Buena Park vs. Fullerton : Debate Fires Up Over Airport After Crash

As investigators began trying to find out why a light plane crashed in a Buena Park neighborhood after taking off from Fullerton Municipal Airport, Buena Park officials on Thursday said the accident is an example of why the facility should eventually be shut down.

“The area surrounding the airport has become urbanized, and it’s going to become more and more” so, Buena Park City Councilman Donald L. Bone said. “Downstream, I would like to see the airport closed.”

“This City Council believes the airport has outlived its usefulness,” added Buena Park City Manager Kevin O’Rourke.

In the last nine months, there have been three light plane crashes in Buena Park. The latest accident happened Wednesday when a two-seat Cessna 152 carrying an instructor and a student pilot lost power about a minute after takeoff and crashed at the intersection of Artesia Boulevard and Darlington Street.

The student pilot, Moyra Pim, 29, was reported in critical but stable condition Thursday at UCI Medical Center in Orange with second- and third-degree burns over 50% of her body. Instructor Bradley Pearce, 28, of Garden Grove was treated for arm burns and released.

Pim, from Great Britain, had been on vacation visiting her boyfriend, Mark Fisher.

Fisher said she was resting Thursday night after “an agonizing day.”

“She’s not able to hear or reply,” Fisher said, adding that her face is completely bandaged. “It’s still impossible for us to realize this happened to such a beautiful girl. On a scale of 1 to 10, she was definitely a 10.”

Fullerton airport statistics show an average of about two crashes a year during the last five years, but Fullerton officials are satisfied with the facility’s operation. The airport, which is home to about 600 planes, handled 162,000 takeoffs and landings last year.

“I believe the airport is a very safe place,” said Fullerton City Manager William C. Winter. “The record of incidents does not reflect an alarming situation.”

Sylvia Paoli, chairwoman of Fullerton’s Airport Users Task Force, chided Buena Park officials for “overreacting” to Wednesday’s crash.

“This is not to minimize the seriousness of any aircraft accident . . . but I think people have got to be realistic,” said Paoli, who has flown out of the Fullerton airport for 20 years.

“We don’t live in Utopia. I wish people would try to step out of themselves a little bit and realize the airport is not unleashing an atom bomb on Buena Park.”

Winter also pointed out the economic benefits that the airport brings to both Fullerton and Buena Park. A 1986 study estimated that next year, the airport will have a direct economic impact of $30.1 million on the area.

Complaints About Noise

“Most of the benefit comes through companies who use private planes and enjoy having the availability of the airport next to private businesses,” Winter said.

Fullerton officials acknowledge that they regularly receive complaints about airplane noise. Fullerton has two citizen advisory committees to address airport issues: the Noise and Safety Committee and the Airport Users Task Force.

Several years ago, Fullerton bought sound-measuring devices that are used in areas where residents complain of excessive noise. The devices have helped to identify particularly noisy planes so that the pilot could correct the problem.

Paoli said that if the cause of Wednesday’s crash ends up being linked to a deficiency of the airport, officials would certainly make some changes. “We are always looking for procedures to keep things quieter and safer,” she added.

But across the board, the majority of airplane crashes are caused by pilot error such as running out of fuel, Paoli said.

Buena Park Councilman Bone said that his City Council probably will write a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration requesting a review of airport procedures to see if more stringent maintenance and inspections are warranted at the Fullerton airport.

“It’s a difficult problem,” Bone said. “By the grace of God, nobody was killed this time, but how long will our luck hold?”

Meanwhile, Jim Wall of the National Transportation Safety Board said the investigation of Wednesday’s crash will probably take several weeks to complete. The mangled aircraft has been taken to Long Beach Airport for further inspection, he said.

“We’re waiting until we get some time to look at the rest of the hardware,” said Wall, adding that the delay is partly due to about 50 similar investigations under way in the region.

Times staff writers Jeffrey A. Perlman and David Reyes contributed to this report.