More Volleys in the Airport Battle

* Re “Airport Foes Decry O.C. Labor Pact,” Jan. 12:

For the past six months, pro-airport county officials have been rubbing their hands with glee in anticipation of an agreement with Orange County labor unions.

The county would grant unions exclusive rights to bid on El Toro and other big county projects. In exchange, unions would open their coffers to finance an ad campaign against the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative, Measure F.

There was never a question of ulterior motives in the negotiations; it was a blatant, above-board quid pro quo, with each side getting what it wanted.

But now that the agreement has been finalized, Supervisors Charles V. Smith, Jim Silva and Cynthia Coad want to deny the evidence of the past six months and claim that the agreement has nothing to do with El Toro and the campaign for Measure F.

Have the pro-airport supervisors become so used to lying about El Toro that it has now become a knee-jerk reaction?

ARNOLD BURKE

Lake Forest

* Your Jan. 6 front-page story (“El Toro Airspace Risks Detailed”) seems to imply that an international airport at El Toro will add to the air traffic in Southern California.

In fact, the traffic will grow whether or not the El Toro airport is operational. The effect of the airport will be to spread the traffic a bit.

The only problem that will arise is the additional coordination that will be required for air traffic controllers to manage the additional source and destination of the extra flights.

With all the airports already in the area, this addition is only a minor problem for the Federal Aviation Administration.

DAVID FEIGN

Santa Ana

* How come the geniuses of south Orange County think that El Toro airport is so devastating, but expanding nearby John Wayne Airport is so peachy keen?

How come the geniuses of south Orange County didn’t make their case in 1994, before Measure A was approved?

How come the geniuses of south Orange County didn’t make their case in 1996, when Measure S, which sought to overturn Measure A, was defeated? How come?

JOHN JAEGER

Irvine

* A “yes” on Measure F will slow the county process until the safety issue is fully studied and flight paths are determined by the FAA. Then let the people decide whether they want the airport built.

In your Jan. 8 story you say, “The former associate administrator of the FAA . . . said the only way the new airport could be made acceptably safe is to close John Wayne and change the orientation of El Toro’s runways so planes wouldn’t depart or land over nearby mountains.”

So will you start reporting that in order for El Toro to be safe, John Wayne will have to close? Start reporting these issues more responsibly, please.

We the people of Orange County deserve to know the honest truth about this terrible plan that three Orange County supervisors are driving down our throats.

JEFF DOUGLAS

Aliso Viejo

* Most decisions in this life involve some form of cost versus benefit. When considering the proposed El Toro international airport, just what is the cost versus benefit with respect to the quality of life for the human family?

The cost: reduced quality of life due to jet noise overhead, 24 hours per day every day, for thousands of families; increased auto traffic congestion; increased air pollution; air space flight safety hazards.

The benefit: some added revenue for the county.

At what point does the cost outweigh the benefit? If only one family was inconvenienced, maybe the analysis would swing in favor of the airport.

However, the cost here negatively impacts the quality of life for thousands of families whose lives will be dramatically and negatively impacted forever, or at least until they move out of the impacted area.

This negative fact will ultimately impact Anaheim, Villa Park, Anaheim Hills, Irvine, Tustin, as well as south Orange County.

The layout of departure and approach routes at airports, especially international airports, is the responsibility and purview of the FAA, not members of the Board of Supervisors.

A “yes” on Measure F this March will protect the quality of life for all our families.

TONY DALLENDORFER

Laguna Niguel

* Routing northbound commercial flights out of the proposed El Toro international airport to weave their way, as the Jan. 6 Times illustrated, through a fabric of inbound and outbound departures from Los Angeles International, John Wayne, Ontario and Long Beach airports with a thousand or so feet of vertical clearance may appear to be a simple procedure to planners who have never operated in a commercial cockpit.

Failing to level off or failing to climb to the assigned altitude could result in a midair collision.

Anything after takeoff, from a faulty warning light to an engine shutdown from an ingested sea gull, can sometimes distract the crew from monitoring the aircraft heading and altitude.

“You guys take care of the problem and I’ll fly the aircraft,” is the normal captain’s response to these problems. However, there are exceptions, such as the commercial aircraft that plowed into the Florida swamp when all three cockpit crew members had their heads “down and locked” over a warning-light problem.

Going through the assigned altitude happens every day somewhere without even reportable results, but weaving through the proposed fabric shown in The Times could one day prove a disaster to passengers and home owners.

BRENT RICKARD

Laguna Hills

* The Jan. 6 story points out the risks identified in the environmental impact report on El Toro airport.

If the 150 additional daily flights must be accommodated, why not do so in an airport of 4,700 acres rather than the existing 470-acre airport that butts up against hotels, residential housing and business.

The large differential in surrounding open space argues for an inherently greater safety at El Toro.

As already reported, the costs involved in preparing each location for future air traffic are also tilted in favor of El Toro. It has an estimated cost of $2.8 billion, against $4.3 billion for John Wayne, which will still have only 1,200 acres with no buffer zone after condemning approximately 700 acres around the existing airport.

New York’s metropolitan area has four major airports, Kennedy, La Guardia, Teterboro and Newark, with separations ranging from 10 to 18 miles.

The comparable separation between John Wayne and El Toro is 10 miles.

JOSEPH STASCH

Newport Beach

* I notice El Toro airport supporters wonder why South County residents oppose an international airport when we were tolerant of military jets for years.

It is because we are patriotic Americans who are proud of our military, and we understood that Marine pilots had to train in order to defend our nation.

ARNOLD KIM

Irvine

* Wow. News flash. Hold the phones! The El Toro airport plan environmental impact report claims negative airspace interactions.

I wonder how much the county spent for some Einstein to figure that out?!

ROBERT DALE

La Habra

* Stop for a moment and analyze who is putting out all the negative information regarding El Toro airport. Follow the trail of each scare tactic and you will discover its source is a South County activist dedicated to stopping airport planning.

Whether it is questioning the airport’s safety, its cost, the need for an alternate airport, an anti-El Toro airport person can be traced to its origin.

Do these people have the whole county’s welfare in mind regarding El Toro airport? No, only their own interests.

The majority of Orange County citizens have voted for the airport twice, but those in South County refuse to accept that and are trying again.

Their newest scheme, Measure F, is deceptive in its language, but do not be fooled. It is one more attempt by a relatively small percentage of NIMBY people to stop a commercial airport at El Toro. Don’t fall for it!

CHRIS PONSASR

Anaheim

* Thank you for your Jan. 6 article, giving us insight into the impact of El Toro airport in the skies.

It brought to mind some other factors which are worthy of consideration.

For instance, how safe are the skies above John Wayne Airport today, not to mention what would happen in the future with more flights.

The map you provided showing the various flight paths indicated more confusion in the skies above John Wayne than there would be at El Toro.

The map did not even include the private smaller planes that account for much of the air traffic around John Wayne.

Therefore, it is hard to fathom the degree of danger from air traffic above John Wayne if we do not secure El Toro airport.

Plans F and G in the current environmental impact report show John Wayne doubling or even tripling in number of flights without El Toro.

Doesn’t it make more sense for safety reasons to use the El Toro site, which is on 4,700 acres and has four large runways, than to crowd the skies above the tiny 470 acres of John Wayne with its one small runway?

CAMILLE SELTZER

Orange