Foothills Regional
MRN · KMRN · Morganton, North Carolina · Caldwell County · map
Foothills Regional is a public-use airport owned by Foothills Regional Airport Authorit, 6 miles northeast of Morganton, North Carolina, 1,270 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 03/21, is 5,500 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive) and about 56 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 17,000 takeoffs and landings a year. About 2 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Foothills Regional?
Its FAA code is MRN, and its ICAO code is KMRN.
Where is Foothills Regional?
It is 6 miles northeast of Morganton, North Carolina, 1,270 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Foothills Regional?
Its one runway, 03/21, is 5,500 feet long, asphalt.
Does Foothills Regional have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Foothills Regional?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive.
Where can you fly nonstop from Foothills Regional?
Airline flights go to 1 airport, the busiest of them Wilmington International. Every route
Are there flight schools at Foothills Regional?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Sky View Aviation LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Foothills Regional?
9 pilot examiners and 17 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Foothills Regional…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA MRN · ICAO KMRN
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Foothills Regional Airport Authorit
- Elevation
- 1,270 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive; the services card below
- On the chart
- Charlotte sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 7W
- In the FAA's files since
- December 1945
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/21 | 5,500 × 75 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 03: LOCALIZER, PAPI, four lights on the left, trees 19 ft high 729 ft from the end
- Runway 21: PAPI, four lights on the right, trees 26 ft high 458 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.7 | |
| Mrn and aWOS-3P | 124.175 | |
| Hickory and center (remote transmitter) Low | 125.15 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3P), by phone 828-757-0788.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (low-pressure), bulk oxygen (high-pressure)
- Also here
- air freight, cargo handling, gliders, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales, glider towing
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Hickory Regional (12 nm southeast), Avery County/Morrison Field (20 nm west), Rutherford County/Marchman Field (28 nm southwest).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in North Carolina · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Activate runway end identifier lightss runway 03 and 21; PAPI runway 03 and 21; medium-intensity runway lights runway 03/21 - the common traffic frequency.
- Runway 03, 100 feet dropoff 330 feet from thld and 80 feet both sides of centerline along first 1000 feet of runway.
- Runway 21, 30 feet dropoff 400 feet from thld both sides and 10 feet dropoff 50 feet from thld and 150 feet right of centerline.
- Hang glider act daylight hours - east side of runway 03/21 in runway safety area.
- Deer and coyote on and in the vicinity of airport.
- Apron tie down space ltd.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 1 departures from MRN in those twelve months, carrying 0 passengers in 8 seats (0% filled), to 1 destination on 1 airline.
| Where to | Flights | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foothills Regional → Wilmington International MRN–ILM | 1 | 0 | CFM Inc d/b/a Contour... |
All 1 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 53 |
| multi-engine | 3 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 17,000, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 1,000 |
| general aviation, travelling | 6,500 |
| general aviation, local | 9,000 |
| military | 500 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Morganton from the FAA register
38 aircraft are registered to owners in Morganton, North Carolina: 34 piston singles, 2 business jets, 1 helicopter, 1 drone. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in North Carolina.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Sky View Aviation LLC 6 aircraft · Lenoir, 8 miles away Sky View Aviation is a flight school based in Hickory, North Carolina, offering pilot training from Hickory Regional Airport and Foothills Regional Airport in Morganton/Lenoir.
Repair stations in Morganton:
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
9 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 9 for private pilot, 9 for commercial and instrument, 5 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor, 2 for sport pilot, 1 for type ratings; 9 for airplanes, 4 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 17 aviation medical examiners, 2 mechanic examiners, 2 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 3 engineering representatives, 39 aircrew program designees, 1 training center examiner.
- Brandon NeSmith private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot; airplanes · Foothills Regional Airport · Morganton, NC (0 nm) · (828) 638-5370 · [email protected]
- Gary Garavaglia private pilot, commercial and instrument, commercial pilot; airplanes, gliders · Statesville, NC (32 nm) · (704) 340-8924 · [email protected]
- John William Dennis private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, sport pilot; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Statesville, NC (32 nm) · (770) 595-9395 · [email protected]
- Melissa Curtis private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Lincolnton - Lincoln County Airport · Iton Station, NC (33 nm) · (757) 435-7865 · [email protected]
- Gregory Collins private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot; airplanes · Rutherford County Airport FBO · Rutherford, NC (34 nm) · (828) 460-3646 · [email protected]
- Charles Rosenstein private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Stanley, NC (38 nm) · (704) 277-2596 · [email protected]
- Daniel Jonathan Moore private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, type ratings, private pilot (proficiency), instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Dan Moore Aero LLC · Elizabethton, TN (43 nm) · (423) 647-4359 · [email protected]
- Darrin Murphy private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Gastonia Municipal Airport KAKH · Gastonia, NC (43 nm) · (803) 526-1153 · [email protected]
All 73 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-F: Designated Airworthiness Representative, manufacturing: issues airworthiness certificates for newly built aircraft and parts.
- DER-T: Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf.
- APD: Aircrew Program Designee: an airline's own check pilot who gives the FAA's tests to the airline's pilots.
- DCTO-E: Designee at a certificated training organisation.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 16 since 1982, 2 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Morganton 38 aircraft · 34 piston singles, 2 business jets, 1 helicopters
- Marine Investments LLP 2 aircraft in town
- Sky View Aviation LLC 6 aircraft · flight school
- Vx Aerospace Corporation · repair station
- Wilmington International (ILM) 1 flights in twelve months · CFM Inc d/b/a Contour Airlines d/b/a One Jet Shuttle
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 16 since 1982 · 2 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in North Carolina 1,759 since 1982 · 304 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in North Carolina 106 landing places
- North Carolina 7,120 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/MRN.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 29, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 28, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.