The Ohio State University opened its first airport in 1917 to train cadets to build and fly aircraft for World War 1. That airport was shut down in 1920 when Ohio Stadium was built on the site. The university built a second airport soon after its first shut down, and it was among a number of universities that took part in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, sponsored by the Civil Aeronautics Administration, for the purpose of fostering private flying. The airport was used as a research location for crop dusting aircraft in the 1940s. A Piper J 3 Cub was used for testing until it crashed in 1957 and the project was halted. It is the base for the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Aviation Section and the Ohio Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation. The airport also has a helipad for helicopter operations. Designated as helipad H1, it measures 40 x 40 ft (12 x 12 m) and is paved with asphalt. The airport's master plan includes a plan to expand runway 9R/27L to 6,000 feet to help corporate aviation departments fly further non stop from the airport. The FBO unveiled a new $15 million terminal building in 2018, which received funding in large part from a $10 million donation. It also added dozens of new hangars to house more airplanes, and it is developing a 50 acre corporate airpark. On May 30, 2002, a Bell 206 helicopter was substantially damaged during a practice autorotation on touchdown at the Ohio State University Airport. During the accident autorotation, the pilot receiving instruction did not think he would make his intended touchdown point and wanted to increase airspeed, but the instructor told him to slow the helicopter to 50 knots. As the pilot attempted this, the aircraft slowed further to 40 knots. The pilot lowered the nose again to regain airspeed, but as it did, the pilot realized he would overshoot, so the pilot initiated s turns to slow down. As the pilot flared for landing, rotor RPM decayed, and the helicopter touched down hard, and the pilot instinctively applied aft cyclic, which the instructor was unable to prevent. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the flight instructor's delay in applying remedial action. On February 28, 2003, a Cessna 152 was substantially damaged during landing at the Ohio State University Airport. The pilots had been performing touch and gos on an instructional flight at the airport. On the accident approach, the CFI observed the airplane descend below the glidepath and instructed the student pilot to add power. After a few seconds, the student added about 50 rpms of power, and the CFI told the student to add more power. When the student didn't respond, the CFI attempted to add power himself; however, the student's hand remained over the throttle, so the instructor was unable to add power. The CFI then started to flare the airplane for landing. The aircraft touched down before the start of the paved runway surface and pitched forward onto its nose, at which point the nose gear collapsed. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot's misjudgment of distance/altitude and the instructor's delayed remedial action. On April 29, 2004, a Cessna 152 was substantially damaged during landing at the Ohio State University Airport. Just over the runway, the aircraft encountered a gust, and the student pilot aboard pushed the nose down to maintain attitude. However, the student overcompensated, and the aircraft's nose wheel impacted the runway. The plane bounced, the nose impacted the runway a second time, and the airplane finally tilted forward and slid to a stop. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot's improper flare, and inadequate recovery from a bounced landing, which resulted in a hard landing. On July 1, 2005, a Piper PA 28 Cherokee was substantially damaged during a landing at Ohio State University Airport. As the private pilot, back from a 5 year absence from flying, turned to a left downwind, she advised the flight instructor aboard that he needed to land the airplane because she wasn't sure of "the perspective," and the flight instructor took over the flight controls. After touchdown, it appeared to the private pilot that the airplane was diverging to the right. The aircraft then hit something and bounced before veering to left back onto runway centerline. The instructor stated that, during the flight, he had set maximum right rudder trim to keep the plane from turning left repeatedly. On approach, the aircraft started turning right instead of left, so the instructor eased off his additional right rudder pressure. During the roundout to land, the instructor said that "for whatever reason, the aircraft turned to the right suddenly and unexpected." To keep the airplane over the runway, the flight instructor turned the controls to the left and applied full left rudder, but he did not notice any immediate response. While attempting to go around, the instructor heard a bang as if the aircraft had hit something, and the impact forced the plane back toward centerline. The instructor aborted the go around since he had sufficient runway ahead to stop the plane. After landing, and while taxiing to the ramp, the flight instructor pressed the right and left rudder pedals several times, and noted that although they worked, the right rudder pedal was much stiffer than the left. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the flight instructor's failure to maintain directional control during the landing rollout. A factor was the night lighting conditions. On September 22, 2005, a Eurocopter Deutschland BK 117 B2 helicopter was substantially damaged during a hard landing at Ohio State University Airport. During landing, the pilot observed a kneeboard fall from the co pilot's side of the helicopter and land near the cyclic control boot. He tried to straighten the helicopter; however, the cyclic control felt "stiff" and could only be moved slightly to the left or aft. The helicopter continued to descend, and landed hard. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. On March 11, 2007, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk was damaged during a runway excursion at the Ohio State University Airport. The pilot reported that after touchdown, he noticed "the rate of left drift was too much." The pilot subsequently applied both brakes and right rudder, but the aircraft continued drifting to the left of the runway. The aircraft then ran into a grass area off the runway's side, struck a sign, and came to rest. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing. On October 9, 2007, a Eurocopter AS 350 B2 Ecureuil helicopter, operated by the State of Ohio on a public use training flight, sustained substantial damage during an autorotation at the Ohio State University Airport. The instructor aboard reported that he flew with three students that day. During the first flight of the day, a hard landing occurred while practicing an autorotation. No damage was found after that or the next flight. During autorotation practice on the third lesson, the aircraft impacted the ground at a higher rate of descent than desired because the instructor could not make power inputs quickly enough to arrest a high descent rate. Though the impact was minimal, the aircraft slide for approximately 40 feet in uneven terrain. The instructor briefed the maneuver again, and the flight continued with more autorotations before the pilots returned to the ramp. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the student pilot's excessive descent rate and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action. On May 21, 2008, a Columbia Aircraft LC41 550FG crashed while landing at the Ohio State University Airport. Just after touchdown, the airplane veered about 20 degrees left. The pilot attempted to correct with right rudder but subsequently determined that a more aggressive correction would be unsafe. The aircraft exited the runway into a grassy area between the runway and the ramp. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing. On December 27, 2010, an Aero Commander 500B registered to Central Airways Inc crashed near the airport. The aircraft lost engine power while coming in to land at the airport. During the downwind leg of a circling instrument approach, both engines began to surge, and the pilot added full power and turned on the fuel boost pumps. This momentarily solved the problem. While abeam the approach end of the runway on the downwind leg, the engines again started to surge and subsequently lost power. The pilot executed a forced landing and the airplane impacted terrain short of the runway. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot’s improper fuel management which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. On November 14, 2016, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk was damaged while landing at the Ohio State University Airport. The student solo pilot reported porpoising and hearing a thump while attempting to land. The pilot executed a go around and, on his next approach, landed without incident. The probable cause of the incident was found to be the student pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a porpoise. On February 3, 2020, a Beechcraft Bonanza ran off the runway at the Ohio State University Airport after a landing gear failure. On June 14, 2021, a Cessna 180K Skywagon was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near the Ohio State University Airport. The pilot reported that she took off uneventfully and executed a climbing right turn before leveling off at 1,000 ft above ground level. Shortly thereafter, the airplane’s engine sputtered briefly. The pilot contacted air traffic control and initiated a 180° turn toward the airport when the engine lost all power. The pilot attempted to troubleshoot the issue to no avail before the airplane impacted a heavily wooded area short of the open field and descended to the ground below.