BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — As Black Hawk helicopters thundered into Big Sandy Regional Airport carrying pajama-clad flood evacuees in February, Gary Wayne Cox stood ready in the dark, literally. With his home power out and disaster unfolding across eastern Kentucky, the airport manager scrambled to confirm enough fuel for a nonstop rescue mission that would offload hundreds of flood victims to safety without a single injury.
The mission, coordinated with clockwork precision by local agencies and the National Guard, earned praise from the governor and revealed both the airport’s critical role and its urgent need for backup power.
“That’s what we’re working on now,” Cox told the Martin County Fiscal Court in a meeting Thursday, referring to a proposed generator for the airport.
During his update on the airport, Cox praised Martin County’s flawless coordination during the February flood evacuation of two housing complexes and numerous others that involved Black Hawk helicopters.
“You gotta commend everybody in Martin County,” Cox said. “That ran so smoothly. It’s unbelievable that we evacuated that many people in that short a time with zero injuries that I’m aware of. That was phenomenal.”
Cox shared the events that unfolded the night before the evacuation took place. The National Guard called him at home to inform him of the mission and outline their expectations at the airport. While he was on the phone discussing fuel needs, his electricity went out.
“I had no idea the county already had this coordinated,” revealed Cox. “All I knew was the Black Hawks would be coming to me, and I had to take care of that.”
Cox drove to the airport where the electricity was still on and reconnected with the National Guard to confirm he had fuel to meet the demand.
Throughout the following day, helicopters delivered evacuees from Dempsey Housing and Riverside Apartments in Warfield where the Tug Fork River was closing in.
“Most of them were in their pajamas,” Cox said. “Watching people get off the helicopters all day was humbling.”
Later that day, Gov. Andy Beshear arrived at the airport.
“He came back and told us how thankful he was to have everything,” said Cox, who used the moment to lobby the governor for infrastructure support.
“I said, ‘Governor, this was very successful here today, but I lost my electricity last night. And if we had no electricity here at the airport, none of this would have happened,’” he recounted. “‘You would have had the same thing that happened when the floods hit over in Hazard and Floyd County—Hazard, Wayland and Knott County.’”
According to Cox, the airport pumped 8,000 gallons of fuel in a single day during rescues in those areas, prompting him to order an immediate fuel delivery to replenish supplies.
Cox impressed on the governor the need for a backup generator at the Big Sandy Regional Airport.
“[The governor] was at the airport yesterday, and I actually hit him up again yesterday,” admitted Cox. “I told him the airports are above the floodplain and there is ample space to host these operations. We have to be ready, no excuses, if disasters hit again. And you know they’re going to. I feel certain that it is one of the most important needs at the airport.”
Cox urges the public to appreciate the region’s value as seen through the eyes of visitors. He recalled a recent conversation with a doctor from Arizona who was passing through on his way to Rhode Island in a home-built plane.
“He told me, ‘You guys have a hidden jewel here in eastern Kentucky. The area is beautiful—the approaches coming in here over these beautiful mountains and these trees,’” Cox remarked.
“People who live away from here love our area more than we do. We take it for granted. We do have a very special place here, and I wish that everyone could hear that. I literally hear it sometimes three or four times a day, and I don’t get tired of hearing it.”
Cox also commended the fiscal court for its progress on local projects, such as the trail system and upgraded ballfields, before reminding them that he rarely requests funding.
“You realize that I don’t ever ask you for money, do I?” he said. “And I’m not going to today.”
The last time Martin County allocated money to the airport was 12 years ago through $50,000 in coal severance funds. That contribution, along with $50,000 from Floyd County, was a last-minute state budget allocation funding a major renovation of the terminal.
“When I took it over in 2000, it looked dated,” Cox reflected. “It’s important to me to make sure that when anybody lands at the airport that they get a good first impression. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so it’s very important to me that when people land there, they see a clean bathroom, they see the grass cut, flowers planted. I want them to get a positive image of Martin County when they land there.”
That coal severance tax money from Martin and Floyd counties helped fund stonework on the outside of the building, a fireplace inside, tile, new furniture and fresh paint.
“It was well spent,” declared Cox. “It looks as good today as it did 12 years ago.”
The airport is now entirely self-sufficient, according to Cox.
He announced that the federal government is preparing to award the airport $1.8 million.
“When they give us a million dollars, they only give us $900,000,” Cox explained. “The state puts in $50,000 and the airport board has to put in the other $50,000. So you have to have money to operate. You have to have money to get this money.”
Funding was tight for years, Cox stated. The state previously covered 7.5% of project costs, but that share has since diminished to 5%. On the bright side, the state now provides non-discretionary operational funding and the airport receives $150,000 annually in federal revenue on jet fuel sales.
Cox highlighted recent milestones, including completion of a $5.8 million federally funded runway safety improvement project and compliance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
Another upgrade was a $1.4 million T-hangar project, which the airport was able to fund itself, except for $400,000 in state money.
Cox, who operates a private fuel business on-site, pays rent to the airport and receives no salary from the board.
“The airport board pays me nothing,” he said. “I pay rent to be there because I’m a private business at the airport. That’s how I make my living on selling fuel. So when I have those good days, it helps me and the airport because I pay extra when I pump more fuel.”
The next major improvement project at the airport involves switching to LED lighting for the runway, taxiway, windsocks and approach lights. Cox said the change could cut the monthly electricity bill from $1,200 to $800. The state has pledged $800,000 for the project, which could begin in November.
Looking ahead, Cox said the airport also needs ramp rehabilitation and a weather station upgrade.
“The airport has money to operate on now,” he said. “I’m not scared to death that we’re not going to be able to make a payment. And the infrastructure is as good as any in the state of Kentucky.”
He invited court members to attend a future meeting of the airport board.
Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty praised Cox’s leadership.
“I just want to applaud all the efforts that you and others have done at the Big Sandy Regional Airport over the last years,” Lafferty said. “The last words that you said, ‘The infrastructure is as fine as any in the state,’ say it all. You do a tremendous job not just for our county but for the entire region.”
Cox concluded by emphasizing the airport’s role in connecting the region to the outside world: “The 5,051 feet by 100 feet runway is a welcome mat to eastern Kentucky.”
Big Sandy Regional Airport (FAA: SJS / ICAO: KSJS) in Debord serves as a public-use general aviation facility. The airport rests at an elevation of about 1,221 feet on 136 acres. It has a single asphalt runway (3/21) measuring 5,051 feet by 100 feet, making it one of the few regional fields in eastern Kentucky able to support larger private aircraft.
Originally built in the early 1980s on reclaimed surface-mine land and operational since 1986, the airport has become a hub for general aviation and regional tourism. In the year ending July 2022, it recorded 7,580 aircraft operations—about 21 daily—most of which were general aviation flights, along with some air taxi and military traffic.
The facility offers amenities such as fuel services for 100LL and Jet‑A, flight planning support, a pilot lounge, courtesy transportation, maintenance services, and even a pilot snooze room. A full-service restaurant, Cloud 9, is conveniently located on the grounds.