Plains Airport
S34 · Plains, Montana · Sanders County · map
Plains Airport is a public-use airport owned by Sanders County, 1 mile northwest of Plains, Montana, 2,467 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 13/31, is 4,650 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 16 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 2,540 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Plains Airport?
Its FAA code is S34.
Where is Plains Airport?
It is 1 mile northwest of Plains, Montana, 2,467 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Plains Airport?
Its one runway, 13/31, is 4,650 feet long, asphalt.
Does Plains Airport have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Plains Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Plains Airport?
1 pilot examiner and 3 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 Plains Airport…
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 S34
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Sanders County
- Elevation
- 2,467 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- unattended
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- On the chart
- Great Falls sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 18E
- In the FAA's files since
- April 1940
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/31 | 4,650 × 75 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 31: PAPI, two lights on the left
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) | 122.9 | |
| S34 and aWOS-3PT | 118.1 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3PT), by phone 406-826-5784.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- none at the field, as reported
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Also here
- flight instruction
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Polson Airport (32 nm northeast), Ronan Airport (33 nm east), Missoula Montana Airport (47 nm southeast).
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 Montana · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Activate PAPI runway 31; medium-intensity runway lights runway 13/31 - the common traffic frequency.
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.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 16 |
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 2,540, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 40 |
| general aviation, travelling | 500 |
| general aviation, local | 2,000 |
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 Plains from the FAA register
15 aircraft are registered to owners in Plains, Montana: 15 piston singles. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in Montana.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
1 pilot examiner (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) is based within 50 nautical miles: 1 for private pilot, 1 for commercial and instrument, 1 for airline transport pilot, 1 for type ratings; 1 for airplanes, 1 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 3 aviation medical examiners, 3 parachute rigger examiners, 1 training center examiner.
- Timothy Franklin Mead private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, type ratings, private pilot (proficiency); airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Missoula, MT (47 nm) · (406) 499-4321 · [email protected]
All 9 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- SAE: Sport Aviation Examiner: gives the tests for sport pilot certificates and light-sport aircraft.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DPRE: Designated Parachute Rigger Examiner: tests candidates for the parachute rigger certificate.
- 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 · 2 since 1982, 0 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 Plains 15 aircraft · 15 piston singles
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 2 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Montana 1,119 since 1982 · 164 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Montana 127 landing places
- Montana 6,045 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/S34.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 29, 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.