Takeoff Plans Conflict With FAA

The effort by county officials to assure leaders in Tustin and Orange that they want to keep El Toro’s noisy departing airplanes from flying over their communities is at odds with recommendations from the Federal Aviation Administration and the county’s own consultants.

Seeking to pacify mounting concerns by central county residents over potential noise, planners of a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station said they hope to direct northerly flights away from East Orange, North Tustin and Cowan Heights by sending the airplanes directly over the Santa Ana Mountains.

But in an April 3, 1996, memo from a meeting between the FAA and the county’s consultants, federal officials stated that direct northerly departures could cause problems with traffic from John Wayne Airport, Los Angeles and Ontario.

“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,” the memo stated.

In addition, the county’s consultant said last September that departures from El Toro on the northerly runway “must make a left turn in order to avoid terrain and air traffic.”

County planners, however, say that their most recent studies conclude that airplanes can take a straight northerly path if they climb fast enough and avoid flights from other airports.

But the larger questions are, would the heavy jets designated for takeoffs on the northerly runway be able to climb that high quickly enough? And, what altitude would be high enough?

“To the extent that [the proposed northerly takeoffs] make the project more palatable to the community, great,” said Courtney Wiercioch, head of the county’s El Toro airport program. “But if it’s not safe or feasible, we will not pursue it. We are doing our darnedest to avoid the politics to make sure we focus on the most safe, most community-friendly project.”

Wiercioch said consultants could present their findings as early as next week.

But other aviation experts say county planners are offering solutions that won’t work.

“They are going out and finding the politically correct flight path regardless of practicality and then trying to do the study to make it fit,” said David Markeley, a member of the county’s Citizens Advisory Commission, which advises the Board of Supervisors on El Toro airport issues. “It’s really like trying to ram a square peg into a round hole.”

For the last two months, county officials have been quietly meeting with key central county leaders, including former Supervisor Don Saltarelli, in an effort to forge a solution to the potential noise problem that an international airport at the 4,700-acre base would create for some central communities.

The county is planning to present four alternative plans for an airport at the base next month.

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Anti-airport activism has been confined largely to South County cities such as Irvine, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, which would bear the brunt of the airport noise and traffic problem.

Until now, Tustin and surrounding communities have either remained neutral on the airport issue or have expressed qualified support, hoping a new airport would ultimately reduce the number of jets flying over them en route to John Wayne.

But recently, as community leaders in Tustin and Orange became more aware that all cargo and international flights would be flying directly over their communities, they have begun questioning the current plan.

The county could ill afford an erosion of support in these communities since all of South County is already opposed to the plan.

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In the FAA memo, officials say that making a westerly turn over Cowan Heights and Tustin would prevent the airplanes from having to climb a minimum of 4,000 feet, six miles off the runway to avoid the oncoming traffic.

But the county’s September reports state that “heavy aircraft such as the 747 and DC-10 could not fly the procedure at full loads,” meaning that the airplanes would not be to climb quickly enough to avoid traffic if they are carrying a full load of fuel, passengers or baggage.

If the planes fly directly to the north rather than veer to the west, they must climb high enough to avoid the Loma Ridge Mountains, which lie only three miles from the edge of the northerly runway and elevate to 857 feet. At five miles, the mountains elevate to 1,027 feet, according to the Marines.

Whenever the president or vice president land at the base on Air Force One--which would be comparable to a civilian jet--they depart to the south because of terrain and air traffic considerations, said Capt. Matt Morgan, spokesman for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

Wiercioch acknowledges that it could be a challenge to find a way to make the new departure plan work, particularly because the county has slated all of the international and cargo flights--the heaviest and the noisiest jets--to take off in that direction.

“This is very typical to go back and take a real hard look at the nitty-gritty,” she said. The real question is, “Can we establish a minimum climb requirement which would be met by all the aircraft that are using that runway?”

Indeed, airport supporters are optimistic but also realize that the straight northerly departure might not work.

“If ultimately this can’t work it doesn’t mean that that is our only option,” said Peggy Ducey, Newport Beach’s deputy city manager who helped facilitate discussions between the county and central county leaders. “There are ways of working this out. The more you work together and look at different options, the more likely you are able to come up with solutions.”