Lawmaker Urges State Take Role in Air Traffic Control

Alarmed by the record number of near midair collisions over the Los Angeles Basin, a local legislator said Wednesday that the state must involve itself with planning more airports and a system to separate small planes from jetliners to ensure air safety.

State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) said that although federal authorities have jurisdiction over the skies, the state should assert influence through a master plan to relieve the congestion over Los Angeles--the busiest airway in the country.

“I think we need to get the players together--the Federal Aviation Administration, local governments, the state--to work on this,” Torres said.

Public Hearing

The lawmaker made the comments during a public hearing of the state Senate Select Committee on Tourism and Aviation focusing on how best to approach the problem.

Several witnesses asked Torres and another committee member, Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-San Jose), to urge the FAA to allocate more money to hire more air traffic controllers to help alleviate the situation.

A recent federal report detailed just how busy the area skies are, pointing out that Los Angeles International Airport had nearly twice as many near midair collisions involving commercial aircraft in the last three years than did the airports in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.

In addition to the 57 near-collisions reported in the LAX airspace, the General Accounting Office report disclosed that three other Southland airports--Ontario International, John Wayne in Orange County and Burbank--are among the top 12 in the nation in near-collision incidents.

Midair Collision

The problem was further illustrated earlier this year during the Los Angeles federal court trial to decide liability for the 1986 midair collision over Cerritos between an Aeromexico DC-9 jetliner and a single-engine Piper Archer in which 82 people died.

Several expert witnesses for the plaintiffs, for example, testified how the “see-and-avoid” system used by the FAA to separate aircraft does not work and should be scrapped.

But FAA officials replied that the practice of pilots visually looking out for each other was still a viable way to separate traffic.

At Wednesday’s hearing, held at LAX, the chairman of an aviation study group for the Southern California Assn. of Governments said specific areas in the Los Angeles airspace should be set aside for small, private aircraft.

“These areas should be away from where the commercial jetliners are on approach” to LAX, said study group Chairman Hank Dittmar, who is also general manager of Santa Monica Municipal Airport.

Effort Endorsed

Prompted by Torres, several witnesses endorsed an effort by the state to map a coordinated strategy, noting that three airfields--Palmdale Air Terminal, George Air Force Base near Victorville and Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino--could help lessen the congested Los Angeles skies.

Ellsworth Chen, the airport divisions manager for the FAA’s Safety and Standards Branch, said San Bernardino County is set to receive $118,000 in federal funds to assess the future of the two Air Force bases, which have been ordered closed because of Defense Department cutbacks.

These airfields could “be a good home for general aviation,” Chen said.

Clifton Moore, executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Airports, added that the new scheduled air service by America West, linking Palmdale Air Terminal with Las Vegas, could give impetus for a light-rail system between the Antelope Valley airport and the San Fernando Valley.

Development Roadblocks

But there are roadblocks in developing these aviation facilities.

In the case of George Air Force Base, for example, FAA officials admit that the strategic value of Edwards Air Force Base, 35 miles to the northwest, would prevent extensive use of the Victorville-area airfield.

Located in the Mojave Desert, Edwards Air Force Base has been the site of recent test flights of the Stealth bomber and landings for the space shuttles.

After the hearing, Torres said he intended to introduce legislation that would enable the state to have a role in the air-safety issue as well as related problems.