Friday, November 15, 2013

Letter: Airport poses no significant threat

from smdp.com



Airport poses no significant threat

By  on  in Opinion
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Editor:
It’s high time to clear the air with regard to the so-called “Santa Monica-connected” aviation accidents people have been bandying about recently (“The saga of Santa Monica Airport,” Our Town, Nov. 12). These are a compendium of accidents and incidents occurring between 1982 and 2011, a period of 29 years, which are alleged to demonstrate that Santa Monica Airport is unsafe. Indeed, they show just the opposite.
First of all, this list includes Santa Monica-based aircraft involved in accidents occurring outside of the city and local area. What possible significance does that have? There is no Santa Monica connection with accidents occurring elsewhere, just as there is no pertinent Santa Monica connection with automobile accidents occurring in other cites and states involving cars operated by Santa Monica residents. Remember that pilot training and regulation is a federal prerogative, not a local one, and is uniform throughout the nation.
Of the 83 incidents listed, 15 occurred in the local airport area; on average, one every other year. It is a fact that no one on the ground here in Santa Monica has died in the last 95 years as a result of aviation operations at SMO. These represent a minuscule fraction of operations here and are clearly not justification to declare the airport unsafe. With regard to accidents occurring within the confines of the airport proper, that is not unusual, nor is it unexpected and it does not translate into a threat to the surrounding communities.
If anything, these numbers serve only to emphasize how safe operations at SMO really are. By comparison, for the year 2008, there were 701 traffic-related deaths and injuries on the streets of Santa Monica and there were 681 in 2010, making Santa Monica the most dangerous in California for its size. Traffic fatalities average about three per year. In 29 years that works out to about 87 deaths and about 20,000 injuries for the same interval. If the airport did, in fact, represent a threat to local residents, one could reasonably expect life insurance to cost more for nearby residents, or property values near the airport to be depressed, but this is not the case.
It would be time better spent for those people who are truly interested in risk management around Santa Monica to watch where they are going and not waste time looking up at the sky and fretting about aircraft that pose no significant threat to them.

Bill Worden
Venice, Calif.

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Lawsuit filed against pilot in Santa Monica Airport crash

from scpr.org



AP | 
Jet Crash

Nick Ut/AP

Two cranes are set in position to lift the wrecked hangar buildings off the remains of a crashed jet plane, before investigators try to retrieve remains and the jet's cockpit voice recorder at the airport in Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. A lawsuit against the estate of the pilot, who died in the crash, has been filed on behalf of the family of one of the passengers who were killed.
The family of a woman killed when a private jet crashed into a hangar at Santa Monica Airport in September has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of the pilot who also died in the accident.
KCBS-TV reports the suit was filed Tuesday on behalf of Kyla Dupont's three sons. The suit claims pilot Mark Benjamin negligently maintained, controlled and landed the twin-engine Cessna which crashed Sept. 29, killing all four people aboard.
The suit seeks unspecified damages.
A preliminary investigative report by the National Transportation Safety Board provides no indication of why the aircraft crashed.
Santa Monica officials sued the Federal Aviation Administration last month to gain control of the city's embattled airport, which local groups want to turn into a park.

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Saturday, November 2, 2013

City Hall Sues FAA Over Future of Santa Monica Airport

from surfsantamonica.com




Santa Monica Real Estate Company, Roque and Mark

Harding Larmore Kutcher & Kozal, LLP law firm
Harding, Larmore Kutcher & Kozal, LLP
By Jason Islas
Staff Writer
November 1, 2013 -- City Hall announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish local control over the future of Santa Monica’s controversial airport.
Santa Monica has petitioned federal courts to declared that the City has full title to the 227-acre parcel on which the airport sits and, therefore, the FAA’s claim that the City is required to operate the land as an airport for “in perpetuity” is unconstitutional.
“The bottom line is we need to be in control of the airport’s future,” Mayor Pam O’Connor told The Lookout Thursday. “We think we have a good case.”
Much of that case hinges on the fact that, in 1984 the City agreed to operate the land as an airport until at least 2015 in order to settle a dispute with the FAA over whether the City could cap airplane operations at the airport.
With the end of that agreement approaching, City Hall feels that it is in a strong position to assert its right to take control -- and possibly close -- the airport.
In preparation of the upcoming end of the 1984 agreement, the City held a three-year visioning process which officials said was the largest in the city’s history.
The decision to sue the FAA came after the Council reviewed the report last spring and directed staff to try to reach a voluntary agreement with the federal agency. ("Council Raises Landing Fees, Explores Partial Closure of Santa Monica Airport," May 2)
But the FAA has reasserted its claim that the City can’t ever close the airport because of legal obligations imbedded in property transfers that occurred just after World War Two.
"We met in Washington many times, and conveyed community concerns and proposed possibilities for changes, including operational changes, that could significantly reduce many of the Airport’s adverse impacts,” City Manager Rod Gould said in an official statement released Thursday.
“The FAA representatives were polite and respectful. But, they were simply unwilling or unable to agree to any changes that could bring significant relief to Airport neighbors,” he said.
The airport has its share of detractors, including several neighborhood groups that have sprouted up over the years to oppose to what they see as a dangerous -- and unhealthy -- use of land in their backyard.
“We are excited that the City is taking the step to confirm its rights to determine the future of the airport land, which it has owned for almost a century, during most of which time it has benefited only a few Santa Monicans,” former Lookout columnist Frank Gruber said on behalf of Airport2Park.org.
As a co-founder of Airport2Park.org, Gruber and his allies have advocated for the airport’s closure and for the land to be converted into a massive park.
Airport2Park.org is not alone.
Marty Rubin, founder of Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution (CRAAP), lives in the Los Angeles neighborhood just south of the airport.
He applauded the City’s decision to sue the FAA.
“If this lawsuit will get us the results we need quickly then we applaud the City for taking this action,” he told The Lookout Thursday.
That’s a big “if,” however, since the FAA has proven a formidable opponent in the past.
Most recently, in 2008, the FAA successfully blocked City Hall’s attempt to ban jets at the airport. ("City Prepares to Respond to FAA," June, 2008)
If the City loses this lawsuit, it will be back to the drawing board, said City Manager Rod Gould.
O’Connor said that it is possible that the City could lose but that she’s confident.
“Can the federal government say ‘for all eternity’” Santa Monica has to operate that airport? she asked rhetorically. She doubted that was likely.
This time, the City might also expect to have some powerful allies in its corner for the upcoming fight.
Recently, senior Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman has added his voice to the chorus calling for the FAA to at least sit down with residents to discuss the airport’s post-2015 future. ("Congressman Wants FAA Forum on Santa Monica Airport's Future," July 18)
But the FAA has refused Waxman’s invitation.
To help shore up its case, the City will be working with the international law firm, Morrison & Foerster (MoFo), which boasts more than 1,000 attorneys, according to City Hall.
“This is the first step,” said O’Connor. “We’ll see what its outcome is.”
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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Santa Monica jet crash investigation starts again post-government shutdown

from scpr.org



Hayley Fox | 
Jet Crash

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

The investigation of a fatal crash that happened at the Santa Monica airport last month was put on hold during the government shutdown. Now transportation safety officials are back to work, and hope they haven't lost any "perishable" evidence in the meantime.
The investigation of a fatal crash at the Santa Monica Airport last month was put on hold because of the federal government shutdown.
Van McKenny is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator who's looking into the crash. He said most of the critical information in the case is "perishable" and needs to be gathered quickly.
"Witness statements of people who happen to be there, any debris or ground scars or skid marks on the runway that can fade over time ... things like that are the type of things we try to collect on scene that can get disrupted over time," said McKenny.
When McKenny arrived at the incident in September, he said he spent much of the time photographing the damage and collecting witness statements. But the approximately two-week government shutdown halted all work and delayed the preliminary report. 
“There’s a loss of some investigative information," he said. "I hope to have minimized that with my work on scene there the day before the shutdown.” 
NTSB  workers were back to work on Thursday and are picking up investigations where they left off. For McKenny, this means collecting more maintenance records and re-examining the wreckage.  
The private jet crashed into a hangar and burst into flames at the end of last month. The incident gave newmomentum to a community campaign to shut down the Santa Monica Airport amid safety concerns. Some residents say the noise and plane exhaust is also a nuisance. 
The City of Santa Monica has tried to reduce air traffic at the airport for many years, mostly without success.
A preliminary report on the crash is expected sometime next week.
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Saturday, October 12, 2013

THE Q-LINE: TOO SOON?

from smdp.com
Last month’s crash of a small jet at Santa Monica Airport has reignited the debate over whether or not the airport should be closed.

So, this week’s Q-Line question asked:

Do you think the crash highlights what’s wrong with the airport or was it just a tragic accident?

Here are your responses:

“I think that the crash was just a tragic accident. I’m just sick of all the people who live around the airport who want to close it down. The airport was there long before they even moved in, and they knew it was there. Now they’re trying to close it. It just doesn’t make sense. We need the Santa Monica Airport.

“I think the airport is an utmost necessity. I think that the crash was just a tragic accident. We desperately need our airport. It does a lot of good. What if there’s a major tragedy? We need that airport as an adjunct to LAX. If there’s a major tragedy, people need to get out. It is an utmost, dire necessity.”

“I think the crash was just a terrible accident. It seems that perhaps pilot error, something about mechanical failure — those kinds of things just happen throughout the city of Los Angeles and Santa Monica. You cannot prevent them. The airport is a very positive aspect of our community. It’s a wonderful space around the airport and all the things that have been added to it make it a delightful place. The landing and taking off of planes is very interesting. I do think that perhaps at night the corporation jets should be somehow made more quiet, but other than that I think it really runs well. The whole notion of trying to close the airport is just nonsense.”

“What’s wrong at the Santa Monica Airport is the jets that should never have been allowed to use it. A piston-engine aircraft would have never caused as much damage or as intense of a fire. Get rid of jets, and for emergency needs use helicopters so the length of the runway is not an issue.”

“I think the crash at the airport was just a tragic accident. The people of Santa Monica are all a bunch of whiners. They bought their houses long after the airport was already put in place. They knew the airport was there when they bought their house. Now they want to cry about it and close it down. Too bad for them. Keep the airport.”

“Yes, it was a tragic accident, but it certainly highlights what’s wrong with the airport and why we no longer need this noisy, polluting, highly dangerous neighbor. I read some disturbing statistics on what would have happened had it been a larger jet which crashed on take off. And the suggestion is that we lose several blocks of our beloved city here in Santa Monica and it’s been past time to replace it with something we can all use. Hey, how about a park? Anything would be better than those jets flying over our heads.”

“Yes, I think that the airport should be closed and the crash highlights what’s wrong with the airport; just too many airplanes coming in now. It seems it was nice and small when we first moved in 20 years ago, and now the onset of LAX not taking people that wanted to go to LAX. All that Santa Monica is doing is giving money to the planes that are disturbing to the neighbors. My other question would be, didn’t they have a law about all the people in the planes? That distresses me, as far as safety and issues regarding who is on the planes and what kind of security and safety checks the passengers are actually going through in these small airports. Because, I know at LAX, we have to go through a lot of trouble to get on a plane and everybody knows our name and has a law for everyone on that plane. So, I’d be curious to know how the security works at these airports, seeing as they didn’t know who the passengers were on the plane and I’d think that every small plane would have a log of all passengers.”

“The intensity of the jet fuel-fed fire that destroyed the plane and hangar at Santa Monica Airport underlines the danger of Santa Monica Airport being a jet landing field. This small jet killed its four passengers. Imagine what might happen if one of the many larger, faster jets that use the airport had careened off the runway or overshot the landing area. … Santa Monica Airport is not designed to safely handle the larger jets that have to land at about 150 miles an hour to keep from stalling before they touch down. They are too big and too fast. L.A.’s Van Nuys is suitable for such aircraft, but apparently it is not convenient for wealthy Westside residents and their companies.”
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Tuesday, October 8, 2013

4th Plane Crash Victim Officially Identified as Lucas Benjamin

from patch




Lucas was the 28-year-old son of Mark Benjamin. His father was flying the plane when it crashed at Santa Monica Airport on Sept. 29.
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A photo of the crash taken from a Mar Vista backyard. Credit: Valerie Vanderwest
A photo of the crash taken from a Mar Vista backyard. Credit: Valerie Vanderwest
By City News Service
The Los Angeles County coroner's office today publicly identified the fourth person killed in a small jet's crash last Sunday at the Santa Monica Airport.

The coroner's office today confirmed that Lucas Benjamin, 28, of Malibu, was killed in the crash, said coroner's investigator Dana Bee. Earlier, the coroner's office had released of three others killed in the crash: Lauren Winkler, 28, of and Kyla Dupont, 53, both of San Diego, and Mark Benjamin, the younger man's 63-year-old father and a Malibu resident.

The twin-engine Cessna Citation 525A, which took off in Hailey, Idaho, slammed into a hangar after veering off the runway about 6:20 p.m. Sunday as it landed, causing the structure to collapse and sparking an explosive fire that spread to two other hangars.

The elder Benjamin, president of Santa Monica-based Morley Builders, was believed to have been at the controls. Winkler worked for an organization called Save A Child's Heart, which provides free open-heart surgery in Israel to children from Africa and the Middle East, according to an article written by a friend of the woman's father. In the article, which appears on the website of Irvine-based BusinessGhost Inc., company President and CEO Michael Levin writes that Winkler was as a fundraiser and executive at Save A Child's Heart.

The cause of the crash was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, but the probe has been delayed because of the federal government shutdown.
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Monday, September 30, 2013

SoCal CEO, Son ID'd in "Unsurvivable" Santa Monica Airport Crash

from nbc


Crews plan to lift a collapsed hangar from a plane that crashed and burned Sunday at Santa Monica Airport

By Jonathan Lloyd and Toni Guinyard
|  Monday, Sep 30, 2013  |  Updated 5:20 PM PDT
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Private Jet Crashes, Burns at Santa Monica Airport
Valerie Vanderwest (via Twitter @valerierv)
A dark plume of smoke rises from Santa Monica Airport after a small jet crashed into a hangar during an attempted landing, according to FAA officials.
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A Southern California construction company's CEO and his son were aboard a plane that burned Sunday in what authorities described asan "unsurvivable" crash at Santa Monica Airport, according to a statement from the firm.
The statement from Morely Builders identified two people aboard the small plane as CEO Mark Benjamin and his son, Luke Benjamin, a senior project engineer with the Santa Monica-based company.
"We are aware of a plane crash at Santa Monica Airport last night," according to the statement. "While we do not have specific facts, we believe that our President and CEO, Mark Benjamin, and his son, Luke Benjamin, a Senior Project Engineer with us, were on board."
The Morley Construction statement did not indicated whether there were other occupants in the twin-engine Cessna Citation. The coroner's office has not identified the victims and authorities have not determined how many people were aboard the plane.
An NTSB official said Monday afternoon the agency has not been in contact with the company.
"We have not identified or recovered any victims," said Van McKenny, of the NTSB.
NTSB officials said there is "an indication" the plane had a cockpit voice recorder. The pilot did not indicate there was a problem with the plane and authorities cannot confirm that the landing gear's tire was damaged during the landing, NTSB officials said.
"There was no communication with the pilot indicating there was a problem at any time during the flight," McKenny said.
The plane veered off the runway and crashed at the airport, located in a densely populated neighborhood about two miles from the Pacific Ocean, at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday. The plane, which departed from Hailey, Idaho, slammed into a metal storage hangar, which then collapsed around the burning wreckage.
Crews planned to use a crane Monday to lift the roof of the hangar, allowing investigators to access the plane. The crane was not expected to arrive until about 3 p.m.
A National Transportation Safety Board member official said crews are still in "recovery mode."
The airport runway remained closed Monday morning.
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