Supervisors to Ask U.S. to Upgrade LAX Radar
The Board of Supervisors, in response to a collision between two planes at Los Angeles International Airport that killed 34 people, voted Tuesday to ask the federal government to immediately upgrade the airport’s radar system.
Federal officials said the airport’s 20-year-old ground radar control system that could have told controllers a USAir jetliner and SkyWest commuter plane were on the same runway was not working properly when the crash occurred Feb. 1.
Acting on a proposal by Chairman Mike Antonovich, the board voted unanimously to send letters requesting “quick and effective action” to the Federal Aviation Administration, the secretary of transportation, Sens. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and John Seymour (R-Calif.) and the county’s congressional delegation. Antonovich said the letters “seek the immediate installation of an effective, state-of-the-art radar system at Los Angeles International Airport.”
Antonovich said the board also is calling for acceleration of plans to develop the Palmdale airport to divert traffic from Los Angeles.
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