Decatur Airport

Decatur Airport (IATA: DEC, ICAO: KDEC, FAA LID: DEC) is a public airport five miles east of Decatur, in Macon County, Illinois, United States. The airport is owned by the Decatur Park District. Airline service is subsidized by the federal government's Essential Air Service program at a cost of $6,120,951 (per year). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025 categorized it as a regional general aviation facility. It is the eleventh busiest of the 12 commercial airports in Illinois. Facilities and aircraft Decatur Airport covers 2,100 acres (850 ha) at an elevation of 682 feet (208 m). It has three runways: 6/24 is 8,496 by 150 feet (2,590 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete; 12/30 is 6,799 by 150 feet (2,072 x 46 m) asphalt/concrete; 18/36 is 5,298 by 150 feet (1,615 x 46 m) asphalt. In the 12-month period ending December 31, 2020, the airport had 29,285 aircraft operations, an average of 80 per day: 78% general aviation, 15% military, 4% air taxi and 3% commercial airline. In April 2022, there were 62 aircraft based at this airport: 50 single-engine airplanes and 12 military. Decatur Airport has a 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) passenger terminal with airline counters, a restaurant, baggage claim area, and car rental counters. The Illinois Army National Guard has an Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) at the airport. The facility occupies 10 acres (4.0 ha) and has three permanent buildings and a temporary building on the site. Airline and destination Ground transportation Public transit service to the airport is provided by Decatur Public Transit System. Route 12 operates Monday through Saturday from downtown Decatur to the airport, while Route 3 serves the airport on Sundays. Accidents and incidents On August 3, 1950, a United States Air Force Douglas C-47D was destroyed by fire after a take-off related accident. All five occupants survived the crash and subsequent fire. On October 2, 2006 a United States Air Force Learjet C-21A was on a training mission flying a simulated approach when speed unexpectedly dropped and called out "speed" two times. The pilot pulled back the number one engine throttle but the plane began to roll steeply to the right and struck the pavement before proceeding to skid through a grass infield and then across another runway before coming to a stop. Both occupants survived. On December 2, 2010, a single-engine home-built aircraft, a Southerland Freebird Litesport Ultra, took off from Decatur Airport and crashed 1.5 miles east of the airport. The pilot was the only person on board and was killed in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's reported inability to control his amateur-built airplane for undetermined reasons after the airplane inadvertently became airborne while conducting a high-speed taxi." See also List of airports in Illinois References Other sources External links Decatur Airport, official site Aerial photo as of April 1998 from USGS The National Map FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective July 9, 2026 FAA Terminal Procedures for DEC, effective July 9, 2026 Resources for this airport: AirNav airport information for KDEC ASN accident history for DEC FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days SkyVector aeronautical chart for KDEC FAA current DEC delay information