Cleveland Airport selling fuel again

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The aviation fuel pump at the Cleveland airport is working again.

Last week, pilot and Cleveland Airport Authority member LeRoy Rymer told the Cleveland City Council that unpredictable fuel availability and sedimentation in the airport fuel tank was sending pilots to other community airports in the region.

Cleveland Public Works developed a timeline documenting the history of the fuel problem starting on May 27.

According to the timeline, City Purchasing Agent Melinda Carroll had the fuel company check the filter on the airport fuel tank. The filter has been changed half a dozen times in recent weeks.

She said Wednesday that the airport pump has been working since Monday.

“They checked the fuel and it was fine and agreed that the filter was working properly,’’ according to an e-mail from Ms. Carroll.

The city has sent a sample of the fuel to an independent testing lab to verify the contents. The results are expected in a week to 10 days.

“We never had any trouble with bad fuel going into an airplane,’’ David Harmon of Crystal Air, the contract fixed-base operator, said Wednesday. Rust inside the fuel tank was being caught by a filter, he said.

The Cleveland Airport, known as Hardwick Field, is more than 50 years old. It is scheduled to be replaced by a new airport in the Tasso community in several years.