FAA Said to Support El Toro Joint Air Use

A draft version of a Federal Aviation Administration report has concluded that military fighter planes and commercial flights could feasibly coexist at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, congressional sources said Tuesday.

The view, if upheld in a final report, would reverse a conclusion reached in a 1984 study and could fuel a long-simmering dispute over use of the military airfield.

Marine spokesman at El Toro acknowledged Tuesday that they had seen a copy of the preliminary FAA report but refused to discuss its contents or conclusions.

“We have looked at the draft in great detail,” said Col. Jack Wagner, who oversees planning at the El Toro base. “We are sending our comments on the draft back to the FAA. In all fairness to the FAA and to our position, we must hold back on all comments at this point.”

The Marine Corps opposes joint use of the base, citing among other things the tactical training that fighter and bomber pilots undergo. Many of these aircraft fly fully armed with bombs and ammunition, the Marines said.

‘Technically Feasible’

Congressional sources, including Paul Wilkinson, an aide to Rep. Robert E. Badham, R-Newport Beach, said FAA investigators concluded that it was “technically feasible” for commercial airlines to use the El Toro facility.

The draft report somewhat contradicted another feasibility study the FAA and the Department of Defense conducted in 1984. That study looked at 25 military airfields and eliminated El Toro and 22 other bases as candidates for possible joint use.

The latest study of El Toro was ordered in January amid renewed debate over the need for a second regional airport in the county, a dispute that has surfaced periodically over the years.

The study was authorized in a catchall transportation bill and sponsored by Rep. Robert Carr (D-Mich.). The study is also to include Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit and Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis.

March 31 Delivery

The study is supposed to be in the hands of members of the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation by March 31.

FAA investigators, according to military sources, spent one day at El Toro, half a day in Los Angeles and an hour talking to local citizens.

It is not exactly clear what the subcommittee will do with the report and its conclusions.

“The Marines don’t want joint use,” Wilkinson said. “If the Marines don’t want it, it’s not going to happen.”

The 1984 study said that about 175 military aircraft are based at El Toro, including F-4 Phantoms, A-4 Skyhawks, A-6 Intruders, F/A-18 Hornets and KC-130s.

The El Toro facility opened in 1942.