Violent storms in Chandler, Arizona, late Tuesday flipped over airplanes at the Chandler Municipal Airport, scattering them about the field and damaging an estimated 30 aircraft in all. Photos and video at KCHD showed GA airplanes, mostly light singles recognizable by their wings and tails, sitting askew or lying belly-up around the tiedown area. Chandler Air Service President John Walkup told AVweb in an email that six airplanes were destroyed and nine are damaged along with the hangar. The flight school has more than two dozen aircraft for rent. “We are in business and making it work,” he said.
No one was hurt at the field and the 24-hour airport southeast of Phoenix remains open, according to area media outlets.At least two microbursts and winds up to 60 miles per hour ripped through the area around 9 p.m., ABC15 Arizonareported. “This is terrible,” pilot Robert Copeland told the station. He’s been based at CHD since 1953 and “this is the first time that anything like this has happened,” he said. The region reported heavy rain, lightning, winds and dust storms overnight.
