Here in Montana, we know driving in snowy conditions can be scary—but can you imagine landing a plane in those conditions? So, I headed over to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) to see how crews keep these tarmacs safe for pilots.
“Right now, we’re in an MB3 broom that is used for mechanical removal of snow on our airfield,” Kevin Dineen tells me as I hopped up into one of these brooms for a ride along.
Watch the story here:
If you’ve flown out of BZN anytime in the last five years, odds are you experienced safe travels in part because of Dineen and his crew—also known around the airport as "Snow Boss."
“The runway is 8,996 feet long. We need to make sure that the aircraft and the people inside the aircraft are as safe as possible and have as much braking distance as possible,” says Kevin.
Snow Boss had four brooms on the runway around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning because flights were departing as early as 5 a.m. And the conditions they were flying in?
“We started out the day with seven inches of snow. We have this repeat snowing, where it’s constantly snowing, we end up out on the runway 10, 15, 20 times sometimes in a day."
A job more dangerous than you may expect.
“For example, we might only have 11-12 minutes between when we can get on a runway and when an aircraft is going to land,” says Kevin.
Kevin tells me there have been close calls—in fact, during my ride along?
“We have an aircraft on a six-mile final. He’s coming in pretty fast, so they’re telling us to expedite, to get off the runway, so we’re going to get off here. Because he is right behind us."
Which is why communication between the crew during snow removal is of the utmost importance.
“It’s imperative. It’s really important to all of us because the level of danger doing this is so high,” Kevin says.
For this crew, danger doesn’t stop them from getting the job done. That's why Tuesday morning, even though the airport had some delays, it wasn’t due to snow on the runway.
“The airlines are responsible for de-icing their airplanes. And so, there’s certainly delays to get the aircraft in good condition for take off,” says Brian Sprenger, the chief executive officer of BZN.
Sprenger adds, here in Montana?
“We don’t actually see flights canceled here for weather for the most part."
Compared to airports in other states?
“They will actually cancel flights in advance of a major snowstorm so they have the capacity to handle the remaining flights,” Sprenger continues.
Sprenger tells me it’s been around 25 years since a weather-related incident has occurred at BZN. He attributes the airport’s smooth operation to the Snow Boss crew. And for Kevin? He’ grateful to be making a difference doing something he loves.
“You always see something new. Pilots, different personalities, different skill levels. But it truly never gets old,” says Kevin.
