Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport

Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport (IATA: UMZ, ICAO: KMEZ, FAA LID: MEZ) is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southeast of the central business district of Mena, a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States.[1] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Mena
ServesMena, Arkansas
Elevation AMSL1,080 ft / 329 m
Coordinates34°32′43″N 094°12′10″W
Websitewww.MenaAirport.com
Map
MEZ
Location of airport in Arkansas
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 6,001 1,829 Asphalt
17/35 5,000 1,524 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations31,000
Based aircraft43

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned MEZ by the FAA[1] but has no designation from the IATA[3] (which assigned MEZ to Messina, South Africa).[4] The airport's ICAO identifier is KMEZ.[5]

Facilities and aircraft

Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport covers an area of 667 acres (270 ha) at an elevation of 1,080 feet (329 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with asphalt surfaces: 9/27 is 6,001 by 100 feet (1,829 x 30 m) and 17/35 is 5,000 by 75 feet (1,524 x 23 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending August 31, 2009, the airport had 31,000 aircraft operations, an average of 84 per day: 93% general aviation, 5% air taxi, and 2% military. At that time there were 43 aircraft based at this airport: 63% single-engine, 28% multi-engine, 7% jet, and 2% helicopter.[1]

Allegations of CIA drug trafficking

A number of allegations have been made about the use of Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport as a CIA drop point in large scale cocaine trafficking, beginning in the latter part of the 1980s. Several local, state, and federal investigations have taken place in relation to these allegations. The topic has received some press coverage that has included allegations of awareness, participation and/or coverup involving prominent figures such as Bill Clinton[6][7] and Saline County prosecutor Dan Harmon (who was convicted of numerous felonies including drug and racketeering charges in 1997[8]).

An investigation by the CIA's inspector general concluded that the CIA had no involvement in or knowledge of any illegal activities that may have occurred in Mena. The report said that the agency had conducted a training exercise at the airport in partnership with another Federal agency and that companies located at the airport had performed "routine aviation-related services on equipment owned by the CIA".[9]

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References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for MEZ (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012.
  3. "Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport (ICAO: KMEZ, FAA: MEZ, IATA: none)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  4. "Messina Airport, South Africa (IATA: MEZ, ICAO: FAMS)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  5. "Mena Intermountain Municipal – MEZ (KMEZ)". National Flight Data Center. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  6. Hughes, Bill. "CIA Probed in Alleged Arms Shipments; Reports Claim Agency Was Involved in Arkansas-Nicaragua Drug Swaps". Highbeam.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  7. Hughes, Bill. "Clandestination: Arkansas; Mena Is a Quiet Little Place. So How Did It Become the Cloak-and-Dagger Capital of America?". Highbeam.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  8. "Ex-Saline County Prosecutor Dan Harmon arrested on felony drug charges". todaysthv.com. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2012-07-20.
  9. Rothberg, Donald (9 November 1996). "Investigation Absolves CIA in Alleged Drug Smuggling". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
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