Workers Repair Sinkhole at Midland Int'l Airport

Mar. 23--MIDLAND -- INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The skies may have been friendly, but the taxiway was a little less than hospitable.

Following erosion from a water main problem, a towed aircraft fell into a sinkhole Monday night on a taxiway at Midland International Airport.

"It was a water main issue," Marv Esterly, director of airports, said. "They shut the water off and didn't realize it had eroded the base under the taxiway. An aircraft was towed over, and it collapsed into a sinkhole."

The aircraft had some damage.

"It wasn't as bad as you'd think," Esterly said. "They'll have to come back and do all the inspections on the plane, but the damage was just minor stuff really."

Workers spent Tuesday and part of Wednesday repairing the 4 foot wide by 4 foot long, 4 foot deep hole south of the terminal.

"They had to go back and fix the water main, pack the base and lay asphalt over the hole," Esterly said.

The airport director said the sinkhole did not affect airport operations.

"It's just a taxi lane south of the terminal," he said. "There's only two hangars in that area."