By Brian R. Bland Santa Monica
Regarding the letter by businessman Michael Tennenbaum of May 15, 2008, who owns an aircraft of the type targeted by the city’s ban on Class C and D jets: The ban, passed 7-0 by the City Council, affects only a small percentage of the total aircraft using Santa Monica Airport (SMO) and only half the current jet operations, i.e., about 12-13 takeoffs and landings per day, on average. But those C and D jets present the gravest danger to residents because of their takeoff and landing speeds and their size. Overruns by these kinds of planes at airports similar to SMO are well documented and are the reason the council, responding to citizens’ concerns, voted for the ban.
Mr. Tennenbaum is understandably concerned about his business but implies all the benefits it brings to Santa Monica depend on the operation of his plane. I wonder what he thinks the community’s reaction would be if that plane undershot or overran our less-than- 5,000-foot runway and smashed into traffic or the homes just dozens of yards away? SMO has no overrun areas and is not designed for such aircraft. The FAA is sidestepping its own guidelines in allowing them to use SMO. A former head of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jim Hall, has said the C and D jets present a clear danger at this facility.
One part of the letter is simply gratuitous — the insulting speculation that the council passed the ban because it was indebted to some residents and wanted to provide them a windfall gain. I agree that the homes in the most danger (mine is not one) are worth more if standing than if incinerated by a jet. But eliminating a few jet operations each day for safety’s sake will not hugely increase their value. What the council owes the community is to put its safety first and the ban is part of that effort.
Rather than making a veiled threat of pulling his company out of Santa Monica, think of the accolades Mr. Tennenbaum (and his company) would receive for leadership and citizenship if he also put safety first and cooperated with the city and its residents by doing any one of the following: using a smaller plane; relocating his current aircraft to another facility; or flying commercial.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2008. Read the original PDF.