FAA Closure of Airport Radio Fought

Flanked by his two lawyers, Orange County Airport Manager George Rebella met with Federal Aviation Administration officials in Washington on Thursday to protest the agency’s recent decision to shut down a backup radio navigation transmitter at John Wayne Airport.

FAA chief Donald D. Engen reportedly was one of the officials seen by Rebella, Deputy County Counsel Daniel J. Didier and special airport attorney Michael S. Gatzke, according to airport staff members in Orange County.

None of the participants could be reached for comment following the meeting, but Alfred W. Brady, one of Rebella’s top assistants, said Rebella telephoned to say he was “encouraged” by the talks.

FAA Shut Down Transmitter

Last month, the FAA shut down John Wayne Airport’s VOR (very high frequency omnidirectional range) transmitter because, according to the FAA, its signal was being blocked by a high-rise office building under construction on MacArthur Boulevard in Santa Ana.

Signals from the transmitter help pilots who use navigational instruments determine where they are in relation to the airport.

Although airport and FAA officials agree that the absence of the VOR is not dangerous, shutting it down forces most aircraft to use the same instrument landing approach that jetliners follow when they fly into John Wayne. The path takes aircraft over Tustin, where residents already were angry about aircraft noise and worried about air traffic safety.

With the VOR in service, pilots can turn toward their landings when they’re much closer to the airport, before they get as far east as Tustin. The effect has been to concentrate virtually all aircraft approaching John Wayne over that city.

One of the county’s complaints, airport officials said, is that they believe the FAA shut down the VOR transmitter without actually testing for signal problems.

The FAA has complained that the same MacArthur Boulevard office complex has been responsible for a series of VOR transmission problems since early 1984.

FAA officials said earlier this month that they intend to resume using the VOR transmitter if tests prove it trustworthy once the new office tower in the complex has been completed. The accuracy of the VOR signals is affected differently by various kinds of building surfaces. Reflective coatings on glass surfaces cause the worst problem, according to the FAA.

Attempts to relocate the VOR transmitter have failed, according to airport officials, because the FAA wants a guarantee that the new location will be protected from urban encroachment.