Located on a Wayne County hilltop just off Interstate 64 west of Huntington, Tri-State Airport offers airline service to passengers from a large area of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. The airport was dedicated November 2, 1952, with the first official landing made at 11:00 a.m. by Piedmont Airlines, followed by an Eastern Air Lines flight at 11:30.
The opening of Tri-State Airport returned regularly scheduled air service to the Huntington area for the first time since 1945, when American Airlines discontinued serving the Chesapeake Airport, a small field located just across the Ohio River from Huntington. Tri-State Airport’s construction came after 30 years of effort by Huntington political and civic leaders. It is owned by a conglomerate of public and quasi-public agencies and operated by the Tri-State Airport Authority, whose members are appointed by those agencies.
The airport was the scene of a tragic crash on the night of November 14, 1970, when a chartered jet airliner carrying the Marshall University football team slammed into a hillside as it approached for landing. All 75 people aboard—players, coaches, fans, and crew—were killed.
This Article was written by James E. Casto
Last Revised on August 25, 2023
Cite This Article
Casto, James E. "Tri-State Airport." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 25 August 2023. Web. 18 April 2024.
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