A pilot on short final approach to Oakland/Southwest Airport had to abort the landing and circle back after spotting a group of teenagers doing wheelies on the actual runway. About 18 teenage e-bikers had crossed a taxiway and entered the airport's runway protection zone near a rail trail access point off Milford Road, forcing the go-around before the pilot landed safely once the group fled.
The incident was first reported by the Detroit Free Press, which detailed how airport manager Micah DeMeyer spotted the e-bikers entering the airport property and radioed the incoming aircraft to warn the pilot of the runway incursion. The pilot performed the go-around and landed safely after the teens scattered. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office responded to the airport and is investigating the incursion, though as of the report, none of the roughly 18 riders had been identified.
A Narrow Runway, an Unfenced Boundary
Oakland/Southwest Airport is a small, 67-acre general aviation field in New Hudson that logs about 35 landings and takeoffs a day, or more than 13,000 a year. Its single asphalt runway measures 3,128 feet long and just 40 feet wide, with displaced thresholds at both ends cutting the usable landing distance to roughly 2,260 feet, according to SkyVector. That narrow margin leaves little room for error when unauthorized vehicles or pedestrians wander onto the pavement.
The airport sits directly beside the Huron Valley Rail Trail, a paved regional path running near Milford Road in Lyon Township, per TrailLink. That proximity appears to have given the teens their entry point, with the group reportedly accessing the airport grounds near the trail before crossing a taxiway and reaching the runway itself.
Cheryl Bush called the e-bike riders' maneuver very dangerous, and said the airport intends to prosecute anyone found guilty of trespassing once identified, adding that the investigation will continue until those on the bikes are found, the Free Press reported. Trespassing on airport property in Michigan is punishable under state law by up to a year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both, a penalty rooted in Section 259.184 of the Michigan Aeronautics Code.
Security Upgrades and Runway Improvements Planned
In response, the airport plans to install a temporary fence until a permanent fence can be erected around the property, along with surveillance cameras and additional no trespassing signs. Officials described the moves as part of a broader push to add security measures following the incursion.
Separately, runway improvements already planned for the airfield include shortening and widening the runway and removing hundreds of trees to improve safety. Oakland/Southwest is one of three airports in the county's general aviation system, alongside Oakland County International Airport in Waterford and Oakland/Troy Airport in Troy, giving Oakland more county-owned airports than any other county in Michigan.
E-Bike Rules and a Nationwide Safety Trend
Michigan law classifies e-bikes into three tiers, with Class 1 and Class 2 models capped at 20 mph and Class 3 e-bikes assisting up to 28 mph while requiring riders under 18 to wear helmets, under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 257.13e. Separately, state law bars Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes from operating on linear rail-trails unless a local agency with jurisdiction over the trail specifically permits it, under Section 257.662a — a restriction that would apply to a trail like the one bordering the airport.
The episode also lands amid a documented rise in high-severity runway incidents nationwide. The FAA logs roughly 1,700 runway incursions a year across the country, with pilot deviations accounting for nearly 62 percent of them in fiscal year 2024, according to AVweb. While total incursions dipped slightly in 2025, the most severe Category A and B incidents — the kind that force go-arounds like the one at Oakland/Southwest — jumped 44 percent year-over-year, underscoring the stakes when unauthorized traffic reaches an active runway.
The airfield also hosts the nonprofit Warbirds of Glory Museum, which relocated there in 2022 and runs a youth apprenticeship program restoring a World War II B-25J Mitchell bomber known as the Sandbar Mitchell, according to WHMI 93.5. For now, county officials say the sheriff's office investigation remains open, with no riders identified and the push for fencing, cameras, and signage moving forward as the airport works to close the gap that let the group ride in from the trail.
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