Contact:  Meg Waters  Waters & Faubel, Inc.    949-718-4977  cell: 949-584-4974

EL TORO NOT PROVEN SAFE FOR COMMERCIAL AVIATION

FAA manager ignores industry safety experts and August study which concluded that the El Toro
airspace is too congested to support a safe airport

IRVINE, CA – November 2, 2000 -- The debate over safety at the proposed El Toro airport has been confused by the FAA’s Western Regional Director’s letter and conclusions to Supervisor Tom Wilson that flies in the face of public statements made by FAA headquarters in Washington D.C., the Air Traffic Controllers, The Airline Pilots Association, numerous air transportation experts and citizens.

“Herman Bliss, FAA manger of airports for the Western Region merely said that flights could be “safely accommodated,” but that has never really been an issue.  The real question completely avoided by Bliss was  -- can the current proposed El Toro airport plan be made safe?” said El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA) Executive Director Paul Eckles.

The MITRE report on the airspace problems with El Toro is based on only 156 flights per day operating out of El Toro. The County’s Airport System Master Plan (ASMP) states there will be more than 824 flights per day.  Yet with a significantly reduced number of daily flights, the FAA-sponsored MITRE report states that there are grave concerns about air traffic safety from an airport at El Toro.  The report also questions the conflict with departures to the north and recommends a left turn over Irvine upon departure.  This departure is not included in the county’s environmental study.  Furthermore, the MITRE report recommends another runway be designated for departures, which would mean that Runway 25, over Irvine, would have to be used.

ETRPA has never suggested that limited flights during perfect weather conditions couldn’t be flown.  The number one concern of all air travelers and residents of Orange County has to do with flight operational safety in all types of weather conditions.  Mr. Bliss seems determined to justify the safety of the proposed County plan before his own agency completes its review of the ASMP.

By Mr. Bliss’ own words, his conclusion was reached prior to the Federal Aviation Administration completing its own detailed airspace analysis. His opinions as a career federal bureaucrat have failed to sway the view of the pilot’s unions and air transportation experts who remained convinced that El Toro as proposed by the Board of Supervisor’s majority is unsafe.

“Millions of Americans place their lives in the hands of pilots every day to safely depart and arrive at their destinations.  We have confidence in the professional skill and training of these airline professionals, but I think it’s safe to say that the flying public does not have the same confidence in obscure career bureaucrats from a regional office of the FAA,” stated Eckles.  Mr. Bliss no sooner advised Supervisor Wilson that “flights from the existing facility could be safely accommodated” than he added that the “airspace analysis will not be completed until standard instrument departure and arrival procedures are developed.”

“Putting the cart before the horse seems to be the best description of Mr. Bliss’ conclusion. The earliest completion date for the FAA’s complete analysis is March 2001.  However, Mr. Bliss has refused to allow access to the critical MITRE Corporation’s airspace analysis on the grounds that it is only a portion of the total analysis.  Unfortunately, however, this has not prevented Mr. Bliss from looking into his own crystal ball and deciding that the report will conclude something that virtually every aviation expert in Southern California has refused to recommend—proceeding with the faulty and unsafe County of Orange El Toro airport scheme,” said Eckles.
###