"Deadline to address FAA problems at Georgia airport looms"

Monday, February 20, 2006

Deadline to address FAA problems at airport looms
By Travis Fain
The Macon (GA) Telegraph


Tuesday marks a Federal Aviation Administration deadline to address problems
at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, and Macon Chief Administrative
Officer Regina McDuffie said she's confident the airport will meet that
deadline.

Some problems cited by the Federal Aviation Administration are still being
addressed, but McDuffie said she thinks the airport can keep its operating
certificate, keeping intact its schedule of four commercial flights a day to
and from Atlanta.

"Some of the things that (the FAA is) looking at will be ongoing (beyond
Tuesday), such as training our personnel and making sure that we stay in
compliance," McDuffie said.

But other items - such as the replacement of runway lights and other
maintenance issues - should be checked off the to-do list by Tuesday,
McDuffie said. A larger project to redo runway markings at the airport will
take longer, likely into the spring, but it is under way, McDuffie said.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said federal officials have been consulting
with local airport officials "pretty much constantly" since citing the
airport for problems in a Dec. 22, 2005, letter. Beyond that, Bergen said,
"it wouldn't really be appropriate for us to address the specifics in the
letter."

An evaluation will be done Tuesday, she said, and the FAA will "make a
determination on what the next steps will be."
The Dec. 22 letter noted several problems at the airport, most dealing with
airport lights and signs in disrepair, insufficient runway markings and a
lack of qualified personnel.

A follow-up letter, dated Jan. 12, 2006, stated that this lack of
"sufficient, qualified personnel" was the "root cause of discrepancies found
on the airfield." Failure to correct the violations, the letter stated, "may
lead to enforcement action, including suspension of the airport operating
certificate."

No operating certificate means no commercial flights.

The airport is also dealing with separate violations cited by the
Transportation Security Administration. The TSA handles security at
airports, and the FAA looks primarily at safety concerns. The TSA has been
more secretive about problems at Middle Georgia Regional, citing a need to
keep the specific nature of security problems out of the public eye. City
Council members and others who have been briefed on the situation have
signed non-disclosure agreements.

"We are continuing to work with the airport, and our hope is they will come
into full compliance with our regulations," TSA spokesman Christopher White
said last week.

There's a March 31 deadline to address TSA issues, McDuffie said.

McDuffie said the city has interviewed four candidates for an important
operations manager position at the airport. The city also solicited
temporary help from airport officials in other cities. Some training for
current airport staff has begun and more is planned, including an emergency
readiness drill scheduled for Wednesday, McDuffie said.

An airport security plan also is being rewritten, she said.

Meanwhile, airport leadership is up in the air. Former director George Brown
is appealing to City Council in an effort to get his job back. Brown says he
was fired, but a city human resources report lists him as retired.

But the city already is looking for a permanent replacement, having brought
in former Macon aviation director Rex Elder on a temporary basis.

Earlier this month, Macon Mayor Jack Ellis also said he planned to have
Macon-Bibb County Parks and Recreation Director Mike Anthony pull double
duty, managing his department and managing the airport on a part-time basis.

McDuffie has said no one will be hired as a permanent director until Brown's
appeal runs its course. A hearing has been scheduled for March 8, according
to Brown's attorney, Robert Lovett.

"We've been just trying to clear Mr. Brown's name," Lovett said. "This man
has incredible credentials. ... He is a retired major from the United States
Marine Corps."


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