Riley Sembler - The inner workings of an airport

Two planes sit inside a hanger owned by Crucial MRO April 10, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

Amidst farm fields sits a 1,200 acre airport with echoes of planes whizzing above. Terry Maddox, a maintenance technician for Crucial MRO works on various maintenance jobs on planes in the hanger.

The Southern Illinois Airport is located between Carbondale and Murphysboro, and is home to a handful of operations: including plane maintenance, SIU flight training and restaurant St. Nicholas Brewing Company Co. More than 500 flights take off at the airport daily.

Crucial MRO, a maintenance company located in the airport strips down planes, repairs and modifies them. The planes that they work on are commercial and corporate jets. Before some of these planes came into Crucial MRO, they sat in the desert in the southwest. Lines of planes sit in the desert in a uniform pattern waiting to be flown to be fixed before being flown to Crucial.

In order to get them to the hangar they use a special ferry flight permit that allows the plane to fly on very strict and specific restrictions. Decommissioned planes are often stored in desert areas to prevent corrosion and rust while they’re out of commission. Each plane takes up to 90 days to complete.

The airport is also home to the SIUs aviation department. Through the aviation program students are able to get hands-on experience with flying and maintenance of planes. Students are also able to get involved with The Flying Salukis, which is a student organization that gives students an opportunity to compete in aviation based competitions that span from regional to the national level.

St. Nicholas Brewing Co. brings flavor to the airport serving food and drink for guests. Unique decorations line the walls with large windows facing north towards the runway where visitors can watch airplanes takeoff and land.

Terry Maddox, a maintenance technician for Crucial MRO drills screws in on the horizontal stabilizer April 10, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois. When these planes arrive at the hangar they are completely stripped of everything and are built up from the ground up.

Terry Maddox holds onto the metal piping of a plane he's working on April 10, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

Terry Maddox (right) watches on as Landon (left) installs a new drainage tube before putting on a body fairing on the bottom of the plane April 10, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

Terry Maddox secures the newly installed body fairing by drilling them into place April 10, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

An airplane performs a touch-and-go April 16, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

People gather outside of St. Nicholas Brewing Co as the sunsets April, 11, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

Guests gather to eat at St. Nicholas Brewing Co at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

A decommissioned plane is extended in the air in front of a colorful sky April 11, 2026 at the Southern Illinois Airport in Jackson County, Illinois.

You may also like