Coleman A. Young International Airport

{{Infobox airport

| name = Coleman A. Young International Airport

| nativename =

| image = Detroit City Airport 2005 (cropped).jpg

| IATA = DET

| ICAO = KDET

| FAA = DET

| type = Public

| owner = City of Detroit

| operator =

| city-served = Detroit, Michigan

| opened = {{start date|1927|10|14}}

| passenger_services_ceased = {{end date|2000|09|18}}

| elevation-f = 626

| coordinates = {{coord|42|24|33|N|083|00|36|W|region:US-MI_type:airport_scale:10000}}

| website =

| pushpin_map = USA Michigan#USA

| pushpin_relief = yes

| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Michigan

| pushpin_label = DET/KDET/DET

| pushpin_label_position = left

| r1-number = 15/33

| r1-length-f = 5,090

| r1-surface = Asphalt

| stat1-header = Aircraft operations

| stat1-data = 32,850

| stat2-header = Based aircraft

| stat2-data = 65

| stat-year = 2021

| footnotes = Sources: Airport[http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/Departments/Airport/tabid/72/Default.aspx Coleman A. Young International Airport] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501040748/http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/Departments/Airport/tabid/72/Default.aspx |date=2008-05-01 }} at City of Detroit website and FAA{{FAA-airport|ID=DET|use=PU|own=PU|website=09725.*A}}, effective 2009-08-27.

}}

Coleman A. Young International Airport {{airport codes|DET|KDET|DET}} (Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport, formerly Detroit City Airport until 2003) is six miles northeast of downtown Detroit, in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the City of Detroit. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional general aviation facility.{{cite web|title=List of NPIAS Airports|url=https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Appendix-A.pdf|website=FAA.gov|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=25 November 2016|date=21 October 2016}} In 2003, it was given its current name in honor of the late former mayor of Detroit Coleman A. Young.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/detroit-city-airport |title=City Airport |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Detroit |publisher=Detroit Historical Society |accessdate=February 23, 2021}}

From July 1988 through September 1993, Southwest Airlines served the airport with 10 to 13 daily flights.{{cite web| title=Once Upon a Time in Detroit|url=https://community.southwest.com/t5/Blog/Flashback-Fridays-Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Detroit/ba-p/29284#| website=Southwest Airlines-Flashback Fridays| date=July 9, 2010| access-date=January 25, 2021}}{{cite news| last=Moore| first=Natalie Y.|url=http://archives.californiaaviation.org/ganews/msg11143.html| title=Detroit struggles to lift City Airport off ground| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728054108/http://archives.californiaaviation.org/ganews/msg11143.html| archive-date=July 28, 2011| newspaper=The Detroit News| date=August 4, 2004| access-date=January 25, 2021}} Chautauqua Airlines served the airport but ceased service less than a year later. Spirit Airlines planned to fly McDonnell-Douglas DC-9s to DET in 1995, but never began service.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19950525&id=PNILAAAAIBAJ&pg=7315,4805273 |title=Spirit Airlines to use jets at Detroit City Airport |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Ludington Daily News |date=March 25, 1995}} Pro Air, a scheduled passenger airline, was based at the airport and grounded by the FAA due to poor maintenance performance after less than a year.{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2000/09/20/discount-carrier-pro-air-grounded/| title=Discount Carrier Pro Air Grounded| first=Maria| last=Perotin| newspaper=Orlando Sentinel| date=September 20, 2000}} The airport now has no scheduled passenger airline service.

The airport's passenger terminal also houses facilities for Customs and Border Protection, which serves private and cargo airplanes.

The {{convert|53000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} passenger terminal includes space for restaurants, retail concessions, car rental facilities, airline offices, baggage pick-up and claim areas, boarding areas and passenger lounges. The airport has three 1,000 space parking lots.

In April 2025, it was announced that MyFlight, a company offering helicopter tours, would construct a 12,000 square foot building on the grounds of the airport. The building is intended to serve as the company's headquarters and is projected to open in late 2025.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-09 |title=MyFlight Breaks Ground on First-of-Its-Kind Aviation Headquarters in Detroit - Helicopter rides across the U.S. |url=https://www.myflighttours.com/myflight-breaks-ground-on-first-of-its-kind-aviation-headquarters-in-detroit/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=www.myflighttours.com |language=en-US}}

Former airline service (1966–2000)

The following airlines served Detroit City Airport:

Wright Air Lines (1966–1985)
Northwest Airlink (1985–1988)
Comair (1987–1991)
Southwest Airlines (1988–1993)
Direct Air (1988–1990)
Northcoast Executive Airlines (1988–1990)
Continental Express (1988–1991)
Central State Airlines (1989–1990)
Air Alpha (1991)
USAir Express (1993–1994)
Pro Air (1997–2000)

DET was Detroit's primary airport until 1946–47 when almost all airline flights moved to Willow Run Airport and later to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The March 1939 Official Aviation Guide shows 13 weekday departures on American, 10 on Pennsylvania Central and one on Marquette.{{cite book |year=1939 |title=Official Aviation Guide |publisher=Official Aviation Guide Company |location=Chicago}} The June 1946 OAG shows 100 weekday departures on Pennsylvania Central, American, United, Northwest, Eastern, TWA, C&S and Michigan Central.{{cite book |year=1946 |title=Official Guide of the Airways |publisher=Official Aviation Guide Company |location=Chicago}}

History

In 1989 Mayor Coleman A. Young abandoned a plan to expand the airport's runway because the adjoining Gethsemane Cemetery blocked the way, and surviving relatives protested. A few years later Southwest Airlines ended operations there, citing the city's inability to keep its promises and the need for longer runways to allow for larger jets.{{cite news| last1=McConnell| first1=Darci| last2=McWhirter| first2=Cameron| last3=Smith| first3=Joel J.| date=March 20, 2002| title=Mayor: Fix or shut Detroit City Airport: Kilpatrick wants $400 million for runway, terminal| newspaper=The Detroit News|url=http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg20510.html| url-status=live| access-date=May 8, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509100059/http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg20510.html| archive-date=May 9, 2014}}{{cite news| last1=Wilkerson| first1=Isabel| date=March 30, 1988| title=Detroit Journal; Must Cemetery Yield to Airport?| newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/30/us/detroit-journal-must-cemetery-yield-to-airport.html|url-status=live| access-date=May 6, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509094253/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/30/us/detroit-journal-must-cemetery-yield-to-airport.html| archive-date=May 9, 2014| issn=0362-4331| oclc=1645522}}{{cite news| date=April 1, 1988| title=Detroit Will Spare Cemetery In an Airport Expansion Plan| newspaper=The New York Times| agency=Reuters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/01/us/detroit-will-spare-cemetery-in-an-airport-expansion-plan.html| url-status=live| access-date=May 7, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509095422/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/01/us/detroit-will-spare-cemetery-in-an-airport-expansion-plan.html|archive-date=May 9, 2014|issn=0362-4331}} In 1988, complaints were registered because the city removed/discarded several families' memorial statuary without notification, replacing them with simple flat in-ground markers, stating that the statues posed a collision risk should an airplane go off the end of the runway.

The city closed the segment of East McNichols (6 Mile) Road between Conner Street and French Road at the north end of the airport and annexed the land to the airport, allowing for expansion of the approach to Runway 15 and additional service roads. Satellite photos still show some ruins of the original roadbed and a driveway to a motel and topless bar that occupied the south side of McNichols near Conner. A tunneling project could in the future restore the severed East McNichols Road connection and allow an additional {{convert|405|ft|m}} of the main runway to be used for aviation.{{cite news |url=https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/08/04/detroit-advances-plan-close-city-airport-runway-clear-neighborhood/5571458002/ |title=Detroit advances plan to close city airport runway, clear neighborhood |first1=Christine |last1=Ferretti |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=August 4, 2020 |access-date=January 20, 2021}}

The City of Detroit listed the airport as an asset which could be sold to cover debts as a result of the city's 2013 bankruptcy filing. The future of the site as a functioning airport after any sale would have been uncertain.{{cite news | last1=Snell | first1=Robert | last2=Shepardson | first2=David | last3=Livengood | first3=Chad | last4=Ferretti

| first4=Christine | date=August 30, 2014 | title=Detroit may sweeten bankruptcy deal with real estate to persuade creditor to settle| work=detroitnews.com | url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2014/08/30/detroit-may-sweeten-bankruptcy-deal-with-real-estate-to-persuade-creditor-to-settle/14833467/ }} Ultimately, no sale occurred.{{cite news| last=Ferretti| first=Christine| title=City airport plan may finally lift off|url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2015/03/26/city-airport-plan-may-finally-lift/70523064/| date=March 26, 2015| access-date=January 26, 2021| newspaper=The Detroit News}}

In 2015, the Detroit Free Press reported that the Moroun family owned approximately 200 properties near the airport, many of which were purchased for as low as $500 at tax-delinquent property auctions.{{cite news | last=Kaffer | first=Nancy | title=The Morouns in Detroit - the way the Morouns see it | date=March 30, 2015 | url=http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2015/03/28/moroun-train-station-bridge/70577234/ | work=freep.com }}

In light of a resurgence of the Detroit's finances in the 2010s, the city council with its airport task force started looking at options for investing into the facility's future. Contributing to the Airport Redevelopment and Modernization Program were consulting companies Avion Solutions{{Cite web| date=December 10, 2018| title=DET Redevelopment and Modernization Program|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6306598/Airport.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120221717/https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6306598/Airport.pdf| archive-date=January 20, 2021| access-date=January 20, 2021| website=}} and Kimley-Horn, and included were officials of the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The airport is envisioned to serve general aviation, while parts of the land currently used by aviation facilities are to be redeveloped. The main runway 15/33 could be lengthened and the supporting structures modernized. There is a proposal to close and remove the shorter runway 7/25. This could limit the options to conduct training flights, relevant in light of plans to locate the Davis Technical Aerospace High School and other educational and commercial users on the airport grounds. Removing the runway could free up 86 acres for industrial development, abetted by its position close to Conrail's railway line. In return, the airport property could be expanded by 196 acres to the west.{{cite news |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/08/20/detroit-city-airport-overhaul-edges-closer-takeoff/1945648001/ |title=Detroit city airport plan would clear neighborhood, close runway |first1=Christine |last1=Ferretti |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=October 3, 2019 |access-date=February 26, 2020}}

In October 2022, the airport had an Airport Layout Plan for the first time in 30 years, making it eligible to receive over $100 million in federal grants over 10 years. This could allow for the addition of hew hangars, building a control tower, and improving taxiways. There's also the possibility to improve the airport's safety zones, including the potential addition of Engineered Material Arrestor System. This allowed the airport to resume talks with nearby homeowners to acquire additional land to expand the airport.{{Cite web |title=Mayor outlines future for City Airport following FAA approval of new Layout Plan

|url=https://detroitmi.gov/news/mayor-outlines-future-city-airport-following-faa-approval-new-layout-plan|access-date=2022-11-07 | website=City of Detroit}}

In May 2024, the city of Detroit offered a 30-year leasehold to Avflight, the airport's sole service provider.{{cite news | last=Martin | first=Kylie | title=Upgraded facilities, improvements coming to Detroit's city airport in new 30-year lease | date=May 28, 2024 | url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2024/05/28/detroit-city-airport-coleman-young-international/73876337007/ | work=freep.com }}{{cite web | title=Detroit Airport Set to Soar with Major Revitalization Efforts and Avflight Partnership | date=May 28, 2024 | url=https://detroitmi.gov/news/detroit-airport-set-soar-major-revitalization-efforts-and-avflight-partnership | work=detroitmi.gov }}

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers {{convert|264|acre|ha}} at an elevation of {{convert|626|ft|m}}. It has one active asphalt runway: 15/33 is {{convert|5090|x|100|ft}} as well as deactivated runway 7/25 which was {{convert|4025|x|100|ft}}.{{Cite web |title=AirNav: KDET — Coleman A Young Municipal Airport

|url=https://www.airnav.com/airport/KDET|access-date=2023-01-12 | website=AirNav.com}}

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 32,850 aircraft operations, an average of 90 per day: 96% general aviation, 3% air taxi, <1% commercial, and 1% military. 65 aircraft were then based at the airport: 47 single-engine and 7 multi-engine airplanes as well as 5 jets, 5 helicopters, and 1 ultralight.

Until around 1965, a gas tank {{convert|330|ft|m}} tall was at {{Coord|42.40817|-83.00926|display=}} NAD83, less than {{convert|630|ft|m}} west of the centerline of runway 15/33. Since 1994, the city has been working on clearing a federally mandated safety buffer of at least {{convert|750|ft|m}} from the airport's main runway by incrementally buying adjacent land.

Fire protection is provided by the municipal Detroit Fire Department. Budget cuts in 2012 closed Engine Company 20, previously equipped with at least one aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle, leaving the airport fire station unstaffed.{{cite web| title=Mi, Detroit Fire Department: Airport|url=http://www.usfirepolice.net/mi_michigan/mi_detroit_airport.html| access-date=2021-01-20| website=usfirepolice.net| archive-date=2020-08-11| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811011920/http://www.usfirepolice.net/mi_michigan/mi_detroit_airport.html| url-status=dead}}{{cite web| title=Engine 20|url=http://www.detroit.fdmaps.com/engine-20/| access-date=January 20, 2021| website=detroit.fdmaps.com| archive-date=December 5, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205083602/http://www.detroit.fdmaps.com/engine-20/| url-status=dead}} In 2018, it was reported that plans were underway to staff the station for one 8-hour shift each day.{{cite news |url=https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/john-gallagher/2018/04/13/detroit-city-airport-coleman-young-international-airport/494461002/ |title=Old Detroit City Airport crumbles as city rejects offers of millions |first1=John |last1=Gallagher |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=April 14, 2018 |access-date=February 26, 2020}} In 2020, a construction brief published by the city outlined the work necessary to rehabilitate the fire station building.{{cite web| date=January 13, 2020| title=Design/Build Services for CAYIA Fire Station|url=https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/04E739972D674406B7FDFD68A920A031.html| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120220832/https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/04E739972D674406B7FDFD68A920A031.html| archive-date=January 20, 2021| access-date=January 20, 2021| website=Construction Journal}}

The airport has a 1929 aircraft hangar that was designed by Architect Albert Kahn.

Accidents and incidents

On Saturday 19 November 1949 a Douglas C-47A-90DL (DC-3) operated by Meteor Air Transport NC54337 crashed into a house on Detroit’s east side while on a (second attempt) landing approach to Detroit City Airport. Both pilots and one occupant of the house were killed. "Probable Cause: 'The pilot's action in making a steep turn on final approach without at the same time maintaining adequate airspeed, causing the aircraft to settle to the ground.'" (This information originally derived from CAB File No. 1-0126.) Ref. Aviation Safety Network Report https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/336285
On June 24, 2018, a small plane crashed en route to Young. It impacted power lines and a tree. The pilot and one passenger were killed, and a third was rescued.{{Cite web |title=2 dead, 1 critically injured as plane crashes in Detroit

|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/detroit-plane-crash-2-dead-one-rescued-coleman-a-young-international-airport/|access-date=2022-11-07 | website=CBS News}}

On December 3, 2019, a British Aerospace BAe-125-800A business jet slid off the runway during landing at the airport. The aircraft was arriving from a flight from Willow Run. Investigators found the aircraft encountered icing conditions on approach and failed to add the necessary safety margins to their airspeed to prevent stall. It was also found the aircraft's stick shaker, a system designed to warn pilots of impending stall, failed to activate. Thus, with the low speed and inadequate warnings, the aircraft stalled close to the runway. The two pilots on board were not injured.{{Cite web |title=Small plane crash reported at Coleman A. Young International Airport|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/small-plane-crash-reported-at-city-airport-in-detroit|access-date=2022-11-07 | website=ABC7 WXYZ Detroit}}{{Cite web |title=ASN|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20191203-1|access-date=2022-11-07 | website=Aviation Safety Network}}
On February 18, 2022, an Embraer Phenom 100 suffered a runway excursion after landing. The aircraft struck airport lighting equipment. The sole pilot on board was not injured. The probable cause was found to be the pilot's decision to land on a contaminated runway with previous reports of unfavorable braking action.{{Cite web |title=ASN2|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20220218-0|access-date=2022-11-07 | website=Aviation Safety Network}}

References

External links

[https://detroitmi.gov/departments/airport-coleman-young-international Coleman A. Young International Airport website]
[http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=12&lat=42.411w&lon=-83.0087&w=500&h=500&lp=---+None+--- Aerial photo as of 28 March 1999] from USGS The National Map
{{FAA-diagram|00118|Coleman A. Young Municipal (DET)}}
{{FAA-procedures|DET|Coleman A. Young Municipal (DET)}}

Category:Airports in Wayne County, Michigan

Category:Economy of Detroit

Category:Defunct airports in Michigan

Category:Airports established in 1927

Category:Airports disestablished in 2000