COUNTYWIDE : New Landing System Running at Airport

A new instrument landing system was switched on at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday, replacing equipment blown to bits by a jet blast more than three months ago.

The new equipment makes landings safer in foul weather because it gives pilots altitude and descent rate information that is unavailable through the airport’s other, less precise landing system, said Joe Fowler, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration’s control tower at John Wayne.

“It’s up and running fine,” Fowler said. “We’re back to normal instrument operations.”

The new $225,000 system is unusual because it is on a raised platform at the runway threshold. It was raised above ground, officials said, to combat signal distortion caused by tall buildings nearby and to boost the signal’s power.

An engine blast from an America West Boeing 757 blew apart the small red and white shed that contained the old instrument landing system, delaying 30 to 40 departing or arriving aircraft of various types for two hours the morning of Sept. 28.

Airport officials said the pilot, who was testing an engine, had failed to follow proper procedures by revving the engine too soon, before he had taxied the aircraft to the blue line mark on the runway.

However, airport officials acknowledged at the time of the incident that the pilot, who was verifying engine repairs, had permission from an unidentified air traffic controller.

The pilot returned the airplane to the gate, and it left later on a routine flight.

FAA spokeswoman Elly Brekke said that the FAA’s legal department is still reviewing the possibility of billing Phoenix-based America West for the new system.

Also, she said refinement of the system’s use for northbound departures, which are used during Santa Ana wind conditions, is still under way.