Airport users say they are confident in facility's security

Sometimes it looks as though nobody is home at the Greenwood-Leflore Airport but don't be fooled.

The airport employs a combination of high- and low-tech devices to keep its planes, hangars and runways safe from unauthorized personnel.

In addition to card-controlled gates and perimeter fencing the airport has some full-time residents who are always on the lookout for that out of place vehicle or person who doesn't quite fit in, said two men with ties to the airport.

"There's nobody coming through here that we do not know," said Bob Provine, president of Provine Helicopter Service Inc., which occupies a large hangar at the airport.

Provine credits the card security system - located at all but two of the airport's gates - with limiting access to the airport. The last two gates are secured by padlocks and chains, he said.

"The electronic locks work in areas where there's a lot of traffic," Provine said.

Provine's operation also entails the regular cycling of crews out of the airport. Those crews stay in quarters right on airport grounds. Those accommodations are referred to as the "Provine Motel," he said.

"As my crews come through, we might have as many as six people staying out here at any given time," Provine said.
He said the personnel are quick to notice things out of the ordinary, such as a vehicle or person that is seemingly out of place.

Bobby Meadows, who owns B&M Aircraft Services LLC, which is located in the old Provine hangar at the airport, also lives at the airport full-time, Provine said.

Another layer of security is furnished by P.C., a dog which claims the airport as part of his turf, Provine said.
"He came up here about five years ago. He guards his end of the airport very well," Provine said.

He said an added safeguard is that most of the airport's airplanes are housed inside secure hangars every night.
"When the sun goes down, there's probably not a half dozen airplanes outside. It's very secure," Provine said.

Provine said he has added to his own security plan with the installation of "kill switches" on his aircraft. The switches, subject to Federal Aviation Administration, are installed at various points on the aircraft.

If the switches are not shutoff, the airplane can't be started, he said.

Bob Swanzy, a general aviation fan who has a plane out at the airport, said security isn't something he gives a lot of thought to.

"I have no concern about it. I haven't had anybody to mention it to me," he said.

The card system seems to work pretty well given the amount of traffic out at the airport daily, Swanzy said.
Bardin Redditt, the airport's manager, said the card system is slowly being replaced by a radio transmitter system, similar to those used to open and close a garage door.

He said while the card-reading system is not as satisfactory as it could be, he has been gradually tightening the list of authorized users that have access to the airport.

"We started a year ago having a yearly changing of the code. That requires revalidating the cards each year," Redditt said.

The card-reading units, which cost $950 apiece, are vulnerable to lightning strikes and that has prompted the move to the radio transmitter system.

Still, the airport's security system relies on people who are out at the airport on a daily basis, he said.

"We've got people out there that know people. That helps a lot," Redditt said.

Greenwood Commonwealth