If an engine fails on takeoff from John Wayne, Los Angeles International, or Long Beach, pilots continue flying, level and low, out over the ocean.

If an engine fails at El Toro, pilots will face mountainous terrain to the east and north.

County statements that these takeoffs are "safe" are based on "all engines operating."

Engine failures are common. See three recent incidents at John Wayne:

Click here for An Incident at San Francisco International

LA TImes, November 16, 1997
"Plane Returns to John Wayne Safely After Engine Fire"
"A Northwest Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at John Wayne... after a bird flew into an engine." 103 passengers and crew were unharmed. "It was the second time in two weeks (and at least the third time in a year) that a plane had to make an emergency landing at John Wayne Airport shortly after taking off."

A passenger is quoted as saying, "We weren't gaining altitude... Then I was hoping that we'd make it to the ocean. I didn't want to go down among a bunch of buildings." Opponents of a commercial airport at El Toro note that plans for that airport call for takeoffs towards mountains where 85 Marines died in a jet transport crash. A pilots losing an engine on takeoff may be forced to make a hard turn away from the rising terrain before instituting other emergency procedures.. See pilot's comments on El Toro flightpaths.  

O.C. Register, Wednesday, November 5, 1997
"Plane lands safely after engine burns"
"The engine of an American Airlines jet burst into flames on takeoff from John Wayne Airport... but the Boeing 757 carrying 110 passengers managed to land safely at the airport five minutes later." "The jet was about two miles south of the airport and about 1,000 feet up when the engine popped and smoke billowed out of the back of it, officials said." The incident was similar to another engine failure on takeoff which occurred last May.

Had the aircraft been flying out of El Toro, it would have been approaching rising terrain at the time of the accident. Emergency procedures for El Toro require that the pilot make a hard turn, away from the mountains, before proceeding with other safety steps. This is one of the objections to the El Toro runway configuration voiced by airline pilots.  

Orange County Register, May 5, 1997
"Flight From O.C. Makes Emergency Stop in L.A...
The United Airlines Jet Has an Engine Explode over Newport Back Bay."
"A United Airlines jet limped to a safe landing in Los Angeles after blowing an engine during takeoff at John Wayne Airport." A manager at McDonnell Douglas Corporation heard the explosion and saw flames from the engine and stated, "The plane shuddered in the air and dipped slightly to the left, then there was a second explosion and stuff coming out of the engine... I was waiting for the wing to catch fire and he didn't have enough altitude to correct."

Air traffic control diverted the Boeing 757 out over the ocean and back to LAX for an emergency landing. Under the county's proposed plans for an airport at El Toro, a pilot facing an engine failure on takeoff will have to execute an emergency hard turn -- away from the mountains which lie in the takeoff direction. 

In June,1998, a 747-400 with around 400 passengers, took off from San Francisco International Airport, bound for Hong Kong.  It almost didn’t make it.

On departure, an engine encountered a compressor stall, and the flight  crew shut it down.  During preoccupation with the emergency procedure, the co-pilot, who was at the wheel, did not keep the plane on course. With two engines on the right side at full power, and only one engine operating on the left, the 747 drifted sideways. The plane cleared a hill northwest of SFO by about 100 feet - less than the wingspan of the aircraft - and the ground proximity warning went off.

An aircraft safety expert, commenting on the incident, notes that departure conditions from El Toro are worse than at SFO.  Wind is much less of a factor in San Francisco.  Furthermore, in San Francisco, pilots need only make a 15 degree turn to pass through a gap between 2 ridges.  At El Toro, emergency procedures to avoid steep mountainous terrain require approximately a 70 degree turn.

The airline involved in the incident has issued a procedure revision and is investigating.

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