Panel Backs New Aircraft Limitations for Van Nuys : Aviation: Board approves recommendation prohibiting more of the noisiest private jets from being based at the airfield.

The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, after hearing pleas from politicians and homeowners to do something about aircraft noise, Tuesday approved a recommendation to prohibit basing more private jet planes of the noisiest type at Van Nuys Airport.

A voluntary noise-reduction program by airplane pilots “has worked to a limited extent, but it has not worked to the extent we had hoped,” said Theodore Stein, the board’s president. “Clearly we need to go further.”

The ban is subject to approval by the Los Angeles City Council.

It was not clear whether the council has the power to enact such a ban, which intrudes in the area usually controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration. Stein said the city could not evict the noisiest jets--those with engines classed as Stage 2 by the FAA--but could prevent other Stage 2 planes from being based at the airport.

The panel also voted Tuesday to begin a curfew on takeoffs by Stage 2 planes at 10 p.m., an hour earlier than the current 11 p.m.

The curfew, which ends at 7 a.m., had already been extended to 10 p.m. on a voluntary basis in October, 1992.

The board had reviewed a one-year program that was designed to reduce airplane noise through voluntary compliance by pilots. The program, conducted by the Los Angeles Department of Airports, concluded in February, and represented an effort to reduce the noise in the area around the airport with unacceptable noise levels.

Because the voluntary program fell short of its goal, the airport department developed five proposals to beef up its anti-noise campaign. State law requires airports to reduce the number of nearby residences that have noise levels of 65 decibels or higher.

Also on the board’s agenda was presentation of a study that detailed the types, flight paths and altitudes of helicopters that use Van Nuys Airport. The study, which observed 923 helicopter flights from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 1994, found that news media flights were the most frequent type of mission, making up 34% of total helicopter operations, followed by city services flights and business operations.

The department developed eight proposals to submit to the board to cut down on helicopter noise, including:

* Requesting the FAA to establish a helicopter route over the Ventura Freeway, with a minimum altitude.

* Requesting that the FAA set a minimum altitude for helicopters in the entire Los Angeles area. The FAA has refused to set a nationwide minimum, but according to Van Nuys Airport Manager Ron Kochevar it has done so in other cities.

* Requiring all helicopter operators leasing space at Van Nuys Airport to submit a plan describing how they intend to reduce helicopter noise.