NLV airport concerns could prompt study

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Monday, April 7, 2003 | 11:06 a.m.

The chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee plans to ask federal officials for a comprehensive study of aircraft crashes that originated at the North Las Vegas Airport.

State Sen. Raymond Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas, said he realized more information was needed about safety at the airport when he was considering legislation before the committee dealing with airport noise.

"I worry about congestion at the airport," Shaffer said. "If we continue to allow congestion, we have to ensure safety as well."

Senate Bill 291 would allow Clark County, the airport's operator, to restrict the hours of operation at the airport as well as the number of takeoffs and landings. Neighborhood organizations have lobbied for the legislation because of ongoing noise complaints.

The legislation will be considered by the committee Thursday if Shaffer determines enough interest in the committee.

Last year there were eight aircraft crashes in North Las Vegas, one of which was fatal.

Last week two planes crashed after taking off from the North Las Vegas Airport. Two people were killed Friday when a single-engine plane being used for a private pilot check flight slammed into the desert. No one was seriously injured when another small plane crashed next to an apartment complex in the 2800 block of North Rancho Drive on March 30.

"It's very hard to bring the safety issue together with the noise issue," Shaffer said Friday.

"Maybe it's time to have an investigation into the number of crashes, to make sure it's safe for those who patronize the airport and the surrounding area," he said.

The senator said he is considering writing a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration after the Legislature finishes in June. He wants to ask the agency to look into issues such as when crashes have occurred, what types of planes were involved and how the number of crashes at North Las Vegas Airport compares with other airports.

Donn Walker, spokesman for the FAA's regional office, said the federal agency would entertain any serious request by Shaffer.

"The senator is obviously doing his job," he added.

Walker added that the request may be better directed to the National Transportation Safety Board, whose job it is to investigate crashes.

Ed Gobel, president of the Council of Nevada Veterans Organizations, said his group and several neighborhood associations support the anti-noise legislation. But he also thought it could address safety concerns while dealing with noise.

"One of the reasons we have so many planes falling out of the sky is because of the number of takeoffs," he said.

But Hilarie Grey, spokeswoman for the airport, said SB291 would not change anything at the airport because a 1990 federal law established that federal authority supersedes any local authority on airport matters.

At the same time, she said, the county would welcome any study that would make the airport safer.

Grey added that there are already policies in place to protect the public on the ground from airplane and helicopter accidents.

An example of these policies are areas stretching 300 to 400 feet from the airport's runways that are kept free from development, she said.

Lori Cook, an owner of First Flight Aviation school at the airport, said flight instructors take students to the Lone Mountain area about 35 miles from the airport for practice flights. Friday's accident, in which an instructor and his student lost their lives, happened on the edge of that area, Cook said.

"There was never an issue of public safety (in the accident)," she said. "The people on the ground were never in danger."