County Does Not Plan on Using the Safest
Flight Paths
"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 over Newport Beach."
by Captain Stanley G. Sanders II
CREDENTIALS: Captain Sanders is a member of the safety
committee of a major airline and will be writing the safety opinion on
El Toro for a 10,000 pilot union. He has 30,000 hours of flight time, 23
years of flying experience with a major airline, and was formerly a navy
fighter pilot. Captain Sanders is currently supplying technical information
to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.
Date: April 15, 1997
From: Captain Stanley G. Sanders II Phone:
714-499-4375
To: Blanch Thoma, Rally Against the Airport
Subject: El Toro Airport
It does not matter what the Orange County Board of Supervisors,
or the Orange County residents, or the FAA , or the airlines think about
the takeoff and landing patterns of El Toro airport The takeoff and landing
patterns of all airports are determined by wind direction and terrain(obstacles).
The terrain and wind direction at El Toro require that the primary takeoff
runway be away form the mountains and over highly populated areas.
Since the wind direction is out of the west about 99%
of the time, the safest takeoff runway required by the terrain and wind
direction is runway 25 to the west, departing over Irvine and Newport Beach.
Runways 34 to the northwest over Irvine, Tustin, Orange, and Fullerton
, or runway 16 over Laguna Hills , Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel , and Dana
Point would be the safest runways under certain wind conditions.
The residents of north Orange county and Newport Beach
have been misled by proponents of the El Toro airport. The proponents who
stand to make large financial gains from the airport have applied considerable
political pressure and hired consultants to produce reports that favor
El Toro as a viable commercial airport. This report came to the absurd
conclusion that the primary runway for takeoff at El Toro would be runway
7 to the east. They knew that if they could convince the public that runway
7, over the mountains and into noise insensitive areas , would be the primary
runway, then the residents would vote for it and would only find out about
the noise problem after its too late.
It is ironic that the majority of the takeoff noise will
be over north Orange county and Newport Beach, over the very residents
who voted for the airport.
I have spoken with the FAA representative who would have
to approve the airport plan and he has told me privately that runway 7
would not be a viable runway. As usual being a government employee, he
could not comment publicly because he has not had the plan submitted to
him officially. We agreed that runway 7 could never be the safest runway,
and that the FAA requires the pilot in command to use the safest runway
available for departure and landing, and to do otherwise would be a violation
of the pilot’s responsibility for the safety of our passengers. It is an
indisputable fact that runway 7, taking off to the east, could never be
the safest runway for takeoff and would always be the least safe runway
for takeoff.
Proponents argue that if the FAA approves runway 7 for
takeoffs, that it could be mandated the primary runway. When in fact no
one has the authority to override the pilot in command’s decision to use
the safest runway for takeoff or landing. If anyone thinks they have that
authority, I request that they contact me as soon as possible.
In order to optimize safety and traffic volume, one would
have to build two parallel runways in a north northwest direction of about
300 degrees., paralleling both the I-5 freeway and the mountains. But that
would also maximize the noise impact.
The proponents who stand to make large financial gains,
will probably fly their corporate or private jets out of the Orange County
airport using runway 19 into the wind and away from the mountains, or if
they flew out of El Toro , I am quite sure their pilots would takeoff any
direction except to the east. The proponents won’t have to fly out of El
Toro. The airline pilots would have to fly out of El Toro and they will
not put their lives and the lives of their passengers in unnecessary danger
by using the least safe runway for takeoff or landing, for noise abatement
or any other purposes. Asking the pilots whether it is safer to takeoff
into mountains with a tailwind , or into the wind toward the ocean, is
like asking someone whether they would be safer driving with the traffic
or against the traffic on the freeway.
I am on the safety committee of a major airline, and
I will be writing the official opinion letter about El Toro airport for
the union that represents 10,000 airline pilots. I have spoken with my
counter part with the Airline Pilots Association who represents the other
44,000 airline pilots in the United States, together we represent all of
the airline pilots in the United States and we all agree that the takeoff
patterns described above using runways 25,34, and 16 will be the only patterns
that will allow us to safely fly out of El Toro airport, and that no one
disputes the fact that those are the safest runways to use.
In summary, it is not possible to operate airline aircraft
in the safest possible manner out of or into El Toro airport, without making
unacceptable noise levels over highly populated areas, and that the proponent’s
attempt to impose unnecessary noise and safety burdens on the residents
surrounding the El Toro airport for convenience or financial gain is unconscionable.
Proponents might also seek legal advice about their insistence on using
the least safe flight patterns for noise reduction purposes. 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 over Newport Beach.
I have served as a Navy fighter pilot in the Vietnam
era, and have 24 years flying with a major airline currently flying Boeing
757 and Boeing 767 aircraft. I have over 30,000 hours of flight time. I
have been supplying technical information to the White House Commission
on Aviation Safety and Security.
Sincerely yours,
Stanley G. Sanders II
Click here to see Captain Sanders'
earlier statement to the County of Orange, made during public review
of the Environmental Impact Report.
Return to a summary
of comments from four commercial pilots regarding El Toro flight
paths.
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