Tue, Apr 26, 2011
City Council Passes A Resolution Attempting To Shutter The
Schools As A "Safety Hazard"
Here we go again with a local government trying to limit
legitimate aviation activities at a federally-funded airport. On
April 21, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution
supporting efforts to close six flight schools operating at Santa
Monica Airport (SMO), based on what the NBAA says are patently
false and politically motivated allegations that they are a safety
hazard. The council's resolution also expresses concern about the
safety of the departure paths utilized from SMO, and the
environmental impact of aircraft taking off and landing at the
airport.
The resolution has no immediate effect, because the airport is
owned and operated by the City of Santa Monica, not the City of Los
Angeles. Moreover, earlier this year a federal court held that only
the FAA, not Santa Monica, can impose restrictions on aeronautical
activities at SMO based on safety.
But the Council’s unjustified criticism of flight schools
is the latest in an unfortunate trend of local actions unfriendly
to general aviation in the region. In January of this year, a court
of appeals in Washington, DC ruled against an attempt by Santa
Monica officials to ban "Category C and D" aircraft from SMO,
indicating that such a ban would violate terms of a grant agreement
made when accepting federal funds for the airport. In that dispute,
NBAA was joined by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in
submitting a "friend of the court" brief that strongly supported
the FAA's position that the proposed ban violated terms of a grant
agreement made when SMO officials accepted federal funds for the
airport.
The proposed jet ban was one of several actions taken by local
officials to hinder or prohibit general aviation operations at
California airports. Last year, Los Angeles City officials adopted
noise restrictions that will phase-out Stage 2 aircraft from
operating at Van Nuys Airport (VNY), and in 2009 the FAA rejected a
proposal by Bob Hope Airport (BUR) to restrict operations by both
Stage 2 and Stage 3 aircraft.
With regard to the latest action taken by Los Angeles officials
against flight schools at SMO, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor stated:
"Nobody has offered one bit of evidence suggesting that Santa
Monica flight school operations are anything but safe.” While
Los Angeles cited a July 2010 accident at a nearby golf course,
“the fact is that the pilot in that crash was an experienced
commercial pilot, and not a student.”
NBAA is continuing to work with its Members, other aviation
groups and other stakeholders to advocate forcefully for preserving
general aviation access at the nation's airports.
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