FULLERTON PLANE CRASH : Crash Hasn’t Renewed Call for Closure : Reaction: Neighboring Buena Park officials lament tragedy, but none contend risks outweigh advantages.

If former Buena Park Mayor Rhonda J. McCune had her way, she would clip the wings of Fullerton Airport.

A longtime critic of the general aviation airport, McCune said she was saddened but not surprised by Monday’s plane crash.

“I felt these deaths [Monday] were inevitable,” said McCune, who lives about a mile from the airport. “I’m surprised we haven’t had more accidents and deaths over the years.”

But McCune, who stepped down from the Buena Park City Council last year, admits it’s unlikely the fatal plane crash will close Fullerton Airport. Even in Buena Park, where opposition runs highest, there seemed to be little support for renewing an old feud.

Buena Park council members lamented the loss of lives, but none contended that the risks of the airport outweigh the advantages. With 150,000 annual flights, Fullerton Airport generates considerable economic benefit to the surrounding communities, officials said.

“I’m happy with the airport. It provides a vital transportation hub to the area,” Buena Park Councilman Arthur C. Brown said. “Airplanes are going to crash. But are we going to close the freeways because a few cars crash? I don’t think so.”

Only about 20% of the flights at the airport are for recreation, according to Fullerton Airport Manager Roland Elder. The airport also houses the Orange County Fire Authority’s helicopters, which are poised for dispatch to emergencies.

“Safety concerns are completely valid,” Elder said. “But at a time like this, you don’t want to let understandable and powerful emotional reactions overrule everything else.”

Buena Park Councilwoman Patsy Marshall said she will review the safety risks at Fullerton Airport, but said it would probably not lead to a call to close it.

Tensions between Fullerton and Buena Park were nonexistent in the early days of the airport, which opened in 1927 and was surrounded by agricultural fields. But as development boomed, so did the potential for tragedy.

“There’s been a lot of building around the airport, which should probably have never been allowed,” said Emily Levine, who serves on the airport’s Noise and Safety Committee. The 14-year-old committee, made up of three non-aviation representatives from Fullerton and Buena Park, meets monthly to monitor noise and safety issues at the airport.

“What happened [Monday] is a terrible, terrible thing, but it’s real important that the airport stay open,” added Levine, who has lived about 1 1/2 miles from the airport for the past 25 years.

But McCune argued that if the airport cannot be shut down, government officials should make certain planes are banned from flying during poor visibility conditions.

“There should be no takeoffs or landings at all on foggy days,” McCune said. “It’s just not safe.”