A possible EF-3 or EF-4 tornado moved through Bibb County Thursday evening and left major damage in several parts of the county. As the high winds moved from Pondville towards the Sawmeal Restaurant and southern Brent areas it headed towards the Centreville Town Square where it passed over before touching down East of town in the neighborhood of the Bibb County Airport [0A8].
The neighborhoods East of Centreville along old U.S. 82 were not spared the wrath of the storm and major damage occurred along the storm path. One significant victim, the Bibb County airport, suffered its toll. Hangars along the East end of the runway housed 6 general aviation aircraft and it appears that all of those aircraft were either damaged or totally destroyed.
Photos by Tanette Eyres
Bryan Miller is the chairman of the Bibb County airport authority and also the owner of one of the aircraft that was housed in this destroyed hangar. Bryan’s aircraft survived with an intact fuselage however, the frame is twisted and has significant damage. Bryan said that “his insurance company has been contacted and he does not know if the aircraft is repairable or if it will ever be flyable again.”
Miller also reported that the airport was closed for the night after the storm due to the lighting being inoperable, and it will be closed for night operations until the runway lighting is verified operational but otherwise there is no damage to flight operations. The large hangar that is on the airport grounds was damaged also but the two jet aircraft that are parked inside were not damaged. He also said the airport authority has already been in touch with the airport consultants they work with and will be working with the FAA to apply for emergency grant funding as soon as possible to replace the destroyed hangars with new facilities.
