A small Midwestern village has become the unlikely site of a civil war involving military aircraft and a mounting death toll.
Located between the shores of Idaho’s Palisades Reservoir and the snow-capped mountains of the Wyoming Range, the idyllic town of Alpine is home to just over 1,000 people.
But the expansive greenery of the surrounding Grand Teton National Park belies a fervent feud between locals and wealthy airplane enthusiasts who are disturbing the tranquility while allegedly putting lives at risk.
Alpine is home to a 5,850-foot runway straddling the Wyoming-Idaho border, which has attracted an increasing number of wealthy Top Gun hopefuls to the area.
Locals have said the growth in air traffic has gotten out of control, leading to constant noise in the city, as well as fatal accidents when people collide.
A small Midwestern village has become the unlikely site of a civil war involving military aircraft and a mounting death toll.
Located between the shores of Idaho’s Palisades Reservoir and the snow-capped mountains of the Wyoming Range, the idyllic town of Alpine is home to just over 1,000 people.
Jay Goodrich, a longtime Alps resident, described questionable flying practices and airplane overflights as “a circus” in the sky above his otherwise idyllic hometown.
“As a private pilot, seeing what they’re doing at the airfield, I can’t believe the FAA isn’t there,” he said. Jackson Hole Guide and News.
“It’s extreme wealth versus the common man,” he added. ‘In rural Wyoming, do we really need fighter jets taking off so they can practice?’ As a pilot, you must stay alert.
‘When I flew, I did it every day of the week, but I didn’t fly a fighter plane. Do we need fighter jets in Alpine, Wyoming, saying they don’t have to answer to anyone?
Goodrich said the residential park was designed to house single-engine aircraft flown by veteran pilots, but is now littered with military-grade aircraft and private jets.
“We’ve been here for three years and we were very aware of the runway,” Matt Grant, who lives in Alpine Meadows, next to the Airpark, told News and Guide.
‘I didn’t imagine that during our first 4th of July, the house would start shaking. It sounded like a ‘Top Gun’ movie.
‘We have rules in our neighborhood that come from the Forest Service that say we are not allowed to have fences because of wildlife.
I’m sure the Forest Service had no intention of sending fighter jets over the area. Sounds like an episode of MASH down there.
Pictured: The moment a plane crashed in Alpine on July 4 this year, killing pilot Edan Shalev.
Edan Shalev photographed with his GB1 GameBird aircraft. Shalev died on July 4 after his plane nosedived into shallow waters in the Palisades Reservoir.
Alpine residents say recent accidents, such as a fatal collision on July 4 this year, are the result of unrestricted air traffic by amateurs.
Alpine residents say recent accidents, such as a fatal collision on July 4 this year, are the result of unrestricted air traffic by amateurs.
A Game Composites GB1 Gamebird plane, described as a ‘race car for the sky,’ it plummeted into the Palisades Reservoir on Independence Day, killing pilot Edan Shalev.
Kevin Nettleton, who witnessed the horrific crash and rushed to the downed plane in his boat in search of survivors, said the scene looked like something out of ‘Mad Max.’
But he said recovery efforts were hampered by a Black Hawk helicopter that landed nearby to help them, but ended up causing strong winds that sent water spraying in all directions.
‘I know I was trying to help, but it was hell. “I’m still in shock from that,” Nettleton told Jackson Hole News and Guide. “It came out of nowhere.”
Several other accidents have been documented in the surrounding area, including a horrific incident in which parents David and Jessica Anderson died, leaving their children orphaned.
The couple died in the Cessna crash that also claimed the lives of Thomas and Heidi Summers in March 2016, according to East Idaho News, which tracked several similar deadly incidents approximately the same time.
Residents are also concerned about constantly breathing jet fuel, which has polluted the air with a pungent odor and caused possible contamination of the Palisades Reservoir.
The airstrip can be used by the public, but Alpine Airpark’s executive board decides who can enter and exit the private development.
Residents have written a letter of complaint to the airpark board, citing its own guidelines, and to Alpine Mayor Eric Green.
Airpark board chairman Raj Narayanan said accidents like the one on July 4 are not within the Airpark’s jurisdiction.
Pictured: Wreckage from a crash in Alpine, Wyoming, in March 2016.
Parents David and Jessica Anderson died in a Cessna crash near Alpine, which also claimed the lives of Thomas and Heidi Summers in March 2016.
Thomas “Brook” Summers, 39, and Heidi Summers, 36, who along with Jerry “David” Anderson, 40, and Jessica Anderson, 38, died in the crash north of Alpine, Wyoming, near of the Palisades Reservoir in March 2016.
Residents have written a letter of complaint to the airpark board, citing its own guidelines, and to Alpine Mayor Eric Green (pictured).
“One of the things we can do as an airpark is be proactive and establish procedures, policies and guidelines for members who fly to or live at the airpark,” Narayanan told News and Guide.
“We have very formalized and established procedures and guidelines for air park members, and we ask that all members convey these to their guests to ensure they are aware of the standard departure corridors, arrival corridors and limitation requirements of performance that we have established. Established to try to be kind and courteous to all our residents within the wider community.’
“What I would say is that the airpark is definitely part of the Alpine ecosystem, but it’s not in the city of Alpine,” Mayor Green told News and Guide.
‘As mayor and city council we have very little competence over what happens at the airport.
“Part of the problem is that there are some people who don’t respect the rules, and that’s what causes the consternation.”
