Santa Monica suspends ban on fast jets at airport

Santa Monica officials on Thursday suspended a ban on high-speed jets at the city’s airport until a federal court decides whether the controversial restrictions are legal.

The city had planned to begin enforcing the ban Thursday morning for jets that have approach speeds of between 139 and 191 mph. They include aircraft popular with executives, such as the Gulfstream IV, Bombardier Challenger 604 and Cessna Citation X.

Late Wednesday, however, the Federal Aviation Administration served the city with a cease-and-desist order, claiming the ordinance that created the ban was illegal. Federal attorneys are now seeking a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court, the first step in the process to overturn the restrictions.

Santa Monica City Atty. Marsha Jones Moutrie said she requested a suspension of the ban pending the outcome of the court hearing, which is scheduled for Monday afternoon. She said the city would argue that setting airport policy is within its power and that the ban represents a significant safety improvement compared with what the FAA has proposed.

“The city’s position is that the ban is essential to protect airport neighbors and airport users,” Moutrie said. “It was adopted after careful consideration. The City Council has fulfilled its duty to keep the community safe.”

FAA officials are seeking the restraining order after almost six years of discussions with the city that failed to resolve disputes related to public safety and aircraft access to the general aviation airport.

Residents around the airport have complained for years that it lacks runway buffers and that its position on a plateau with steep drop-offs could contribute to a potentially deadly accident if a jet were to overshoot the runway.

Federal officials contend that Santa Monica has a legal obligation to allow high-speed jets and that the city has rejected several proposals to improve safety, such as posting a concrete barrier at the end of a runway and removing homes near the airfield.

The airport annually sees about 18,000 jet takeoffs and landings, about half of which involve high-speed and generally large aircraft.

The FAA further asserts that high-speed jets have operated safely out of Santa Monica for almost 20 years, and that there is no serious safety concern that would justify such a ban. “Our attorneys can’t recall any city that has gone as far as Santa Monica has,” said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.

The FAA’s position is supported by national organizations that represent charter services, aviation-related businesses, aircraft owners and private pilots. They include the National Air Transportation Assn. and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn.

City officials said they rejected the FAA’s safety proposals as inadequate and substantially less effective than what is now required at new airports to operate high-speed jets, such as 1,000-foot buffer zones at the ends of runways.

Though the faster jets have operated without incident at Santa Monica, there have been several runway accidents involving such aircraft around the country, said airport Director Robert Trimborn.

“We need safety areas that are FAA compliant,” Trimborn said. “We can’t accept nonstandard solutions. We want to proactively create the safest environment we can. That is what we have been telling the FAA for six years now.”

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dan.weikel@latimes.com