Council Asks to Be Kept Apprised on Airport Safety

Alarmed that an airplane clipped two school buses last month, a Los Angeles City Council panel agreed Tuesday to ask federal authorities to report on safety issues involving Van Nuys Airport.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, chairwoman of the council’s Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she wants the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board to report to the city on current safety standards at Van Nuys and whether improvements are possible.

“We’d rather have them land at the airport than on the freeway,” Galanter said of planes facing emergencies. “The concern is to make sure the people in the surrounding community feel safe.”

Councilman Joel Wachs wants federal authorities to determine whether clear zones around the airport are easy to access by pilots for emergency landings, whether pilots are well-educated about the existence of the zones and whether there are additional measures to protect motorists from being struck by planes landing on city streets.

Wachs called for a review of safety measures after a June 23 incident in which a crippled airplane landed on Hayvenhurst Avenue in North Hills, clipping the front ends of two school buses carrying nearly 50 children. No one was seriously injured in the mishap.