"Center Taxiway Expected To Reduce Near-Collisions At LAX"

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Center Taxiway Expected To Reduce Near-Collisions At LAX
KNBC-TV Ch 4 (NBC), Los Angeles (CA)


LOS ANGELES -- A center taxiway on the south airfield of Los Angeles
International Airport, which completes a $333 million project to improve
safety, will reduce the number of near-miss aircraft collisions, city and
Federal Aviation Administration officials said Tuesday.

The $83 million taxiway, which is 10,000 feet long and 75 feet wide, was
described by an FAA official as "one of the most critical safety
improvements at any commercial airport in recent memory."

"I can't overstate the importance of the center taxiway project in promoting
airfield safety here at Los Angeles International Airport," said FAA
National Runway Safety Program Director Wes Timmons. 

"Prior to the project, planes would land on the outer runway, and exit on
the high-speed taxiways that led directly to an inner runway. Too many times
over the years, arriving aircraft and arriving pilots failed to stop in time
and got too close to, or even in the way of, other planes that were taking
off."

Since October, LAX has had two near-misses -- one on the south airfield and
one on the north airfield. And between October 2006 and October 2007, there
were eight such incidents at the airport. The two previous years had the
same number of near-collisions, or incursions, said FAA spokesman Ian
Gregor.

Questions have also been raised about the safety of the north airfield. The
Airport Commission agreed earlier this year to spend millions of dollars on
studies that would identify ways to improve the safety of the airfield.

A report released in 2007 suggested the runways be moved closer to the
Westchester and Playa del Rey neighborhoods. That suggestion drew criticism
from city and county leaders, who said the report's authors failed to
explore a range of alternatives.

"There's a great deal of concern on both sides about this issue," said Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa. "The side of the FAA is concerned about safety. On the
side of the community surrounding (LAX), there's a concern about promises
that have been made over the years to protect the integrity of the
neighborhoods that surround this airport. In addition, the case for safety
hasn't yet been made."

City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes LAX, said he
supports the modernization, not expansion, of LAX. He has continually argued
that more air traffic controllers and the installation of runway status
lights would be enough to reduce incursions on the airfield.

"The south airfield should serve as our model for working with the community
to move forward on LAX modernization," Rosendahl said.

"This is a tremendous victory for us, and is the first step in a process
that will completely change the face of our airport," he said. "As I have
said before --modernize it, don't expand it, and regionalize it. We are now
well on our way to a modern LAX."

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************