The airport was originally constructed during World War II by the United States Navy as Marine CorpsAir Station Edenton. In this role, it hosted Marine Operational Training Group 81 and its subordinate squadrons. MOTG-81 trained pilots, aircrewmen and ground crews on the land-based PBJ-1 medium bomber, a U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps variant of the U.S. Army Air Forces' B-25 Mitchell bomber that was operated by Marine bombing squadrons, primarily in the Pacific theater. In 1946, the installation was redesignated as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Edenton and was administered by Marine Air Base Squadron 14. Marine Corps fighter squadrons flying the F9F-2 Panther and attack squadrons flying the AD-4B and AD-5 Skyraider were based there during the Korean War and early years of the Cold War. NAAS Edenton was decommissioned in the 1960s and turned over to the local government for conversion to a civilian airport. The sole operational runway, Runway 1/19, was originally an 8,000 foot by 200 foot paved surface when control of the air station was relinquished by the military. Although the entire pavement length remains, the approach ends have been displaced and only a 6,000 foot by 100 foot section is currently maintained and usable. A Category I ILS approach has also been installed on Runway 19, albeit without any precision approach lighting. Although still standing, the former air station's air traffic control tower was abandoned upon the military's departure and has never reopened, leaving the airport as an uncontrolled airport with UNICOM services only. Several of the other former military buildings have since been converted to multiple civilian aviation and non-aviation uses.
Facilities and aircraft
Northeastern Regional Airport covers an area of 734 acres at an elevation of 20 feet above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 1/19 with an asphalt surface measuring 6,000 by 100 feet. For the 12-month period ending June 17, 2011, the airport had 14,000 aircraft operations, an average of 38 per day: 93% general aviation, 4% air taxi, and 4% military. At that time there were 21 aircraft based at this airport: 90.5% single-engine and 9.5% multi-engine.
