Moratorium on Training Flights Urged

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon has called for a moratorium on training flights at Whiteman Airport following the latest in a rash of plane crashes near the northeast San Fernando Valley facility.

The latest incident occurred last month when a single-engine plane that had just left Whiteman Airport dropped from the sky, striking two homes, killing two passengers and critically injuring the pilot. Cause of the crash is still under investigation.

It was the latest of at least six crashes near the airport in the past 15 months, including another double-fatality in March.

Whiteman is a small general aviation airport on the outskirts of Pacoima that is operated by the county of Los Angeles.

In a letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Alarcon suggests a moratorium on all training flights in and out of the airport while county and federal officials “conduct a thorough safety evaluation of this facility.”

“The continued risk that this facility poses to the area must be examined,” he said. “As elected officials who represent Pacoima, the time has come to call for a review of this facility and its operations to determine why there have been so many serious problems in recent years.”

A moratorium, however, may not be easy to impose. Although the facility is operated by the county, the Federal Aviation Administration has ultimate authority over most aviation matters and would most likely be required to sign off on the moratorium.

“I’ve never yet heard of a flight issue that did not involve the FAA,” said Joel Bellman, an aide to Yaroslavsky, who was out of the country Thursday and could not comment.

The FAA would have to approve a moratorium if Whiteman Airport accepts federal grants that require local officials to provide free airport access to pilots, according to FAA spokesman Tim Pile.

Pile said he was not sure whether Whiteman Airport accepts such federal funding. “It’s not clear with Whiteman since it’s a general aviation airport,” he said.

The airport manager at Whiteman Airport could not be reached but an employee at the facility said flight training is a large part of the airport’s operations.

“A lot of people would be angry if you canceled flight training,” said the employee, who asked not to be named.

Alarcon concedes the moratorium may not be easy to impose. But he said it is necessary to protect against possible injuries and death.

“The FAA has said that the accident rate at this airport is no greater than normal but frankly I find that unacceptable. It may be just a matter of time before we have fatalities on the ground,” he said.

Alarcon said he called for the moratorium on training flights because the most recent crash appeared to have involved an instructor who was providing flying lessons.

In that incident, pilot Michael Boolen, a training instructor, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 30% of his body. The two passengers, Gordon Hechter, 41, and Manuel Melena, 32, both of Pacoima, died when the plane crashed through the bedroom of a home on Hoyt Street.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.