Controlling safely

Kate and Dave Reikofski have been pilots since the 1970s. Kate served on the Spokane City Council and the Airport Board before the couple left Spokane in the early 1990s to work overseas. They live year-round now in a mobile home and settle for short stays in communities throughout the country. Thursday, they were back in Spokane and easily talked their way into the invitation-only dedication of the new, 271-foot-high control tower at Spokane International Airport.

Much boasting was being boasted by the dignitaries Thursday, and deservedly so. Biggest tower in Washington state. Cool. Finished on time with no real problems. Great. State-of-the-art design and equipment. Excellent. A giant step forward in the region’s march toward economic diversity and growth. Way to go.

But the Reikofskis articulated the reason each citizen can take pride in the new tower. It will make air travel in and out of Spokane much safer – for pilots and for passengers.

The old tower, dedicated in 1960, stands at just about 70 feet tall. It has its blind spots. “There were times the controllers couldn’t see planes because of the height of the tower,” Kate pointed out.

But from the long, wide windows atop the new tower you can see the entire runway structure. And Fairchild Air Force Base. And all the prairie surrounding the airport, including where a runway extension is planned and where a third runway would go when built.

The view “explains” why this open space around the airport must be protected. Unobstructed views are safer, and protecting the land allows the airport to expand its commercial and cargo traffic. The more it expands, the healthier the economy.

In 1960, the same year the control tower opened at Spokane’s airport, the New York Times signaled an aviation trend with this headline: “Twice as many fly between U.S. and Europe as go by ship.” Also that year, a Pan American Boeing Intercontinental jet, flying from Hawaii to Seattle, was forced to land in Spokane because fog had closed Seattle’s airport. Spokane leaders were delighted, because the incident proved that Spokane could handle the big planes. There were 85 passengers onboard the jet.

That 1960 tower replaced a wooden stilt tower built during World War II. Workers got to the top by an open stairway, and they were forced to abandon the tower when winds reached 50 miles per hour.

The 2007 tower has a two-minute elevator ride to the top and will withstand winds up to 450 mph. It’s a fitting symbol for a strong – and safe – future at the airport and throughout the Inland Northwest.