Editorial on Aviation Is a Flight of Fancy

* It sometimes amazes me that trusted publications such as The Times will publish an article such as the editorial dealing with aviation safety (“Noise Issue Clouding Safety at Airports,” Aug. 6). It was obviously written by someone without the slightest knowledge of flying or aviation.

Flying lessons are expensive enough without the student having to drive hours to some desolate airport to take lessons. Nobody asked developers to build homes adjacent to airports. And the people living there: did they think those were mosquitoes flying overhead when they were looking at the homes? Give me a break! Touch-and-go landings are designed to sharpen a pilot’s skills and are not a dangerous procedure. Commercial aircraft have to undergo a rigorous inspection every 100 hours or less, and private use aircraft must undergo a tear-down once a year. Does your car get the same maintenance?

Lastly, the author has assumed that the two fatalities at Whiteman were the result of touch-and-go landings. All the informed personnel have other ideas, and the Department of Transportation has just started the investigation. If I were a responsible writer, I would rely more on the FAA safety people rather than on the news media for my facts.

GENE H. DERUELLE

Studio City