At last count at least 22 are dead, thousands are homeless and untold tens of thousands are without power in Tennessee after tornadoes ripped through the center of the state. Damage calculations are just beginning.
While it wasn’t the only airport hit in Tennessee, a major general aviation section at John C. Tune Airport in Nashville, the busiest GA airport in the state, got leveled by what was clearly a powerful tornado (or tornadoes) in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The twisters destroyed dozens of airplanes, including turbine aircraft belonging to a who’s who of country music stars.
The devastation at the airport is hard to put into words. Dozens of aircraft were destroyed, a number of hangars, a Cirrus Aircraft Service Center was leveled. Parts of airplanes, some weighing many tons, were ripped apart, in many cases their parts indistinguishable from the wreckage of other aircraft strewn about. It’s a surreal scene.
The one FBO on the field, Contour, is said to have been heavily damaged by the storm, and the airport is officially closed by FAA Notam.
Check back with Plane & Pilot for updates as new information becomes available.
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