"Analysis looks at Venice airport"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Friday, April 4, 2008

Analysis looks at Venice airport
By John Davis and Zac Anderson
The Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune


With 18 airplane accidents in the past decade, Venice ranks as more
crash-prone than most other small cities with busy general aviation
airports.

A Herald-Tribune analysis of crash data for 16 cities with airports similar
in size to Venice Municipal Airport found Venice in the Top 4 in total
crashes, tied with two other airports and second only to the Chino Airport
in California, which had 22 crashes and incidents over the same period.

Experts stress that every airplane crash is unique and discourage drawing
broad conclusions based only on crash numbers.

But Venice has seen seven air fatalities in the past four years, including
last month's crash in the Gulf of Mexico that killed local insurance agent
Harry Lawrence, causing concerns about the airport's safety.

The Venice airport has about 164,000 takeoffs and landings a year.

The 15 airports analyzed by the Herald-Tribune have between 150,000 and
200,000 takeoffs and landings per year.

The airport, built in the early 1940s as a training field for military
pilots, is a fixture in Venice, and serves as a festival ground. It borders
beaches and residential areas.

The community is divided over the airport's long-term buildout, whether it
should get a control tower and whether it should accommodate jets.

For residents of Venice Island, snowbirds, in the flying sense, really are
birds.

"This time of year, you get more traffic and more visitors," said island
resident Don Marik.

Local pilots say the recent accident does not diminish their enthusiasm for
Venice's airport.

"Aviation is not inherently dangerous, but it is unforgiving," said Nick
Carlucci, a local pilot.

Half of the airports on the list compiled by the Herald-Tribune had no
fatalities since 1998.

"We're knocking on a lot of wood," said Carl Honaker, director of the Palo
Alto Airport in California. That airport had 15 crashes in the past decade
but no fatalities.

"We've been lucky," he said.

What makes one airport lucky and another not lucky is difficult to pin down.

Geography can contribute to accidents, said Chris Dancy, spokesman for the
400,000-member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Taking off over the
Gulf of Mexico on a dark, moonless night could cause vertigo, or pilot
disorientation.

Age could be another factor, if it is determined older pilots are more
accident-prone. The median age in Venice is 69. However, while Dancy said
studies are evaluating the risk posed by an aging pilot population, no
conclusions have been reached.

"There is some evidence that older pilots are involved in more accidents,"
Dancy said. "What's unclear is if that's a result of declining cognitive or
physical abilities or is that because they're retired and have more time, so
naturally there will be more accidents."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, human error played a role
in 73 percent of airplane accidents in 2006.

At the Flagler County Airport near Bunnell, for example, two people died in
2000 when their airplanes collided while practicing aerobatics.

By contrast, Lawrence, 64, crashed his rented plane into the Gulf on March
24 after what was an apparent routine takeoff.

Lawrence was a former Navy pilot who had just begun flying again when his
nighttime practice flight went terribly wrong. The National Transportation
Safety Board has begun a preliminary investigation, and the Lawrence crash
was not included in the data analyzed by the Herald-Tribune.

Venice Airport Manager Fred Watts said it was impossible to say whether the
numbers indicate an airport safety issue.

"There are so many things that go into it," he said, noting that he has not
tracked any trends.

The Arlington (Texas) Municipal Airport was lowest on the list of airports,
with three crashes and no fatalities in the past 10 years.

"It's still safer than driving or walking," Honaker said.

CRASH TRENDS

Crash data over 10 years for 16 cities with airports similar in size to
Venice Municipal Airport:

Chino, Calif.

Chino Airport

 Crashes22

Fatal crashes3

 Fatalities7

Camarillo, Calif.

Camarillo Airport

 Crashes17

Fatal crashes2

 Fatalities2

 Bunnell

Flagler County Airport

 Crashes17

Fatal crashes6

 Fatalities8

 Venice

Venice Municipal Airport

 Crashes18

Fatal crashes5

 Fatalities7

 Titusville

Space Coast Regional Airport

 Crashes15

Fatal crashes4

 Fatalities8

Palo Alto, Calif.

Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County

 Crashes15

Fatal crashes0

Cahokia, Ill.

St. Louis Downtown Airport

 Crashes14

Fatal crashes1

 Fatalities1

Concord, Calif.

Buchanan Field

 Crashes12

Fatal crashes1

 Fatalities4

Farmingdale, N.Y.

Republic Airport

 Crashes10

Fatal crashes0

Islip, N.Y.

Republic Airport

 Crashes9

Fatal crashes0

Pontiac, Mich.

Oakland County International

 Crashes9

Fatal crashes1

 Fatalities2

El Monte, Calif.

El Monte Airport

 Crashes8

Fatal crashes0

San Carlos, Calif.

San Carlos Airport

 Crashes7

Fatal crashes0

White Plains, N.Y.

Westchester County Airport

 Crashes6

Fatal crashes0

Medford, Mass.

Laurence G. Hanscom Field

 Crashes6

Fatal crashes0

Arlington, Texas

Arlington Municipal Airport

 Crashes3

Fatal crashes0

 Sources:

Federal Aviation Administration; National Transportation Safety Board


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