FAA investigating flight student’s hard landing
Of Cessna at Honolulu International Airport
|
HONOLULU — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a flight student’s hard landing of a Cessna at Honolulu International Airport.
FAA spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford says the pilot was on a training flight and lost control while trying to land Thursday. The Cessna 172 veered off the left side of a runway, went into a grassy area and come to a stop on another runway with the landing gear collapsed.
The state Department of Transportation says the 20-year-old female flight student was the only person on board. She was not injured but the plane has substantial damage.
Airport firefighters helped her out of the plane, which was removed during a brief closure of the runway.
Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl says there were no disruptions of any aircraft landings or departures.
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Minneapolis-St. Paul airport opens expedited security line
For frequent fliers
By John Welbesjwelbes
Posted: 01/24/2012 12:01:00 AM CST
Updated 68 minutes ago
Keep your shoes on, leave your laptop in its bag and don’t pull out your plastic baggie full of little shampoo bottles.
If that sounds like a dream trip through airport security, grab a pillow because it could happen for you soon.
On Tuesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, federal security officials unveiled TSA Pre, a pre-screening initiative that allows invited passengers of Delta Air Lines and American Air Lines to go through a faster, less cumbersome security checkpoint.
Not only can passengers in the TSA Pre avoid unpacking much of their carry-ons, but they can also leave on their light jackets and belts.
For passengers, “this is the best thing to happen to them at checkpoints in more than a decade,” said Tim Anderson, the airport’s deputy executive director. The change may take some travelers by surprise, he added. “We’ll have to train people not to take off their shoes and jackets.”
Currently, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines frequent flier programs have to invite you to apply for the new federal program – you can’t ask for it. So far, about 250,000 have taken up the airlines on the offer and applied for the special designation.
The lanes are in the test phase and the Transportation Security Administration is still determining if they’ll be rolled out more broadly, said Joe Taney, regional director for the TSA.
Applicants can be rejected for the Pre lane designation, but don’t expect an explanation. Information about howauthorities decide to award someone the designation isn’t publicly available, Taney said.
One other way to get access to the Pre passenger-screening checkpoint is to apply to become a member of the Trusted Traveler Program through the Customs and Border Protection service. That program, aimed at frequent international travelers, is detailed at the customs service’s website, www.CBP.gov.
More than 300 passengers had gone through the Twin Cities’ new Pre line by 8 a.m. on its first day. At test sites at other airports, the Pre line has taken from 30 seconds to 2 minutes off the average amount of time normally taken to pass through security.
“I love it,” said Bob Williams of Stillwater, who made his first trip through the Pre line Tuesday morning. A Gold Elite frequent flier on Delta Air Lines, he received an email from Delta inviting him to apply. Applicants provide some personal information and, if they’re approved, information is embedded in the barcode on their boarding pass that lets the TSA know they’re pre-screened.
After cruising through the Minneapolis-St. Paul line with his shoes on, Williams said he’ll seek out the Pre line at other airports.
With its new checkpoint, Minneapolis-St. Paul International is the seventh airport nationally to start offering the TSA Pre line. The others are Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In the next few weeks, Delta fliers in Salt Lake City and American Airlines passengers at New York’s JFK will also have access to Pre checkpoints.
While participants can expect a faster trip through security, randomly selected passengers who are OK’d for the Pre lanes could still be subjected to more thorough checks, the TSA’s Taney said.
Passengers OK’d for the program are seen as “not no risk, but lower risk,” Taney said. Other layers of security also exist throughout the airport to ensure safety, he added.
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Department of Ideas: Veterans for Airport Security
You hear a lot of talk about the need for jobs, but precious little in the way of specific ideas for creating jobs. That’s why Austin Beutner’s speech last week was so refreshing. Beutner is a businessman and former aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who already has begun running for mayor. (The election is not until 2013). Among the most interesting: The obvious problem with this idea is that you’re replacing one set of workers with another set of workers. San Francisco’s SFO and 15 other airports opted out of using the federal screeners and instead use contractors. Reports have found the costs of the non-TSA screeners is nearly 50 percent less per passenger. Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations |
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Commissioners vote to keep airport security plans secret
Hiller says she has right to them
By KATHERINE ALBERS
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Immokalee airport’s security plans will remain a secret.
Collier County Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to keep themselves in the dark about the security at the airport.
“There is no reason for any commissioner to have access to the plan,” Commission Chairman Fred Coyle said. “It’s common sense. This is not something of a contest between a commissioner and the airport director.
“Releasing the plans is not a good thing to do.”
Commissioners Tom Henning and Georgia Hiller dissented.
“I have serious concerns. It is our liability. It is our responsibility as the airport board,” Hiller said.
Hiller had contacted Airport Executive Director Chris Curry for the last two weeks asking for a copy of the security plans at the Immokalee Regional Airport, he said. Curry denied her request and asked the commissioners for direction at Tuesday’s meeting.
Florida law requires that general aviation airports open to the public, and which have at least one runway greater than 4,999 feet long, have an approved current airport security plan on file with the Florida Department of Transportation.
The Immokalee airport’s plans are restricted to the airport manager, the Department of Homeland Security, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FDOT, Curry said.
Some airport employees also see limited plans, Curry said.
But Hiller said she contacted the Sheriff’s Office and they had not received a copy of the plans. Curry said he mailed a copy and would follow up to ensure it was received.
Henning said he believes Hiller has a right to look at the plans because under Florida Statutes only security plans for international airports are exempt from public records laws. The Immokalee airport is not an international airport.
Curry said he was told by FDOT that the public records exemption applies to all airports, not just international airports.
Henning said he was concerned there was no legal interpretation from the county attorney’s office on the matter before it came before the board.
Before the vote, Klatzkow said the commissioners were facing two issues — whether the security plans were public record and whether the commissioners would like the ability to view the security plans. The commissioners do not have a policy that prohibits them from asking the Airport Authority executive director to see the plans, he said.
“It is not easy on this one,” he said. “If I am being conservative … all security documents should be protected.”
Klatzkow told commissioners if they wanted to access the plans, they could develop a policy to do so. Commissioner Jim Coletta said the board does not need to see the plans for the security of the airport.
“Either you trust the airport director or you don’t,” he said. “We don’t need to know about the security of places we do not belong and this is one of them.”
Hiller said the commissioners have the ultimate authority over the airport and should be allowed to see the plans.
“I support the need for confidentiality,” she said. “To deny the responsibility of the board as the airport board and the board that is the lease holder from the ability to see the plans is a violation of the public records law. We are the lease holders for that property.”
Hiller said she would like a written response with the particulars of the law Curry is relying on.
“Bottom line, I don’t believe the exemption includes members of the board,” she said, adding that she believed the three commissioners voting to keep the plans secret from themselves were circumventing the law.
“If I am going to be denied, I want the statute that was relied upon and the reason why.”
Commissioner Donna Fiala asked Hiller why she was so intent on seeing the plans. Hiller said she had repeated concerns about security at the airport and wanted to see for herself what was being implemented by staff.
© 2012 Scripps Newspaper Group
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Infrastructure Daily News 01.24.12
Transportation Sector
17. January 23, Seattle Times – (National) Vibrations force Boeing to cut off 747-8 tail fuel tanks. Under a mandate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing’s new 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet will not be allowed to carry fuel in its tail until engineers can fix a potential wing-vibration problem. A Boeing spokesman said engineers are working to design, certify, and implement a repair in 2013. Until then, a section of fuel line will be removed to prevent fuel flowing back to the tank inside the horizontal stabilizer — the small wings on either side of the tail. This restriction will cut fuel capacity by about 3,300 gallons and reduce the range of the jet by 300 to 400 miles, the spokesman said. The big jet’s total fuel capacity, including the tail tank, is advertised at 63,055 gallons, giving it a range of 9,200 miles while carrying 467 passengers. The first delivery of the 747-8 passenger model is expected next month to an unidentified customer. German airline Lufthansa will take the second jet, probably in March. Five of the jets have already rolled out without the required block to the tanks in the tail. Those jets will have to be modified by removing the section of fuel line, work that can be completed over three shifts, the Boeing spokesman said. Subsequent 747-8s will have the tail tank blocked inside the factory during assembly. A computer analysis revealed that if the engine mounting strut were to fail, then extra weight at the rear of the aircraft from fuel in the tail would cause wing flutter. Flutter is a phenomenon in which structural vibrations enter a feedback cycle that enhances the shaking and can cause serious damage. Source: http://www.bnd.com/2012/01/23/2025396/vibrations-force-boeing-to-cut.html
18. January 23, Bloomberg News – (International) Airbus wing checks to affect almost one-third of A380 fleet. Airlines operating Airbus SAS’s A380 superjumbo must ground 20 planes or almost one-third of the world fleet within the next 6 weeks to check for wing cracks. Carriers with A380s that have accumulated more than 1,300 takeoffs and landings must make the inspections, and any planes that have made more than 1,800 trips need to be checked within 4 days, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said today. Air France, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines Ltd. will need to take action soonest, based on flight figures, with the work likely to take up to 24 hours, according to the Asian carrier, which said six of its jets require scrutiny in the near term. The EASA ordered the checks after the discovery of cracks in one wing led to detection of more serious fractures in other planes. “This condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially affect the structural integrity of the aeroplane,” the safety organization said in an airworthiness directive. “The new form of cracking is more significant.” The visual examinations don’t require special gear and should be completed in a matter of hours, according to Airbus. Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/ article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/23/bloomberg_articlesLY3G2L6JTSEA01-LY3OA.DTL
19. January 20, NYCAviation – (International) FAA downgrades safety ratings of Curacao and Saint Maarten, current flights not affected. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) January 19 announced it had downgraded the safety ratings of the Caribbean island nations of Curaçao and Saint Maarten from Category 1 to Category 2. Both islands had previously been parts of the Netherlands Antilles, which had held a International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating of Category 1. Curaçao and Saint Maarten became individual countries subject to their own assessments when the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved in 2010. According to the FAA, a Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority –- equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters –- is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping, or inspection procedures. The FAA sayid existing service may continue, but under stronger scrutiny from FAA inspectors. New flights from those countries will not be allowed unless they regain Category 1 status. Flights operated by U.S. carriers to Curaçao and Saint Maarten will not be affected. Source: http://nycaviation.com/2012/01/aviation-safety-ratings-of-curacao-and-stmaarten- downgraded-by-faa-current-flights-not-affected/
20. January 20, Chicago Tribune – (Illinois) Snow cripples commute, cancels flights and moves on. Chicago officials detoured all Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses off Lake Shore Drive as a snowstorm hunkered down over the area, crippling the evening commute and grounding more than 800 flights January 20. The storm began tapering off as of 6:15 p.m., but travel times on expressways remained tortuously long, with some commutes more than 4 hours long. Radar showed the storm leaving the area as of about 9 p.m. and snow was expected to completely exit northern Illinois by midnight. As of about 6:30 p.m. buses that operate north of Roosevelt Road on Lake Shore Drive were back on their normal routes, while all buses south of Roosevelt resumed normal routes by 8:15 p.m., the CTA said. Some delays remained because of traffic conditions. The Illinois Tollway Authority said it had helped at least 160 motorists since the snow began. As of 8:30 p.m., O’Hare and Midway airports were reporting “significant delays and cancellations,” according to the Chicago Aviation Department. At O’Hare, airlines canceled more than 700 flights and delays on all flights were averaging an hour or more, the department said. At Midway, more than 100 flights were canceled. Metra, the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority, reported two issues — slower-moving commuters and multiple switch problems that were possibly weather-related. Source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-20/business/chi-5-to-8-inches-ofsnow- predicted-evening-rush-at-risk-20120120_1_snow-cripples-lake-effect-snowreroute- buses For more stories, see items 5, 6, and 47
Postal and Shipping Sector
21. January 22, KDRV 12 Medford – (Oregon) Bomb squad responds to Rogue River homemade explosives. The Oregon State Police (OSP) Bomb Squad was sent out January 21 for some suspicious deliveries. Along with the OSP, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of multiple explosive devices. The objects were located inside three separate mailboxes outside of Rogue River. At two locations, it was clear the mailboxes fell victims to someone’s prank. Jackson County sheriff’s officials said the homemade explosives were created inside small medicine bottles. They said the two devices inside two separate mailbox locations went off on their own, but the bomb squad did suit up for the Queens Branch Road location. After examining the broken device, the bomb squad determined it was safe to remove. Three people were arrested; two of the suspects are minors and the third is an 18-year-old of Rogue River. Charges are expected for all three. Source: http://kdrv.com/page/237156
AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT: Snow Symposium Special Alert
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Prince Albert Airport a WestJet service hopeful
Prince Albert Airport a WestJet service hopeful
Herald photo by Tyler Clarke The Prince Albert Airport’s current terminal.
Tyler Clarke
Herald staff
A recent announcement by WestJet has to some degree reinvigorated enthusiasm for the city-operated Prince Albert Airport’s future.
Using a fleet of approximately 40 smaller turboprop aircraft, WestJet announced last week that they’re considering launching a new short-haul regional airline as early as 2013.
The new airline would serve to increase their current feed of 71 cities to include additional connections.
“Our single fleet of Boeings will be joined by a sister company operating a single fleet of turboprops to maintain maximum efficiencies for both airlines,” WestJet chairman Clive Beddoe said in a press release.
Although the idea has only just been proposed, mayor Jim Scarrow said that the City of Prince Albert has positioned itself nicely in advance of the unexpected announcement.
Through recently implemented user fees the city has already raised about $330,000 toward the construction of a new terminal.
“I think that’s a pretty good figure to begin with and is indicative of the kind of use the airport is already receiving,” he said. “I think the timing for the WestJet announcement is excellent for us.”
In addition, Scarrow expects an about $6 million federally funded runway replacement is expected to be completed by the spring. Initially planned on being done already, the recent weight restrictions on the Diefenbaker Bridge have delayed the transport of the heavy asphalt.
Scarrow cautioned that the WestJet announcement is merely a proposed idea at this point, and if implemented, the Prince Albert Airport isn’t necessarily on their list of approved locations.
A letter of interest will be sent to WestJet some time this week, Scarrow said.
If they aren’t successful in attracting WestJet, Scarrow remains optimistic that another major airline will come up again in the future. It isn’t just City of Prince Albert’s populace the Prince Albert Airport services, after all.
“Prince Albert more and more is thinking regionally,” Scarrow said. “We can do these things with the communities that increasingly rely on the city’s services.”
Located six kilometers east of Prince Albert, the Prince Albert Airport currently accommodates the airlines Transwest Air and Pronto Airways, which together provide service from Prince Albert to Regina, Saskatoon, La Ronge, Stony Rapids, Fond-du-lac, Uranium City, Points North, and Wollaston, according to the airport’s website.
“We’ve had very strong co-operation from these airlines,” Scarrow said, adding that the airlines have been receptive to the user fees that will be used to build a new terminal.
The airport has benefitted greatly from the mining industry up north, Scarrow said.
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NFTA calls for more courtesy from TSA
Is concerned screeners intimidate air travelers
By Robert J. McCarthy
News Staff Reporter
Published:January 22, 2012, 11:10 PM
Updated: January 23, 2012, 7:28 AM
Gruff and unpleasant security officers are not exactly helping business at the Buffalo Niagara and Niagara Falls airports, according to a top man at the NFTA.
In fact, Transportation Security Administration personnel charged with screening airport passengers and carry-on baggage might benefit from “sensitivity training,” suggested Henry M. Sloma, acting chairman of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.
“I’ve met a few of them personally,” Sloma said. “They’re not particularly nice, and for no good reason.”
Sloma, whose agency runs both airports, said he appreciates the importance of the TSA presence and its mission to ensure safe airline travel. But he also points out that the Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports compete for business, especially with Canadian facilities in Toronto and Hamilton, not to mention Rochester.
The TSA should be mindful of the need to attract passengers to NFTA airports, not drive them away, he said. As a result, authority personnel have been in discussion with TSA officials about the need for a friendlier experience in the security line, he said.
“They have an enormous amount of authority, and I think they need to discharge their duties in a respectful way,” Sloma said. “We have individual officers out there who may need additional training and supervision.”
NFTA Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel said she discussed the situation with TSA officials during a recent regular meeting of airport officials. She said she is not aware of any problems but continues to emphasize to all airport stakeholders the need to emphasize “customer service.”
“It’s an uncomfortable situation,” she said of the inspection process, “especially for people who do not travel frequently. It can be intimidating.”
The authority wants to be “proactive” by suggesting additional training in dealing with people intimidated by the screening process, Minkel said.
“Our focus is, we don’t want to wait until there is a problem,” she said.
Jeff Kline, TSA’s deputy assistant federal screening director at Buffalo, said the agency stresses customer service to the “utmost,” adding that compliments outweigh complaints by a 10 to 1 ratio.
“We’ve got to be thorough in our security, but there should be a nice way to deal with our customers,” he said. “I think we really do work hard at that.”
Kline said TSA inspectors on a daily basis encounter travelers who do not understand or who take offense at screening procedures. Those travelers are offered private screenings, he said, and he believes his officers are good at defusing situations.
“But we do follow up on all complaints,” he added.
Still, Sloma assured NFTA commissioners meeting a few days ago that authority staff would keep in mind the competitive situation of the two local airports.
“We want our airports to be successful,” he said. “A good portion of our market is Canadian, and if they’re not happy, they’ll go somewhere else.”
rmccarthy
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It’s been 15 years since commercial air service left Vero Beach
Officials say it likely won’t return
By Ed Bierschenk
Saturday, January 21, 2012
VERO BEACH — West Palm Beach in 1932, unlike Vero Beach, did not offer air service, so notable figures including George Jessel, Norma Shearer and Wallace Beery were shuttled by car from Vero Beach to their final destination.
For the next four decades, Vero Beach offered regular commercial air service from Eastern Airlines before it closed shop and a series of other operators moved in with varying levels of success.
It’s been 80 years since commercial passenger service started in Vero Beach and just more than 15 years since the last regularly scheduled service took off from here.
Chances it will ever return are slim.
“I think it’s gone for good,” said Vice Mayor Craig Fletcher, who doesn’t think it would be economically feasible for such service to be offered at the Vero Beach airport again.
B.L. “Bud” Holman is viewed as the spark plug that ignited commercial air service locally by astutely recognizing an opportunity to make the Vero Beach facility attractive to pilots flying between Jacksonville and Miami.
Planes back in the late 1920s and early 1930s would sometimes need to refuel to make the jaunt between the two cities. Cocoa was seen as the halfway point for the trips, but the drawback at that city’s airport was that pilots had to gas up their own planes.
Holman acquired a portable fuel tank and hired an attendant to dispense the fuel.
By March 1930, the airport was designated an authorized refueling stop for Eastern Air Transport, soon to be renamed Eastern Airlines. Holman was rewarded by being hired as local manager for the airline for $5 per month. His pay doubled when in August 1932 regular air service began at the airport.
By 1950, the company had 15 employees at the airport and increased the number of passengers it carried daily from six to 141, with further growth anticipated. Five daily flights operated out of the airport in the early 1950s with connecting service “to points around the globe.”
Fletcher was about 13 or 14 years old when he flew in an Eastern Airline’s Convair 440 to Orlando to visit his uncle, T.W. Cobb, in the mid-1950s.
“It was such a short flight. You barely got to altitude before you got there,” said Fletcher.
But to a young boy taking his first flight, it was a big event.
Fletcher remembers his mother making sure he wore a suit coat and tie. That was a time, he remembers, when men and women dressed up when flying on airplanes.
There were even two flight attendants, then known as stewardesses, providing service on the short-haul flight.
“You can imagine what an impression it made on me,” said Fletcher. He remembers living it up by requesting a Coca-Cola that he finished at about the same time the plane landed.
The trip made a lasting impact on Fletcher, who credits it with spurring his interest in pursuing a career in the aeronautical industry. He also was inspired by his test pilot uncle, as he went on to become an aeronautical engineer and obtain his pilot’s license.
Downturn in commercial flights
In 1965, Eastern relocated to a new $15,000 terminal building, but by 1972 it had ceased operations locally. A reconstruction of that terminal building was completed in October 2008.
Assistant Airport Director Todd Scher believesthe reason behind Eastern’s decision to leave was its movement to an all-jet fleet. He didn’t think the airline saw it as economically feasible to fly in a 727, that seated 149 to 190 passengers, to a market the size of Vero Beach. In comparison, the Convair 440 held about 40 to 50 passengers.
Following Eastern, Vero Monmouth Airlines operated for about five years offering two daily round trips to Tampa and Miami, which was basically the type of service Eastern was offering right before it ceased operations. The 1970s also saw Florida Atlantic Airlines, Air South, Shawnee Airlines and Florida Airlines briefly offer service at the airport.
In 1979, Chautauqua Airlines commuter airline service instituted service between Orlando and Vero Beach, Lakeland and Ocala. Scher worked as a co-pilot and later captain for the commuter service.
Scher said Chautauqua, an Allegheny Commuter service, was affiliated with USAir and the majority of people traveling on the plane connected with other USAir flights in Orlando to their final destination. Once a passenger checked bags and got a ticket in Vero Beach, they didn’t have to worry about anything else but moving to the connecting flight in Orlando.
The cost to travel to Orlando without a connecting flight was not economical. For instance, the fares to and from Orlando were $56 each way, but it would only cost $8 to $15 each way if a passenger was connecting with another USAir flight, according to a 1987 Indian River County economic report.
According to that report, less than 5 percent of the nearly 17,000 passengers taking the commuter service in 1986 were traveling only to and from Orlando.
Jim McGinn did ticketing and screening for Chautauqua for several years. Baggage was handled by Vero Beach Airport Services, which eventually became Sun Jet Center, where McGinn works.
“It was a pretty busy airline,” remembers McGinn.
While there were some executives who took the service, McGinn said the majority of the passengers were probably older residents who took advantage of a senior citizen coupon booklet offered by the airline at the time.
Scher said the service was flexible enough that pilots were even willing to wait for some passengers going back to Vero Beach if their flight to Orlando was arriving late.
Economics factor in airlines’ loss
By the late 1980s, the service to Ocala and Lakeland had ended and an economic development report done at the time said Vero Beach passenger traffic had lost pace with the county’s growth. It also said it was losing traffic and airport revenues to Melbourne and Orlando and noted the lack of hotel accommodations within the airport grounds.
Scher said the official reason given for Chautauqua ending service at Vero Beach in 1991 was that the airline was getting some new larger, more expensive airplanes they didn’t think could be operated economically in the Vero Beach market.
The last commercial air service flying out of the airport was American Eagle, which lasted only about four months before ceasing operations in February 1996. Vero Beach Municipal Airport Director Eric Menger said they reportedly lost about $200,000 in that time.
Menger said the airline spent a lot in marketing, but was not able to attract the passenger load it needed. At least part of the problem may have been that instead of flying to Orlando for connecting flights, American Eagle flew to Miami where it had connecting flights. While passengers who took the service seemed to like it, Menger said it was difficult to convince some people to fly south to take a flight north.
McGinn said he doesn’t see commercial air service operating at the airport again.
He noted there is regular service available in Melbourne and even it seems to be having a tough time making it.
Scher said if there was a market the airlines thought they could be making money from “they would be calling us.”
Menger would not rule out the possibility of an airline looking to the airport in the future for commercial service, but not under the current conditions that include a high cost of staffing, a need to reconfigure the terminal for commercial service and meeting new, tougher security measures.
“Never rule it out, but the evolution of the regional airlines combined with a limited market in the area makes the chances for airline service to Vero Beach very unlikely in the near future,” he said. “Should airline service evolve to include smaller communities like ours, and the proposed air carrier can make a profit without taxpayer subsidies, then scheduled air service could return to Vero Beach.”
© 2012 Scripps Newspaper Group
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Company presents master plans for Farmington Airport
Company presents master plans for Farmington Airport
By Kurt Madar kmadar@daily-times.com
Posted: 01/22/2012 01:00:00 AM MST
FARMINGTON — Farmington’s airport is not big, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in importance to the area.
Four Corners Regional Airport is one of only three primary commercial service airports in the state. The other two are Albuquerque’s Sunport and the Santa Fe Municipal Airport.
City officials long have recognized the airport’s importance, and high on their capital improvement wish list is making it possible for bigger planes to use the facility.
A major obstacle is the length of the airport’s runways. For years, city officials and local business leaders have talked about how to make them longer. But the airport is built on a mesa, which severely limits the space.
All that may be about to change. A company that specializes in airport surveys has come up with a plan that is remarkably different than anything proposed before.
If a committee of local officials and airport users has its way, it may become a master plan for how the airport will be developed.
They are creating that master plan with the goal being to predict and prepare for projected use patterns over the next 20 years.
As part of that process, WH Pacific, the consulting firm tasked with developing the master plan, presented four options for public comment.
The need
“Four Corners Regional Airport is very important for the region,” said Wendy Renier, senior airport planner for WH Pacific. “It’s had the primary commercial service designation for many years.”
That importance is growing. In the last year, Four Corners has seen a 20 percent increase in the number of passengers. The airport also has seen an increase in business jet traffic.
Despite the demonstrated need, some audience members at a Tuesday meeting felt any changes to Four Corners would be a waste of resources.
“Have you considered a new airport out someplace flat?” asked Joe Ward, who lives just to the west. “That mesa is finite in size and making runways longer is just ridiculous. Why truck in thousands of tons of fill when it could be moved someplace flat and truly become a regional airport?”
Renier agreed that moving the airport was an option, but stressed that WH Pacific was hired to consider the existing site.
“What we were tasked with was how the existing site can be developed to be safe, efficient and compatible with the view of the community,” Renier told the audience. “The travel of larger corporate jets is growing, which is good for economics, but emphasizes the restrictions created by the current infrastructure.”
Four Corners is classified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a BII airport. The designation refers to the approach speed and the wing span of the airplanes the airport can safely support.
A BII designation means the airport is closed to most jets, especially during hot summer months when low air density requires longer runway lengths.
According to use projections, the airport is forecast to go to a CII designation, which means something must be done to increase runway length.
“The city communicated that their vision was to start accommodating regional jets,” Renier said. “Regional jets require a CII classification.”
Tuesday’s presentation was limited to the airside, or runway, of airport operations.
The Options
Options ranged from no change at all to increasing runway size to a CIII classification, which would allow Boeing 737s to use the facility.
According to Renier, it would be possible to upgrade the airport to allow for regional jet use without significantly changing the length or orientation of the runways.
“The third alternative would accommodate a greater mix of business jets and would not require runway extensions,” Renier said. “To allow for regional jets without lengthening runways, it would be necessary to put in EMAS.”
EMAS stands for Engineered Material Arresting System, which acts like a run away truck ramp.
This is where WH Pacific’s proposals start to get creative. In the past, the city considered lengthening runway 25 to allow for regional jet travel, something that came with a hefty price tag.
It also had residents to the east and west of the airport worried about the future of their property.
“They said extending runway 25 would take 2.6 million pounds of fill, which would put a 200-foot pile of dirt right next to my house,” said Jess Markle, who lives to the southwest of the airport.
With WH Pacific’s EMAS proposal, the amount of fill material would be substantially less, and the residences to the west and east of the airport wouldn’t be affected.
However, the Planning Action Committee, consisting of business leaders, local officials and airport users that are helping guide the process, threw their weight behind the final option.
The final proposal was the only one of the four that increased runway length, but it managed the increase without significantly affecting residences close to the airport.
“The question we asked was how do you use the spot where you are now to best accommodate regional jets,” Renier said. “This idea takes the city’s communication to us, about truly being a regional airport with jets, and makes it possible.”
WH Pacific’s fourth proposal closes Four Corner’s primary runway and builds a 10,000-foot runway with a north-to-south orientation. Existing runways run east to west.
“This is obviously the biggest and most costly change,” Renier said. “It is also a completely new concept.”
And there are still questions that need to be answered.
The most important, in a time of tightened purse strings, is where the funding for such a large project would come from. Officials hope, once the master plan is completed and submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration, that it will identify enough of a need that federal funding will be available.
“They fund projects of this size for other airports,” said Airport Manager Ben Trujillo. “Why not here?”
Another potential issue involves the mesa where the airport is built. It continues north all the way to Pi–on Hills Boulevard and has enough room for the new runway, but there is a set of bluffs on the far side of Pi–on Hills that could be a problem.
The Federal Aviation Administration has a set of guidelines for keeping flight paths clear of obstacles, and if the bluffs extend too far into the air, they potentially could interfere.
“These are conceptual plans,” Renier said. “We won’t have all the planning work completed until we know what direction the city wants to go.”
Because the master plan process is far from finished, it may be a while before a direction is finalized.
“For the next part of the process, we will take the recommendation of the Planning Action Committee to the city’s Airport Advisory Commission,” Trujillo said. “They will then make their recommendation to the City Council.”
At that point, the Council will decide which of the four options it wants to adopt as the airport’s master plan, and WH Pacific will provide a more detailed version.
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California Aviation Alliance: Airport News List E-mail
Sent by AviaEd@netscape.net – Lorena de Rodriguez on behalf of CAA subscribers. Add your comments to these stories realtime online at http://aviaed.wordpress.com/.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Airport News List, send an email, from the email account you wish to receive or discontinue CAA posts on, addressed to imailsrv@californiaaviation.org and place only the following in the first line of the body of the message: Subscribe airport YourFirstName YourLastName YourJobTitle YourAirport/Company
Manage your CAA subscriptions with the user friendly Mail List Administration database. You’ll find it at: http://californiaaviation.org/cal/index.cfm
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