Hangar owners press Knox County on liability-insurance change at airport

Hangar owners addressed the Knox County Commission on June 4, 2026, urging the county and airport to preserve a longstanding practice in which the airport obtained liability insurance for the hangar area and billed owners, rather than shifting an undefined share of common-area liability to individual leaseholders.

Cam Clark, who identified himself as a resident and hangar owner, said the county-managed policy had worked for about 20 years and that recent changes stopped the county’s practice. "The airport has the mechanism and process to obtain and bill us for a policy," he said, and cautioned that forming an owners association or an LLC to obtain equivalent coverage would be difficult and costly.

Brad Carter added that about 52 hangar leases were affected and that owners paid their share when the airport procured a single policy. He questioned how an underwriter could assess risk for an undefined common area and said the current arrangement allowed the airport to enforce payment through lease remedies. "Where is this one and a half times the space?" Carter asked, describing uncertainty about the area the county would seek to insure beyond each individual hangar.

Dan Richard, another hangar owner, said the original lease language had allowed the airport to buy a policy for a period but that the present proposal appeared to shift responsibility to owners. He warned of administrative burdens if the airport had to review 52 individual policies each year and suggested the airport advisory committee study lease options and precedents at other airports.

Commissioners said much of the matter will move through the airport advisory committee and noted that lease approvals ultimately return to the commission. The board indicated it would consider the issue further in executive session and with airport staff; no formal policy change was adopted at the meeting.