Editorial: Study is ‘plane’ sense

Friday, Sept. 26, 2003 | 4:23 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: Sept. 28, 2003

A meeting was scheduled last week between managers of the North Las Vegas Airport and residents who live nearby. They were scheduled to discuss the residents' concerns that the airport's steady growth is creating the potential for unsafe conditions. Ironically, the managers had to postpone the meeting because they were busy dealing with an accident involving two planes that had collided on a runway, injuring the two pilots.

The accident did not happen in a vacuum. There were eight crashes at or near the airport last year. A crash earlier this year claimed the life of a flight student and instructor. And the airport has recorded 34 near-collisions this year, tying it with the Los Angeles International Airport for the most in the country.

We do not blame the airport's neighbors for being worried about safety. The airport and surrounding neighborhoods are growing rapidly -- creating a potentially dangerous situation. As we have pointed out in the past, the problem warrants a formal review. We suggest a study group composed of airport users, neighbors, city and county planners and members of the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. There needs to be a recommendation, and soon, about how residential growth and airport growth should be managed.