The question we are asked most frequently is, "Will the planes fly over my home?"  If the answer had been known, Measure A might not have passed.

The answer is still unclear, because of a conflict between safety in the air and noise on the ground.

County says takeoffs will be to the east and north -  but then where?

• Flight path info from the county keeps changing. Here is the original "official" map from the county 1996 environmental impact report, plus a revised June 1998 proposal for north takeoffs into the mountains. Look at this info and then come back here to see what experts have to say about the county plans.
• The FAA won't approve the County's flight paths until the airport plan is complete..
• Where will the planes circle and where will they turn?  Click for one clue.
• Runway designations used in the letters, and their flight headings:
• Runway 7 - East -  also referred to as Runway 8
• Runway 16 - South
• Runway 25 - West
• Runway 34 - North  - also referred to as Runway 35
• Note:  7 and 25 are the same runway used in opposite directions.  Ditto 16 and 34.
• Click here for a free noise demo of 5 different proposed takeoff routes.
• Click here for EIR 573's flight path interaction with other area airports.

• Military Runways Aren't the Safest for Commercial Flights. Experts at the 55,000 member Air Line Pilots Association argue for removing the existing runways and realigning the flight paths, even if that means an all new airport.
• Latest, 2/16/00 letter from the Air Line Pilots Association, ALPA objects to several features of El Toro.
• Second Pilots Union Opposes Using El Toro Runways. The pilots of American Airlines make it unanimous - that military runways and flight paths will not be used.
• Captain Sanders says,  "It will be of little comfort to the relatives of those who die in the mountains to know that they died so that less noise would be made..."
• Engine failures.  The county minimizes a serious problem when taking off into mountainous terrain.
• Who Okayed Straight-North Takeoffs? The county never asked the FAA for approval.
• North Takeoffs.  Photos show Loma Ridge, site of the worst air disaster in Orange County history.
• Captain Quilter answers some "not so frequently asked question", including why some proposed landings can't be made.
• Captain Quilter discusses takeoff risks in response to EIR 573.

Pilots will decide.  The FAA leaves the final decision to the pilots regarding takeoffs over Irvine.
West takeoffs.  Where might the planes fly from there?  A graphic representation.

• Are You Under the Northbound Flight Path? Captain Earl McKenzie says "the noise level will be deafening over Tustin, Lemon Heights, portions of Santa Ana, Orange, Garden Grove and Anaheim."
• Poetic Airport Irony. Captains Charles Quilter sees "considerable noise and pollution" in Tustin, Orange and Fullerton. (Villa Park is on the same heading.)
• Captain Quilter writes to the Los Angeles Times to set the record straight. Safety dictates that pilots must take off west towards populated areas, not east towards the mountains.
• Anaheim wants a right turn after crossing Loma Ridge, to reduce noise near Anaheim Hills.

• WHEN VICE-PRESIDENT AL GORE DEPARTED FROM EL TORO ON MARCH 20TH 1998, IN AIR FORCE 2, HIS PILOT CHOSE TO TAKEOFF ON RUNWAY 16 TO THE SOUTH.
• More Planes Overhead. Captain Stanley G. Sanders advises that, "The safest runways" require flights over Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Irvine and Newport Beach.
• Captain Todd Thornton thinks that the planes taking off to the north may then have to turn south,to avoid LAX air traffic, and willoverfly Newport Beach and Corona Del Mar.

The AirLine Pilots Association objects to landings that approach from the north over Loma Ridge.

The FAA gives the pilots discretion to select the safest runway.  Click here.

The FAA provides some input on El Toro, but will not take an "official" position at this time.

A Freedom of Information Act request, filed with the FAA, forced disclosure of a report on a meeting held April 30, 1996 between representatives of the FAA and the County's P&D Consultants, Inc. Concerning the takeoff path from the northbound runway (34) it notes:

"FAA staff agree that the preferred procedure for departing Runway 34 would be to initiate a left turn within 1.3 miles of the departure end of the runway and stay within MCAS El Toro airspace... Using this procedure, aircraft would not have a minimum climb requirement to avoid interactions with John Wayne Airport traffic and would probably be kept under 4,000 feet until reaching the coastline."

"It is unlikely that MCAS El Toro Runway 34 departures would be allowed to continue northward due to the amount of traffic which already exists to the north."

"An official airspace review by the FAA could probably not be obtained until an airport option is selected and an Airport Master Plan was well underway or completed."

This would put aircraft over Irvine, UCI and portions of the Newport/Corona del Mar coast.

"A single DC-10 takeoff's pollution is equal to 21,530 cars driving one mile at 30 mph." - AReCO

"One aircraft takeoff burns up tens of thousands of pounds of fuel. A physicist remarked that one 747 takeoff is 'similar to burning down the local gas station and flying it overhead.'" - AReCO