The DeKalb-Peachtree Airport director is retiring at the end of the week.
Mario Evans has overseen daily operations at the state’s second-busiest airport since he was promoted from assistant director in 2015. The Atlanta native has worked at PDK, as the airport is commonly called after its FAA code, for most of his career.
When he took a job at the airport as a noise and environmental officer in 1999, Evans intended to move on after a few years. In his last week on the job more than two decades later, Evans says he was taken in by the thrill of aviation and the challenge of the job.
“The airport is a complex animal,” Evans said. “You either love us or hate us.”
Evans’ deputy, Assistant Director Hunter Hines, is expected to step up as interim director.
The airport, located in Chamblee and operated by DeKalb County, logged almost 177,000 take-offs and landings last year. It’s home to four aviation service companies, seven flight schools and two helicopter operations. It’s a popular destination for corporate flights thanks to its location inside the perimeter and just a few miles from Interstate 85.
Evans’ retirement comes one month after county commissioners approved the airport’s new master plan, a strategic document that will guide PDK’s operations until 2040. It also comes a month after the county’s Ethics Board dismissed a complaint against him.
The master plan calls for $77.9 million in improvements over the next 17 years. It was Evans’ brainchild: The airport hasn’t had a master plan in more than 30 years. He started discussions in 2017 and the process of developing the plan spanned most of his time as director.
“He just wanted to have a roadmap, a blueprint from the future,” said Doug Miller, the airport advisory board’s vice chairman.
Evans said the master plan is his legacy. It felt like a good time to retire after getting it across the finish line.
Developed over the past several years, the plan has drawn criticism from residents of nearby neighborhoods concerned about noise and pollution if the number of flights in and out of PDK increases as airport officials expect — 37% by 2040.
Evans and other airport officials have tried to assuage fears about the growth. The number of takeoffs and landings peaked in the 1990s when the airport averaged about 226,000 per year, according to FAA data. Over the last decade, it’s averaged about 157,000.
An increase in airport traffic doesn’t necessarily mean more noise, Evans said. Technology has made planes today quieter than they used to be, he said.
The airport also has a voluntary curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. to address nighttime noise concerns and a mobile app where residents can report noise complaints. Miller said he’s been impressed with how carefully the airport tracks noise issues and sees it as a sign of how the airport has tried to be responsive to neighbors’ concerns.
“It’s the best I’ve ever seen at an airport,” Miller said.
Some have also objected to PDK’s plans to build additional hangars along the east side of the airport bordering Clairmont Road, including a proposal by Sky Harbour to build a corporate aviation hangar that will come for approval before the county commissioners in January.
“Adding so many more PDK-based aircraft will significantly increase the numbers of disruptive flights over residential neighborhoods,” a 2022 petition against the master plan reads. “... This historic expansion of facilities should not be included in the Master Plan.”
The ethics complaint against Evans dates back to 2021 and involves a hangar lease.
The lease in question was originally held by a man who ran a vintage World War II aircraft touring company. When the owner died, his business was sold to Joe Hughes, who hoped to keep the lease. Instead, Evans told Hughes there was a waiting list and others were first in line, according to a 2021 report by the county’s then-ethics officer.
Credit: Flightaware.
Credit: Flightaware.
The existing lease had to be terminated before it could be reassigned, however. The contract allowed either Evans or the estate to terminate. Emails in the ethics report show Evans told the estate’s executor that he would initiate, but when the issue came before County Commissioners, paperwork submitted by Evans said the estate initiated.
Hughes’ ethics complaint argues that Evans falsely represented the situation to commissioners. In 2021, the county’s then-ethics officer determined that Evans knew the information he gave commissioners was false. Evans testified last month that it was an oversight on his part.
The case against Evans was on hold after resignations left the ethics board in limbo. A newly reconstituted board held a hearing in November and dismissed the charge. The ethics officer recommended dismissal, saying it wasn’t clear Evans intentionally provided false information.
Evans said he was relieved.
County Commissioner Robert Patrick, whose district includes the airport, said the ethics complaint was “unfortunate” and he’s sad to see Evans leave PDK. Before being elected commissioner, Patrick served on the master plan committee and was impressed with how the process unfolded.
“He knows his stuff,” Patrick said. “That level of knowledge and experience and background, that’s a knowledge gap that has to be filled in.”
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