Congressman goes to bat for airport neighbors
Last month’s plane crash at Santa Monica Airport has gotten the attention of Congressman Henry Waxman, who has urged the Federal Aviation Administration to make the airport safer for area residents.
Waxman wrote a letter to the FAA last month expressing his concern over the length of use-able runway space and how that could translate into larger jets coming in and out of the airport.
The FAA is proposing that the airport could use more of its runway space, which would permit big business jets to take off and land. But residents in the area want the runways to be shortened at both ends, creating a buffer zone.
“It concerns us greatly because there isn’t a buffer zone there even now,” said Caroline Denyer, a resident who lives near the airport.
Residents in the area asked for an airport safety review after a Cessna 340A skidded off the runway and burst into flames Nov. 13, killing both aboard. Some of the residents live only 220 feet away and are worried that larger planes would bring a new level of threat to their homes.
“Since the accident, I cringe every time a jet goes over head,” said Ellen Mark, who lives three houses from the western end of the runway. “It is frightening to think what would have happened if that accident would have been a jet instead of a prop plane.”
“Since the accident, I cringe every time a jet goes over head. It is frightening to think what would have happened if that accident would have been a jet instead of a prop plane.” — — ELLEN MARK Airport neighbor
The proposed rule change would lesson the access restrictions currently in place for charter companies and allow fractional share companies to operate under general aviation regula-
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 24, 2001. Read the original PDF.