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Wildlife and aircraft don’t mix as recent headlines attest.

That’s why Colin McKee, director of the Midwest National Air Center, has long been concerned about the deer and turkey population at the airport, which is located on 69 Highway between Liberty and Excelsior Springs, relatively close to Kearney.

“We haven’t had a deer strike, yet, though,” he said.

To keep that from happening, McKee has taken a proactive approach, including the use of managed, permitted hunts.

He said that is becoming more difficult to do, though.

“We’re just getting too busy,” McKee said.

That ongoing rise in traffic is reflected in the airport being nearly a month ahead of projected fuel sales in 2009.

The long-term solution for the wildlife problem, he said, is fencing, which can be found at other area airports, including Kansas City International and Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport is installing fencing.

As a facility that is still relatively new, though, he said it still could be some time before funding was available.

The county has estimated the cost for fencing, including installation, to be around $900,000. 

While fencing would not provide absolute security, McKee said it could make a significant difference in deterring wildlife.

Craig Porter, a former pilot and past eastern Clay County commissioner, said he is well aware of the threat wildlife pose to aircraft.

“It wasn’t as much of a problem for me, though, because I was flying a small aircraft,” he said, citing landing and takeoff speeds. “With jets it’s much more critical.”

Porter also said the danger isn’t alleviated by the habitat around the airport.

“It’s a perfect place for the turkey along the river,” he said. “They roost in the trees at night and then come out into the open fields during the day.”

McKee said the deer could be particularly problematic each fall during the mating season when they are often found running east to west across the field.

Senior writer Mark Johnson can be reached at 358-6397 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .