Neighbors hope plane crash alters airport policies
By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | ∞
CARLSBAD ---- People who live in homes near McClellan-Palomar Airport said they hope that Tuesday's early morning plane crash leads to a ban on takeoffs and landings prior to 7 a.m., when the control tower opens.
If pilots weren't permitted to use the county-owned airport prior to the tower's opening, the 6:40 a.m. crash that killed four people might not have happened, they said.
"I think this points out the 'quiet hours' issue," said Gail Carroll, a real estate agent who has been leading a campaign to get the airport to be more "friendly" toward its neighbors. "I don't want to make hay over somebody's demise, but it does point to the 'quiet hours' issue."
The "quiet hours" at Palomar stretch from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. During that period, pilots are encouraged not to take off or land at the airport. It's a voluntary requirement, not mandatory measure. Neighbors would love for that to change.
Airport officials said there is no indication so far that the crash ---- one of the worst in the airport's history of more than 40 years ----- was in any way related to the lack of staffing at the control tower prior to 7 a.m.
"It would not have made any difference whatsoever in the incident we had today," said Bill Polick, a San Diego County spokesman who handles airport issues.
Stressing that the investigation is being handled by the National Transportation Safety Board, Polick said early indications are that the plane was not hampered by the lack of air traffic controllers, nor did weather conditions play a part. Others said the plane was fairly new and "some other factor" must have been at work.
Polick said the airport has navigation equipment allowing it to be used by pilots 24 hours a day. When there are no air traffic controllers on duty, pilots announce on a set radio frequency what position they are at and notify others in the area that they are coming in for a landing.
Even if investigators find that the lack of control tower staffing was a factor in the crash, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said it's "extremely highly unlikely" that Palomar's voluntary nighttime operating regulations would change because they are based on a different set of standards relating to noise issues rather than crash data.
Much to the ire of nearby homeowners, the federally established noise guidelines are not mandatory. Unlike San Diego's Lindbergh Field, Palomar isn't considered noisy enough to warrant mandatory requirements.
Carroll, who lives about two miles southwest of the airport in one of a series of housing developments south of Palomar Airport Road, said she usually hears about seven to 10 planes flying over her home during the period of quiet hours. Between 6 a.m. and the crash at 6:40 a.m., she heard three, she said.
Maureen Kube, who lives near Carroll, said she hopes that the crash brings "more attention and sensitivity" to airport issues, but a consultant studying conditions at Palomar said the crash may have no effect on her nearly completed noise study.
Produced by the Florida-based consulting firm URS Corp., the document assesses the airport's impacts on surrounding neighborhoods and recommends changes to the FAA. Paid for by the county, the study is in its final public comment period before going to the federal agency for its review.
Its recommendations include expanding the voluntary nighttime flight ban to include all planes, not just jet traffic. However, the federal agency is free not to accept that recommendation, consultant Deborah Murphy Lagos said.
Tuesday's crash probably will have no effect on the agency's decision on the recommendations because different departments within the agency handle crash issues and noise problems, she added.
"I hate to say it, but they're almost like different companies," she said.
FAA spokesman Mike Fergus confirmed this, saying "they're divorced from each other."
Lagos added that Tuesday's crash won't be mentioned in her new noise report because the document doesn't contain crash statistics. However, if people want their comments incorporated into the report, there is still a week left before the deadline, Lagos said.
Send comments to deborah_murphy@urscorp.com.
Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.
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Kevin wrote on Jan 25, 2006 10:32 AM:How pathetic to use this tragic accident in an attempt to advance someone's personal agenda.
Steve wrote on Jan 25, 2006 11:39 AM:I don't particularly enjoy hearing fire department sirens go off in my neighborhood, but if I ever need those sirens coming to my house, the response time can't be beat. The approach and take off routes at Palomar go over industrial areas. Besides, the airport was there long before your house was built. Deal with it.
Steve wrote on Jan 25, 2006 11:42 AM:Nobody told any of those idiots to move in next to an active airport. They get what they pay for. The real crime is real estate agents who lie like rugs to prospective buyers in order to make a sale.
terry wrote on Jan 25, 2006 11:47 AM:i agree with kevin. airport noise has nothing to do with this plane crash and it was a stupid idea to write an article relating the two. yellow journalism at its best!
JERRY wrote on Jan 25, 2006 1:12 PM:these people are out there! sell your million dollar tract home and move if you dont like it so much. get a life and buy some ear plugs!
Chris wrote on Jan 25, 2006 3:43 PM:I agree, this real-estate agent should not use this unrelated incident to push her goals. That airport has been there for 40 years, she knew it was there when SHE moved there. Noise abatement laws had nothing to do with the accident. Does she complain about the amount of Police/Fire engine sirens also, or should we relocate them also?
Sarah wrote on Jan 25, 2006 4:16 PM:The noise from the Carlsbad Airport is nothing.....I lived in Coronado, on the beach with huge military airplanes all day and all night...now that is noise!!!!! You still have to pay a fortune for a house to live under planes...that's California for you!
another kevin wrote on Jan 25, 2006 4:51 PM:I completely agree that if these people don't want to deal with an airport's noise, they should not move in right next to an airport that was there long before any of those subdivisions were.
David wrote on Jan 26, 2006 8:59 AM:The real issue is why are airplanes taking off and landing without the use of live air traffic controllers. The brilliance of Carlsbad officials and planners is somewhere down with the slugs. Stop being greedy Carlsbad officials-you can not have everything you want. Deal with it !
Tim wrote on Jan 26, 2006 11:50 AM:I am extremely disappointed that several members of the Carlsbad community would use Tuesday’s tragic loss of life to advance their own anti-airport agenda (Neighbors Hope Plane Crash Alters Airport Policies, NC Times 01/25/06). While not suggesting that the airport be closed, residents Gail Carroll and Maureen Kube used the occasion to campaign for their platform of a mandatory curfew at Palomar Airport during the “quiet hours” of 11:00PM to 7:00AM. It is quite disingenuous and factually incorrect to suggest that this accident would not have occurred had the aircraft been making their approach to Palomar after 7:00AM. It was a beautiful morning with good visibility and light winds at the time of the accident and as Bill Polick, of the County of San Diego, stated - the fact the control tower was closed had no bearing on the crash. Landings and takeoffs at uncontrolled runways are a common affair, safely occurring thousands of times a day throughout the country. In one respect, it may have been fortunate that this accident occurred as early in the morning as it did as it may have prevented injuries or fatalities to employees and customers at the self-storage facility which the aircraft hit and engulfed in flames. While it will take the FAA and NTSB several months to make their final determination of the cause of the accident, all indications are that it was due to human error and had nothing to do with the operation of the airport. Palomar Airport is integral part of the national airway system and contributes significant economic benefit to the local community. If anything, we should be exploring ways in which to improve its utility, safety and compatibility with the surrounding community, such as in a lengthened runway and enhanced terminal and parking facilities.
Steve wrote on Jan 29, 2006 11:18 AM:What can I say that has'nt allready been said? I agree with writers such as Kevin,Steve and Jerry. A fellow pilot myself,and having flown in and out of said airport hundreds of times, I can personally vouch for the safety standards allready in place. As for the whining residents with their ocean-view propertys,get out. Get out of Carlsbad, and move to San Fransisco. There, your liberal non-sense, half informed opinion will go much further. I'd be willing to even fly you there myself. So in a nut shell,put up, or shut up.
Rob wrote on Aug 26, 2006 12:21 AM:Any non-pilot will think that an airport WITHOUT an Air Traffic Controller is HORRIBLE!...well your wrong. The aircraft that crashed at palomar was following at least ONE of palomar's Voluntary Noise Abatement Procedures. To fly the ILS (Instrument Landing System). This Approach has the least amount of noise pollution. Also, If the Citation was under an IFR flight plan (what you fly with in the airlines), even if there isn't a controller AT the airport, there is a controller still monitoring you and the traffic around you if any. If not, you do what anybody else does, use the "non-towered operation procedures" which are in the Federal Aviation Regulations / Aeronautical Information Manual (A.K.A. Airmen's Information Manual) Example's of non towered airports: Fallbrook Community Airpark, Oceanside Airport, French Valley Airport located in Temecula, and ANY private airport. Maybe to ease some of the pain, even airlines fly into airports without Controllers located "ON" the airport. Socal/Tracon Approach and Departure will go on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, and give you similar information a controller AT the airport would. In order to get your pilot's license you have to have practice at them. Certain people don't understand the reality of flying. Palomar Airport used to be a small airport until it's runway was extended. Now, it is one of the busiest single runway airports in the U.S. It isn't THE busiest, but it's up there. Question, before you buy a care you test drive it right? Why don't you "test drive" a house before you buy it!? Logical isn't it? Thought so... Another note, Some people complain about Mercy Air and it flying too low, and over their house. Want to know what is funny? Have you people ever considered what service mercy air provides? It is flying to save PEOPLE's LIVES...so you'd rather let somebody die so you can get 1 minute of beauty sleep or hear that one word that your missing from the T.V.? People want to make light of 4 people dying!? Ok, here's an example. Let's say a Bus full of children die because the driver fell asleep at the wheel, and the bus driver was only 1 block from the school. if i was the citizen's in question, i would say,"ok, the school needs to be shut down because of this Bus crash." makes you think twice, doesn't it? I can think of reasons as a pilot, to learn from the crash, such as: don't come in for a landing at double the speed i should be, be smart in my decsions, think ahead of the airplanes, etc. Ok, did anybody think of this one now? so the pilot crashed 20 minutes shy of the end of "quite hours"...maybe he had a tailwind, and planned to be at the airport at 7 a.m. sharp? Did anybody ever think of that? didn't think so...I haven't heard ONE thing so far on that possible idea. People need to grow up, and take responsibility for what they buy, and talk about. I mean, if you knew somebody in that crash, how would you feel if people didn't care about your loved one, but said, that it was a good thing they died because now i can SLEEP?...honestly, that would make you feel like crap. (pardon the language) In some ways, people have a right to complain, but i live near the airport, and even though i'm a pilot myself, i hear my neighbors music, the cars speeding down the street, and lawn mowers louder than the airplane(s) flying over head. That's my opinion, what's yours? - Rob
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