Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Western Carolina Regional Airport (KRHP) is a county-owned general aviation field two miles west of Andrews in the mountains of far western North Carolina, built as a grass strip in 1946 and today serving flight training, business aviation and light singles. Its single paved runway sits at 1,686 feet amid rugged terrain, and the airfield's mountain-flying environment makes it a distinctive destination for visiting pilots.
Western Carolina Regional Airport, identified as KRHP, is a public county-owned airfield serving Andrews, North Carolina, in the far western reaches of the state. Owned and operated by Cherokee County, it is described as the westernmost general aviation airport in North Carolina and has long served local industry, government agencies and, more recently, business aviation and flight training. Its setting among the mountains of the Appalachian chain, combined with a single sizeable paved runway, makes it a notable stop for pilots exploring the region.
The airport lies about two miles west of the central business district of Andrews, in Cherokee County, North Carolina, in an area of mountainous terrain typical of the far western part of the state. It is a non-towered field; IFR traffic in the area is worked by Atlanta Center. Pilots should be alert to the surrounding high ground, which has been a factor in accidents in the vicinity, and should plan arrivals and departures with terrain clearance in mind.
The airport has a single physical runway, 08/26, with a hard, lit surface. Runway 08 is 5,254 feet long and Runway 26 is 5,469 feet long. There is no ILS at the field.
An AWOS-3 automated weather observing station broadcasts on 119.675 MHz. Traffic should be worked on the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 122.8 MHz, which also serves as the field's advisory frequency in the absence of a control tower. Atlanta Center provides area radar and IFR services on 134.8 MHz.
KRHP is uncontrolled, so arriving and departing traffic self-announces on the 122.8 MHz CTAF/UNICOM frequency. Given the mountainous surroundings, pilots should exercise particular care in judging approach and departure paths, and should be prepared for terrain-influenced wind effects around the runway.
The airport is located about two miles west of the town of Andrews, with the community of Marble nearby; the Hiwassee River valley and the surrounding mountain ridgelines are useful landmarks for locating and joining the field visually.
The airfield's origins trace to a public meeting at the Cherokee County Courthouse in May 1945, when around 200 people gathered to discuss building an airport; after considering sites in Peachtree and along the Hiwassee River in Murphy, Edgar Augustus Wood Sr.'s property in Marble was chosen. Constructed in 1946 by Wood, the field opened with a grass runway and was known locally as Wood Field. Through the early 1960s it was used by Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, Burlington Industries and the local chicken industry, as well as by the U.S. Army for training and the U.S. Forest Service for fire spotting. The access road and parking lot were paved in 1963, and that October the first turboprop, a Grumman Gulfstream, landed at the field. Cherokee County purchased the airport in 1969, renaming it Andrews-Murphy Airport, and that year the runway was paved and lit to accommodate larger jets. Further land purchases and parking expansion followed in 1999 and 2000. The airport was renamed Western Carolina Regional Airport in 2009. In 2017 the terminal was named for longtime airport manager and US Navy aviation veteran Richard Parker. The field has seen several notable incidents over the years, including a fatal 1948 training accident, a 2021 fatal crash into a mountain shortly after takeoff, a 2023 fatal crash of a kit aircraft, and a 2023 overshoot by a Gulfstream IV carrying comedian Gabriel Iglesias during severe weather, which closed the airport for six hours without injury.
The airport today supports general aviation, air taxi and a small amount of military traffic, with the great majority of movements being general aviation. It offers 100LL, Jet-A and Jet-A1+ fuel along with tie-down and hangar space. Regular users have included NetJets, Snap-On and Moog Inc. The field is also known locally for flight training in the surrounding mountainous terrain. As of recent reporting the airport was managed by Chris Williams, with Maria Hass serving as airport director.