North County Issue / Airport Safety...

Jerry LeBoeuf, Manager, Anacapa Mobile Home Park

A control tower would be ideal, but I don’t think the airport is in a position to afford that. The main thing is that pilots need to be more careful. This is a very popular airport. There’s no way of changing the takeoff and landing procedure the way we’re situated here. Some of the homes that are close to the airport, those people probably could be relocated. I wouldn’t want to live there. We’re a little ways away, and yes, it’s possible that someone could crash into our park, but it would either take a total collision or power failure to crash here. We have had complaints from some of the residents, however. Some of them have lived here for over 25 years. I’ve got people here in their 80s, and they get a little nervous. We are in the flight path, and they do fly pretty low. Some people have called and asked what we could do about it, and I said, “Nothing.” They knew the airport was there.

*

Fred O’Donnell, Spokesman, Federal Aviation Administration

First, you have to understand accidents, what causes them and what in reality can be done. We investigate all accidents that occur in airports anywhere, wherever they occur, and there is nothing about the Santa Paula Airport that is unsafe. We’ve got 17,000-plus airports in this nation, 401 of which have airport control towers. That means that 16,599-plus airports operate without the benefit of a control tower and operate safely. So why should Santa Paula be any different than any other airport? In the investigation of past accidents there, there has been ample evidence to substantiate that they were caused by pilot error. That can happen anywhere and under any circumstance. There is a suggestion that they need a tower there. The FAA has criteria whether a tower should be built, and that airport has not and does not meet that criteria. We’re not averse to putting a tower in, but we have a responsibility to get the maximum out of the tax dollars that we have.

*

Mike Sullivan, Member, board of directors, Santa Paula Airport

At this time, I see no changes that can be made to make it any safer at Santa Paula Airport. We’re constantly educating the pilots, both the people who are familiar with the airport and those who aren’t. There are printed publications everywhere that show what the rules and regulations are. When a pilot doesn’t follow these procedures, of course, there are possibilities for accidents. An airport control tower is not an answer. A control tower does primarily two things: It gives taxi clearance, and permission to take off and land. It is not responsible for guiding the aircraft in good weather for collision avoidance. The Los Angeles control tower caused the death of many when controlling two aircraft, which landed on top of each other about two years ago. What you need is the improvement in the education of the pilot. He is the one who keeps flying safe. We have rules on the highways to follow, yet there are thousands of accidents. The person behind the wheel is ultimately responsible.

*

Ramona Chavez, Santa Paula businesswoman

Certainly. They’re going to have to do something about it. We’re awfully close. Our business is about half a block from where the accident happened. We have a tiny avocado tree,and pilots have said it has obstructed their view. I live up on North Mill Street, and I can look down at the planes from up there. We can hear the planes skidding, and I’ll go out there and see what’s going on. In May or June, we started talking to the Ventura County Transportation Commission. They started having meetings about a safety zone around the airport. Nothing has come of it. I don’t think the state has the money to establish the zone. I think the airport control tower is a good idea. We’ve been talking about this for maybe five years. The first thing I noticed on Channel 9’s story about the accident: They said this was where actor Kirk Douglas was hurt, and they started talking about a tower. At least it might control some of the pilots coming in.

*

Carl Stamm, Santa Paula pilot

Not that I know of. I think the rules are adequate. It seems to me that the people who are advocating the control tower are people who know nothing about tower operation. Camarillo, for example, has had a temporary tower for two years or more, a trailer on the ground. They haven’t had the equipment to man the tower properly. The Federal Aviation Administration is short of money, and they don’t have the facilities or funds to put all this in in a proper manner. If they were to try to put a tower in at Santa Paula, there is no room on either side of the runway. At an uncontrolled airport, a simple rule is to see and be seen, and if you don’t have a radio, which some airplanes don’t, you have to use your eyes and ears to see what’s going on. There’s no law that says you have to have a radio when coming into an uncontrolled airport. I would say that, had this man followed the rules, his flight guide and the approach pattern, the accident never would have occurred.