Letters: Living next to an airport

Re “Crash renews concerns about safety of airport,” Oct. 1

The Times writes that crashes at Santa Monica Airport like the one Sunday of a private jet have “highlighted the perils of having an airport so close to homes.”

Given that the airport has been there since early last century, it would seem that none of the current homeowners lived there before the opening of the airport. If airplane crashes are of such concern for them, why did they buy their homes knowing full well the airport existed?

Perhaps the statement should be rephrased to “the perils of buying homes so close to an airport.”

Robert Andrews

Claremont

Sunday’s crash of a private jet at Santa Monica Airport has stoked the furor of politicians and community groups opposed to the continued existence of the airport. Our hearts and condolences go out to the family of the victims who operated the aircraft.

Nevertheless, the facts deserve to be presented.

The airport has a statistically significant and long record of conducting safe operations. Issues of noise have been addressed by the federal government and the city; pilots are subject to strong fines for violating noise abatement procedures. The pollution produced by aircraft is the subject of research by fuel manufacturers, and solutions are on the way for all aircraft

Santa Monica Airport is part of a regional air traffic system; it is considered a reliever airport. Re-routing private jet traffic to LAX would really congest that airport, and airline passengers would suffer more delays.

Santa Monica Airport is a historical treasure for Southern California. Let’s work out these issues together.

Steven Siry

Santa Barbara

The writer is president of the Santa Monica Airport Assn.

The recent crash of a jet that came to rest 150 feet from nearby residences highlights the necessity of coming up with a long-term solution.

I believe that the only way to ensure the safety of the community is to create a buffer zone around the airport, buying up and demolishing the houses in that area to create the park that those who want to close the airport are always asking for.

Darcy Vernier

Marina del Rey

Those who want an end to jet traffic at Santa Monica Airport following the horrendous crash Sunday are absolutely right. Those who want the airport to be shut down are absolutely wrong.

Not enough residents know about the Santa Monica-based EVAC program (or Emergency Volunteer Air Corps), which is one of our most important resources in the event of a major disaster, such as an earthquake, which would make ground traffic impossible.

EVAC pilots are prepared to transport firefighters, paramedics and other essential personnel who work for the city but live in other places. These people will have no other way of traveling to Santa Monica to put out our fires, deliver care to the injured, maintain public safety and maybe, just maybe, save lives.

Joan Walston

Santa Monica

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