On a day that was meant for flying, Jerry Griffith sits in his corner office at the Benedum Airport and watches plane after plane disappear into the clouds. Activity is everywhere. Passengers are boarding a twin-prop commuter bound for Pittsburgh. Piper Cubs zip off the runway with a growl. Motorists loop the parking lot looking for a spot.
People scamper around the terminal.
There's something going on here all the time. On first glance, Benedum Airport looks a lot like Morgantown's Hart Field. Both airports are about the same age, built in the 1960s. But there is something distinctively different between Morgantown and Bridgeport, and it can be seen along the fringes of the airport. At Hart Field, off in the distance toward the east are mountains and hardwood forests.