County Suspends Airport Noise Abatement Program : Transportation: Supervisors fear huge homeowner buyout tab if federal safety review widens area affected.

Fearing that a federal government review of takeoff procedures for John Wayne Airport could wind up forcing the county to shell out millions of dollars, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday halted a program to protect homes from airport noise.

The moratorium, approved unanimously by the board, will stay in effect indefinitely.

Under a 1985 agreement, the county pays to buy out homes that are affected by noise from the airport. The buyout area is defined by how loud the noise is, but the Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing the airport takeoff procedures to determine whether they are safe, and that review could widen the affected area.

Airline pilots contend that a rule requiring them to cut power when they reach an altitude of 500 feet is unsafe because it leaves too little time and space between the jetliner and the ground if something goes wrong immediately after takeoff. The power cutback is intended to reduce noise over Santa Ana Heights, the semi-rural neighborhood at the end of the airport runway.

In federal incident reports, some pilots have described harrowing near collisions and have said that the steep takeoff angle and the power cutback combine to create a situation in which a serious accident is “waiting to happen.”

But the FAA approved the takeoff procedure several years ago, and airport officials argue that changing the procedures now could dramatically widen the area affected by noise. With more homes affected, more money would have to be spent to protect residents, though it is not clear whether the local or federal government would have to pick up the increased costs.

As a result, county officials say the uncertainty surrounding the status of the procedures has forced them to halt all their activity.

“I appreciate FAA’s concern regarding the potential proliferation of specialized departure procedures,” said Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose district includes the airport. “However, I can’t support FAA’s intent to change the procedures at John Wayne Airport--which FAA has found to be safe and which have been so successful in reducing noise--without allowing the county to participate in the review process.”

The county already has purchased 23 homes under its noise abatement program, though another 66 homes are waiting to be brought into the program.

Riley said he hopes that the federal government can be persuaded to maintain the current standards at the airport or to take financial responsibility for the noise program if it changes the guidelines.

“The county, our congressional representatives and the city of Newport Beach worked very hard last fall to ensure that John Wayne Airport’s stringent noise and access policies would be protected,” Riley said in a prepared statement. “We will work together again to ensure that (the airport) can continue to operate and quietly and safely as possible.”

Times staff writer Jeffrey A. Perlman contributed to this report.