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MIDDLETOWN — Middletown's Hook Field Municipal Airport was the focus of national attention Friday morning, Aug. 29, as the media spent much of the morning trying to find out who was that woman and her party that arrived late Thursday evening aboard a Gulfstream IV jet.

A couple of hours before U.S. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate announced his vice presidential running mate at the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Fairborn, the national and local media was working to confirm whether the woman and group of people was Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and family.

The Gulfstream IV jet, which flew Palin's party nonstop from Anchorage, Alaska to Middletown in about six hours, returned back to Everett, Wash.

The plane is owned by Gypsy Two LLC out of Kirtland, Wash. According to the Washington state Secretary of State's office, the registered agent for that corporation is W. Dean Weidner of Kirkland.

Weidner is president and owner of Seattle-based Weidner Investment Services, a real estate investment and management company that he founded in 1976. It is the largest owner of multifamily rental properties in Alaska and has 90 properties in five states.

Weidner also is a former trustee of Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage.

Palin, the first woman to be elected governor of Alaska, and her party were taken to the Manchester Inn and Conference Center for the night.

Her children, who were initially told they were coming to Ohio to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary on Friday, later were told she was going to be the vice presidential nominee.

According to Rich Bevis of B&B Aero, the fixed-based operator at Hook Field, the Gulfstream IV landed in Middletown at about 10:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28. He said the plane has a range to fly from Alaska to Europe.

Bevis said the woman "was a real close match to Palin" and added that the flight crew that's based in the Seattle area was told to fly to Anchorage to pick up their party and fly to Middletown.

Bevis said the jet said several people got off the plane and a couple of vehicles were there to pick them up and their gear. They were taken to an undisclosed location.

A staff member at the Manchester, who declined to be identified, said Palin checked in using her first name only. When asked if that was a normal procedure, the staff person said it was permitted because of the Secret Service agents who were with her.

Bevis said the 6,100-foot runway was the only airport outside of Lunken Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Dayton international airports that could accommodate a Gulfstream IV jet.

In addition, a plane landing at Hook Field would not draw a lot of attention because it is a non-towered facility, and it's not unusual for jets to land there, he said.

He said Dayton South/Wright Brothers and the Butler County Regional Airport would not be able to accommodate the jet.

Bevis said the flight crew told him that they would be flying "empty" with no passengers on their return trip to Everett, Wash., on Friday morning.

However, the Gulfstream IV wasn't the only jet to land at Hook Field on Thursday evening.

About three hours before Palin's party arrived in Middletown, a Lear Jet 35, twin engine jet, touched down at Hook Field at about 7 p.m. from Flagstaff, Ariz., after a stop at Amarillo, Texas.

On Wednesday, that jet. owned by CL Air LLC of Seattle, had flown from Anchorage to Seattle's Boeing Field which flew on to Flagstaff, Ariz., according to flight plans.

According to media reports, the Flagstaff airport is near McCain's home in Sedona, Ariz.

After dropping off its passengers Thursday, the jet left Hook Field for its return flight to Seattle at 1:30 a.m. Friday

Following Friday's McCain rally at the Nutter Center, the campaign then went on to Columbus through eastern Ohio to Pennsylvania for another rally there on Saturday.

Staff Writer Tim Tresslar contributed to this report. Some information in this report was provided by The Associated Press.