Lakefield Airport

Lakefield Airport
Summary
OwnerLakefield Airport Authority
OperatorMiller Aviation
ServesCelina, Ohio
LocationMercer County, Ohio, United States
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (-5)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (-4)
Elevation AMSL894 ft (272 m)
Coordinates40°29′03″N 084°33′32″W / 40.48417°N 84.55889°W / 40.48417; -84.55889
Map
CQA is located in Ohio
CQA
CQA
Location within Ohio
CQA is located in the United States
CQA
CQA
Location within the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 4,400 1,341 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations12,045
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Lakefield Airport (ICAO: KCQA, FAA LID: CQA)[a] is a publicly owned, public use airport located four miles south of Celina, Ohio, United States. The airport sits on 122 acres at an elevation of 894 feet.[3][4]

History

Two World War II veterans, Richard Iehle and Robert Helfrich, purchased the 47-acre (19 ha) field in December 1947 with plans to operate it as a flight school.[5] Following the airport's purchase earlier that month, a livestock exchange was established there in May 1953.[6]

A fundraising drive in 1961 enabled the purchase of the airport for the county.[7] New lights and radios were purchased for the airport in March 1963.[8] A contract for construction of four hangars was awarded four months later.[9] Construction of a 3,200-foot (980 m) grass runway began in September 1964.[10] A contract to pave the 3,800-foot (1,200 m) runway was awarded in June 1966.[11] The airport was dedicated on 17 August 1966.[12] An 896-square-foot (83.2 m2) addition to the shop hangar was authorized in 1969.[13]

Construction of a parallel grass runway was approved in July 1979.[14] The airport was closed for three months in 1982–1983.[15]

The removal of trees in a nearby cemetery that would be obstructions to a planned expansion caused complaints from residents in 1990.[16]

The airport announced a two-phase plan to extend the runway to 4,900 feet (1,500 m) in December 1998.[17]

The Lakefield Airport Authority received a $135,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2022 to purchase extra land for development.[18] The airport received an additional $95,000 grant in 2023 to conduct an airport drainage study.[19]

Facilities and aircraft

The airport has one runway. It is designated as runway 8/26 and measures 4400 x 75 ft (1341 x 23 m) and is paved with asphalt.[3][4]

Based on the 12-month period ending August 24, 2023, the airport has 12,045 airport operations per year, an average of 33 per day. It was 99% general aviation and 1% air taxi. For the same time period, 20 aircraft were based at the airport, all single-engine airplanes.[3][4]

The airport has a fixed-base operator that sells both avgas and Jet A fuel.[20]

Accidents and incidents

  • On 24 June 1983, a Piper Aerostar crashed while preparing to land at the airport, killing the pilot.[21]
  • On 18 September 1988, an Enstrom F-28A was destroyed in a crash at the airport.[22]
  • On May 9, 1999, a Cessna 205 made a forced landing after takeoff from Lakefield Airport. Witnesses described the engine initially sounded smooth and uninterrupted but then briefly sputtered and completely shut off. They also said the aircraft looked low and was struggling to climb, and one person said the plane entered a flat spin. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power. Also causal to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control after the power loss.[23][24]
  • On July 9, 2020, a storm destroyed a hangar and a Cessna 150 at the airport.[25]
  • On May 27, 2021, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B crashed while operating near the airport. Shortly after takeoff, the engine lost thrust, but the engine indicators continued to show full power. The pilot established best glide speed and entered a slight bank to avoid trees. Though the pilot jettisoned his chemical load in an attempt to maintain altitude, but the aircraft touched down in a waterway. The airplane landed inverted, and the pilot was able to escape.[26][27][28]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The airport formerly used the FAA location identifier 7G9.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ "FAA Airport Form 5010 for CQA" (PDF). FAA. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
  2. ↑ Location Identifiers. Air Traffic Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation. 15 January 1970. p. A-13. 7350.1N. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "AirNav: KCQA – Lakefield Airport". www.airnav.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  4. 1 2 3 "CQA – Lakefield Airport | SkyVector". skyvector.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  5. ↑ "Local War Veterans Purchase Mercer-Co Lakefield Airport". Sandusky Register. 8 December 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "New Livestock Exchange Organized at Celina". Lima News. 24 May 1953. p. 11-B. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Mercer Airport Group Seeks Runway Funds". Dayton Daily News. 9 June 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Lakefield Airport Gets Equipment". Dayton Daily News. 21 March 1963. p. 31. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Four Hangars to Be Built at Lakefield". Sidney Daily News. 24 July 1963. p. 1C. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "New Runway Being Built at Airport". Dayton Daily News. 11 September 1964. p. 4. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Celina Firm Wins Bid to Pave Runway". The Blade. 30 June 1966. p. 31. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Rhodes Dedicates Mercer Airport". Sidney Daily News. 18 August 1966. p. 1B. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Expansion Set at Airport". Sidney Daily News. 22 November 1969. p. 12. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Runway Approved". Sidney Daily News. 21 July 1979. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  15. ↑ "Airport Reopens". Sidney Daily News. 24 January 1983. p. 7A. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Montezuma Residents Upset Over Lost Trees". Sidney Daily News. 27 February 1990. p. 5B. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Oxyer, Lyn (27 December 1998). "Lakefield Airport to Lengthen Runway". Lima News. p. B4. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Brown Announces More Than $100,000 to Support the Lakefield Airport". Sherrod Brown. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Senator Brown Announces More Than $735,000 To Improve Airports In Northwest Ohio". Your Hometown Stations. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Miller Aviation FBO Info & Fuel Prices at Lakefield (KCQA)". FlightAware. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  21. ↑ Tyo, Aleene C. (25 June 1983). "Crash Kills Flying Surgeon". The Journal Herald. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "Helicopter Crashes". Sidney Daily News. 19 September 1988. p. 2A. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "Cessna 205 crash in Ohio (N8157Z) | PlaneCrashMap.com". planecrashmap.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  24. ↑ "May 9, Celina, Ohio / Cessna 205". Aviation Safety. 2002-09-30. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  25. ↑ "Hangar, Airplane at Lakefield Airport in Celina Destroyed in Afternoon Storm". WHIO TV 7. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  26. ↑ Albert, Sydney (28 May 2021). "1 Hurt in Plane Crash". The Daily Standard. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Grumman-Schweizer G-164B, N8376K: Accident May 27, 2021 near Lakefield Airport (KCQA), Celina, Mercer County, Ohio". Kathryn's Report. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  28. ↑ "Crop-Dusting Plane Crashes in Ohio, Pilot Taken to Hospital". AP. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
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