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Risky Takeoffs Not the Answer

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Re “Noise Curbs Causing Near-Misses, Pilots Say” (March 12): My community, Santa Ana Heights, was here long before there were jets at the airport. We were assured by the Board of Supervisors that there never would be commercial jets at the airport. There are reasons why people and communities do not want to be sacrificed for the benefit of those who live farther away, will not allow an airport near their homes and yet want the convenience of an airport adjacent to a crowded residential area.

The noise limitation can be achieved by other methods than risky takeoff procedures: For instance, the number of flights could be reduced, the aircraft could be less than fully loaded, quieter aircraft could be used. Every time that a technological advance is implemented that makes an individual flight quieter, the number of flights increases. There is no relief for us, only increased profit for others.

It has long been clear that the mix of general and commercial aviation at John Wayne increases the risk of accidents, but nobody has been willing to take any action in this regard.

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Those with commercial interests in the airport remind me of the monkeys who were trapped when they could not bring themselves to release the fistfuls of nuts they had grabbed inside the small-mouthed jar.

Santa Ana Heights and Newport Beach residents have been forced to agree to compromises that will not, in the long run, benefit the rest of the county anyway--the airport, as expanded, will still be inadequate. We resent the suggestion that we should be obliterated for the public good.

NANCY KAUFMAN, Back Bay Community Assn.

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