Some tall tales take wing
Secret runways, alien abductions and other myths continue to fly
By Kevin Flynn Rocky Mountain News
February 26, 2005
Mount Olympus itself might not have spawned as many mighty myths as has Denver International Airport.
Some tall tales were well-meant but off-base, while others earned a solid rating of bizarre.
Many were spread on the Internet, others were simply circulated around town.
The most outrageous stories revolved around a conspiracy theme - the dreaded New World Order police state that was poised to take over at the drop of a black helicopter.
Here are the top 10 DIA myths. (And we're not making this up.)
Myth 1: Underground runways
What good, you might ask, is an underground runway at an airport?
A man claiming to be a DIA construction worker answered that question in a 1994 press conference.
He claimed to be part of a crew involved in building two 4-mile-long runways on the east side of the airfield that were buried under dirt.Why? Just ask your nearest jack-booted thug. Once the New World Order took over, the dirt would be scraped aside so fully laden C-130 cargo planes could land.
The cargo: political prisoners who would be housed in, what else, underground prisons.
This rumor still circulates on the Internet.
Myth 2: Spaceport for missing children
A variation on Myth 1 claimed that gray reptilian space aliens kept missing children in DIA's basements as slave laborers. Once the children were of no more use, the aliens would eat them.
As evidence, Myth 2 subscribers cited words actually embedded in the airport's floors - including the ominous sounding DZIT DIT GAII. They believe, for some reason, that the phrase means "master of death."
In truth, it is a Navajo term meaning "white mountain," a reference to the snowcapped peaks you can see out the windows when you're not looking for sinister messages on the floor.
Myth 3: Does the Luftwaffe land here?
Somewhat related to the first two myths is this one: From the air, DIA's runway and terminal layout resembles a swastika.
It's hard to argue with that one. DIA has offset perpendicular runways feeding into a centered terminal apron area to minimize conflicts between planes and other traffic.
For the record, DIA officials refer to it as a pinwheel design. But you can't really build a conspiracy around a pinwheel.
Myth 4: Disturbed spirits
One explanation for DIA's construction woes was that the airport was built on a sacred Indian burial ground. DIA officials even went so far as to sponsor a cleansing ceremony led by American Indians.
There was never any evidence, however, of a burial ground or Indian encampment on the high, dry and windblown site. Likely, it was old hunting ground.
Myth 5: The collapsing concourse
A former construction inspector, supported by DIA opponents, said in 1994 that reinforcing steel had been left out of some concrete walls on the east side of Concourse C and that a basement pillar was weak. He feared both would lead to collapse.
Upon inspection, though, his claims were shown to be wrong and the building still stands.
Myth 6: Rollercoaster runways
There are areas of expansive clay soil at DIA, and critics claimed the runways' concrete slabs would buckle, heave and tilt within a few years.
It hasn't happened.
Sure, there have been some surface cracks, but they aren't related to soil expansion. They were repaired by injecting epoxy into them, the common method for addressing the problem. Each year, DIA repairs concrete cracks.
Myth 7: Tight quarters
Opponents circulated a rumor that DIA's runways were being built too close together. This has a kernel of truth buried deeply within it.
DIA was to be the world's first airport to allow triple simultaneous landings in bad weather, and the runways were spaced to allow just that.
But the Federal Aviation Administration forgot one thing: Denver's mile-high air affects airplane speeds. Planes come in faster, which requires even more room between runways so they can maneuver in an emergency.
To compensate for the oversight, the FAA developed and installed special final-approach radar at DIA. On its opening day, in a storm, DIA hosted the first-ever three-at-once low-visibility landing.
Myth 8: You can't fool Mother Nature
DIA was widely touted as an "all-weather" airport. There is no such thing.
On Oct. 25, 1997, a blizzard left two feet of snow - and dozens of planes - on the ground. Technically, DIA maintains the airport never closed that day because it managed to keep one runway plowed.
But no airline pilot dared to take off in the storm and Peña Boulevard was closed to traffic. So having an open runway didn't make a difference.
The airport also closed during the record March 2003 blizzard.
There's simply some weather in which man isn't meant to fly, open runway or not.
Myth 9: Tornado Alley
Speaking of weather, critics claimed DIA was smack in the middle of Colorado's version of Tornado Alley.
This came as a surprise to meteorologists, including the ones who located the state's actual Tornado Alley - down near the Palmer Divide.
The only time a tornado shut down Denver's airport was in June 1987 - and it was the old Stapleton Airport. A twister danced along the north runway after tearing up trees in Park Hill.
Myth 10: DIA will go belly up
DIA was so expensive that it would go bankrupt within 18 months and require a federal bailout, critics predicted.
Today, all three major ratings agencies rate DIA bonds "A" and stable, and its 2004 net revenue will be around $65 million.
It has never come close to not paying its bills.
