City doesn’t want planes from McCarran making ‘right turn’

By Jeff Pope

Friday, Oct. 3, 2008 | midnight

A federal appeals court plans to hear arguments Oct. 22 in the city's case against the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to allow "right turn" plane routes from McCarran International Airport.

It's not known when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges will issue a decision. Most cases are decided within three months to a year, according to the court's Web site.

The outcome could affect planes bound for eastern destinations that take off heading west, then make a right hand turn north over Summerlin and other West Valley neighborhoods.

Planes used a similar route prior to 2001, at which time the FAA directed flights to turn south to reduce interaction with Nellis Air Force Base and the North Las Vegas Airport. Approximately 14 to 20 planes a day continued making the right turn with a special permit.

The FAA reversed that decision in November 2006, stating the need to conserve fuel and reduce noise south of the airport.

Opponents to the plan argue the route is unsafe because it adds about 200 planes a day flying over the more densely-populated northwest valley.

According to court documents, attorneys contracted by the city will argue the FAA ignored its own guidelines regarding the distance required between waypoints, which are most often used to indicate changes in direction, speed or altitude along the desired path.

The city argues the FAA then drafted a waiver to allow the new route, but did not include the waiver in its environmental report. By not including the "clandestine waiver" in public documents, the federal agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act, according to the city's brief.

The agency found the right turn proposal would cause no significant effects and said the new plan was necessary to improve efficiency and capacity at the airport, It went into effect on March 20, 2007.

Eliminating the right turn departures would delay flights while reducing the airport's capacity by roughly 1 million passengers annually by 2012, a reduction of about 2 percent, according to models Randall Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, presented in April 2007.

Jeff Pope can be reached at 990-2688 or [email protected].