Judge Refuses to Block El Toro Airport Tests

In a setback to opponents of a commercial airport at El Toro, an Orange County judge on Tuesday refused to block a noise test planned for this weekend in which commercial planes will land and take off at the Marine base.

Barring bad weather or last-minute restrictions by the Federal Aviation Administration, jets will begin landing and departing at the base at 6 a.m. Friday, despite strong objections from the city of Irvine and safety questions raised Tuesday by a pilots group.

“I guess we pray for rain,” said Dan Jung, city planner for Irvine, which went to court to block the test.

Superior Court Judge Ronald Bauer refused to grant a temporary restraining order halting the flights, which the city’s attorneys argued should require a state environmental impact report.

Bauer said the two-day flight demonstration was exempted properly by the Board of Supervisors from time-consuming environmental review because it will have an insignificant effect on the environment. He said the county is justified in conducting the tests because their intent is to provide useful information.

A pro-airport majority of supervisors approved the $1.3-million test earlier this year, arguing that it will give south Orange County residents a “real life” look at how much noise commercial jets would make at El Toro. The county is planning an international airport there that can handle up to 28.8 million passengers annually by 2020.

Weather permitting, pilots will fly 27 landings and 27 departures both days this weekend using a mix of commercial aircraft, from a wide-body Boeing 747-400 to smaller Boeing 737s.

Weather could be a factor because the Marine Corps, which is providing air traffic controllers for the demonstration, has already removed its system for guiding aircraft in poor visibility. If clouds interfere, the test cannot be rescheduled before the Marines leave July 2.