Pilot of 3rd Craft in DC-9 Crash Faces FAA Action

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it plans to suspend for six months the pilot’s license of a Buena Park man who allegedly flew into restricted airspace and may have distracted an air traffic controller moments before two other planes collided over Cerritos on Aug. 31.

Roland Paul Vickers Furman, 55, was sent a “notice of proposed certificate action” on Tuesday by FAA attorneys in Los Angeles. He has 15 days from then to respond to the agency’s contention that he entered the Los Angeles “terminal control area” without authorization and flew in a “careless or reckless” manner, said FAA spokesman Russ Park.

Park said the proposed six-month suspension is perhaps more stringent than sanctions handed down for violations of the terminal control area in the past. However, the FAA has begun stepped-up enforcement against such intrusions in the wake of the Cerritos air disaster, which occurred when a single-engine airplane entered the control area without authorization and collided with an Aeromexico jetliner that was approaching Los Angeles International Airport.

Jack Norris, the FAA’s regional accident prevention coordinator, said Thursday that as of last week the agency had initiated investigations of 17 pilots suspected of violating the Los Angeles control area since the Cerritos crash.

The area, shaped like an inverted wedding cake, extends outward to about 30 miles east and west of the airport, and about 12 miles to the north and south. Pilots must first obtain radio permission to enter the area, and their aircraft must have automatic altitude reporting equipment, commonly called “Mode C” transponders. Such electronic equipment allows radar operators on the ground to readily locate and direct aircraft.

Not Adequately Equipped

Park said that in addition to the other charges, Furman has been cited for entering the control area in a single-engine Grumman American that was not equipped with a Mode C transponder. The transponder that was installed in the rented Grumman had not been tested within the past two years--another alleged violation of aviation regulations--and the plane’s registration was not current--an alleged violation of regulations that deal with aircraft air-worthiness certification, Park said.

The plane is based at the Fullerton Airport, he noted, and FAA records indicate that it is owned by a West Covina man.

Furman can either immediately surrender his private pilot’s license, which he received in March, 1982, request an appeal through the National Transportation Safety Board, or meet informally with the FAA’s regional general counsel to discuss the charges, Park said.

Repeated attempts by The Times to contact Furman have been unsuccessful.

Divorce papers filed in March in Orange County Superior Court indicate that he works for Hughes Aircraft in Fullerton and is a retired employee of Rockwell International. The papers show that he owns a recording studio and band in Corona.

Members of the NTSB have said that two minutes before the Aug. 31 collision, Furman’s plane suddenly appeared on radar as a “pop-up target.” Furman was flying about 25 miles east of Los Angeles International, Park said. The collision between the Aeromexico DC-9 and four-seat Piper occurred about 23 miles from the airport.

Only after Furman’s plane appeared in the terminal control area did he radio air traffic controllers, seeking information on other aircraft in the area, authorities have said. Tape recordings showed that a controller then cleared Furman to fly through the control area before returning his attention to the Aeromexico jet, which, by then, had collided with the Piper.

A spokesman for the NTSB, which is continuing to investigate the Aug. 31 accident, reiterated Thursday that the unauthorized presence of Furman’s plane in the control area “occupied some of the controller’s time and attention.”

“But it’s premature to try and reach conclusions as to the role, impact and effect that this pop-up target had on the situation,” said board spokesman Ira Furman, no relation to the accused pilot.

The duration of Roland Furman’s proposed suspension is more than twice that of the average suspension given other flyers accused of violating the Los Angeles terminal control area in the past five years, FAA records show.

17 Pilots Cited

Since 1981, 17 pilots, not including Furman, have been cited for entering the terminal control area without prior permission, according to a review by The Times of agency enforcement actions. Ten pilots received suspensions that averaged 71 days; three received fines averaging $750; two received letters of warning and two were granted immunity from disciplinary action.

Two pilots received six-month suspensions after they were concurrently charged with violating other federal aviation regulations--as Furman has been. One of those pilots, William H. Curry, was accused in October, 1985, of carelessly or recklessly operating his aircraft, creating a collision hazard and violating visual flight rules that specify minimum visibility requirements as well as the minimum distance that a pilot can come to clouds.

The second pilot, John R. Peoples, was accused in June, 1982, of the same violations as Curry, but also was charged with failing to have on board his aircraft a proper registration certificate.

Times staff writer Jerry Hicks in Orange County contributed to this story.