Label
Toledo Express Airport
Mayor's Office
Dale Emch (x-2384)
Title
Officially changing the name of Toledo Express Airport to the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport; authorizing the Mayor to execute needed instruments to effectuate the name change; and declaring an emergency.
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
The City of Toledo owns Toledo Express Airport, which has been operated, maintained, and managed by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority pursuant to a lease agreement entered into in 1973.
Toledo Express Airport is a significant City asset that plays an important role for our region in terms of passenger travel and commercial freight transportation. Given the consequential function Toledo Express Airport plays in regional aviation transportation, it is fitting that it should carry the name of a Toledo native who is a towering figure in aviation history having been vitally involved in America's early exploration of space.
Eugene Francis Kranz, who was born in Toledo on August 17, 1933, and graduated from Central Catholic High School, served in a variety of roles during his 34-year career at NASA. He joined NASA in 1960 following service in the U.S. Air Force during which he flew high-performance fighter jets and a stint as a flight-test engineer for McDonnell Aircraft Corp.
He served as an assistant flight director for the final Mercury missions and the first Gemini missions. He was subsequently named flight director for the remaining Gemini flights.
Most notably, he played a historic role as the flight director for the Apollo 11 mission when it landed the first man on the Moon 50 years ago on July 20, 1969.
Mr. Kranz also served as the flight director for the harrowing Apollo 13 mission during which an onboard explosion jeopardized the lives of the astronauts and their safe return to Earth. Mr. Kranz directed the NASA team whose ingenuity led to the safe return of the Apollo 13 crew to Earth, a feat that has been memorialize...
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