortly after takeoff from Pellston Regional Airport. It came down in a wooded area; there was one fatality.
On May 13, 1978, a brand new Piper Cheyenne with less than twenty hours had a CFIT two miles from the departure end of Runway 32 after failing to land at Boyne Falls airport. The NTSB investigation concluded the pilot attempted to land below published minimums for the ILS approach. The weather was extremely foggy at the time, with less than 3/8 of a mile visibility and 200' ceiling, while the approach called for a 600' ceiling and 2 miles visibility. A contributing factor was the finding that the middle marker for Runway 32 was not functioning at the time, possibly contributing to the disorientation of the pilot and his location relative to the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed; there were three fatalities.
On May 9, 1970, UAW President Walter Reuther, his wife May, architect Oscar Stonorov, Reuther's bodyguard William Wolfman, the pilot and co-pilot were killed when their chartered Lear-Jet crashed in flames at 9:33 p.m. Michigan time. The plane, arriving from Detroit in rain and fog, was on final approach to the Pellston, airstrip near the union's recreational and educational facility at Black Lake. The Learjet 23, operated by Executive Jet Aviation and registered as N434EJ, crashed into trees and caught fire short of the runway. An investigation concluded that illusions produced by the lack of visual cues during a circling approach over unlighted terrain at night to a runway not equipped with approach lights or other visual approach aids, caused the crash. The aircraft was written off; there were six fatalities.
On April 23, 1970, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, operated by North Central Airlines, destined for Sault Ste. Marie Airport, was hijacked. One hijacker demanded to be taken to Detroit. The hijacker was taken down; there were no fatalities.
