Controversial since its mid-1970s construction, the Jackson County Airport is once again at the center of a lawsuit.

The latest litigation, filed last November by adjacent landowners R.L. Ammons and Dewayne Pruett, contends slope failure at the airport that sits atop Berry Ridge near Cullowhee is threatening their homes and property. Those suits name as defendants Jackson County and the Jackson County Airport Authority.

The complaints hinge on a landslide that occurred Aug. 22, 2005, when an isolated storm dumped massive rainfall on the Little Savannah watershed sending large amounts of mud onto the Ammons property. The same rain event triggered movement at an earlier slide on the Pruett property.

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Original article in The Sylva Herald...