Pleasure Flying in Urban Areas

Vogl proposes banning pleasure flying in urban areas to decrease congestion in our skies. What a wonderful idea! And while we so neatly take care of general aviation congestion, why don’t we apply similar cures to the problems of congestion at the airline terminals and on the streets and freeways.

From now on, no person should be allowed to book a flight to visit relatives or take a vacation, nor should such frivolous use of our freeways be permitted when they should be reserved for higher priority uses such as for commerce and governmental administration.

When we set up a commissar and his minions to inspect all the small planes to be sure no one is having any fun, we can hire additional guards to check IDs at the ticket counters and on the freeway ramps. I’m sure Vogl would agree with this modest proposition since he states so eloquently, “Individual freedom must often be forfeited for the common good.”

The issue of safety is a cheap shot considering the excellent record held by general aviation compared with ground transport. We’re far more likely to die of a lightning bolt than from a falling airplane, regardless of blaring headlines.

Instead of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, let’s work constructively to resolve those problems that are real: the noise impacts of all forms of transportation and the desire to achieve a totally accident-free safety record in the air and on the ground.

Technology is providing the methods to achieve quieter cars, trucks, buses, and airplanes. Air traffic control and pilot training have already done a fabulous job of reducing aviation accidents and hold promise of achieving even more. What we need now is a concerted effort to stop the real carnage that occurs daily on our streets and highways.

ROL MURROW

Santa Monica

Murrow is president of the Santa Monica Airport Assn.