Crash Prompts Buena Park Mayor to Call for Stricter Controls on Fullerton Flights

Buena Park Mayor Donna L. Chessen on Friday called for stricter controls regulating flights from Fullerton Municipal Airport, saying a rash of plane crashes has left residents living in “a nightmare” of fear.

“We are continuing to become more populated, and our residents don’t deserve this,” Chessen said. “It comes close to being an earthquake, but it is actually worse in one respect. You can’t prepare for it. It’s a nightmare.”

Joined at a press conference by City Councilwoman Rhonda J. McCune, Chessen expressed concern over a series of accidents involving small airplanes flying in and out of the Fullerton airport.

The latest accident came Wednesday shortly before 4:30 p.m. 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 in Buena Park.

The student pilot, Moyra Pimm, 29, of Great Britain, remained in critical but stable condition Friday at UCI Medical Center with burns over 50% of her body. The instructor, Bradley Pearce, 28, of Garden Grove, was treated for burns on his arm and released.

The accident is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

“This is the third plane crash to occur in Buena Park since December, and the 11th since 1966,” Chessen said. “And because of the flight pattern, it is more likely that a crash will occur in our city than in Fullerton.”

While stopping short of calling for the Fullerton airport to be closed, Chessen nevertheless expressed outrage over the number of accidents and called on Fullerton officials to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to review airport procedures to make sure everything is being done to prevent more accidents from happening.

Chessen said she had directed the city staff to research and inquire into the FAA’s methods and policies to find a way the agency can better regulate flights at the Fullerton airport.

“While Buena Park realizes dealing with a huge federal entity such as the FAA is no small task, we believe it is our responsibility to the residents and businesses in Buena Park to do all we can to ensure their safety.”

As an example of what can be done, Chessen noted that the city of San Diego prohibits evening “touch and go” landing practices, the standard learning technique used most frequently by student pilots.

She noted that occupants of the last two plane crashes in Buena Park were students and teachers.

Joining a chorus of other Buena Park officials, Councilwoman McCune called on the Fullerton Municipal Airport to be closed.

“Fullerton’s City Council does not care about us,” McCune said. “They have not done one thing to show any concern. I want to see Fullerton airport closed down, but at the very minimum, they should at least change the flight pattern.”

McCune said the city would like the FAA to impose stricter regulations regarding touch-and-go landings and look into the possibility of prohibiting student pilots from using the airport. She also complained that planes continually fly too low in approaching and leaving the airport.

“Maybe we are reaching a day when stronger controls should be made in regard to pleasure flying,” she said.

Chessen noted that some critics had proposed that Buena Park change its zoning laws “and move people out from under the flight pattern of the airport.” She called that “an impossible option with thousands of people, homes and businesses located adjacent to the airport.”

Fullerton officials said earlier they were satisfied with the facility’s operation, with City Manager William C. Winter describing the airport as “a very safe place. The record of incidents does not reflect an alarming situation.”

Sylvia Paoli, chairwoman of Fullerton’s Airport Users Task Force and a pilot for two decades, called the reaction by Buena Park officials unwarranted.

“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,” she said.