FAA Says Complaint May Have Merit

Lantana Airport (KLNA) in Florida's Palm Beach County has banned jets for 43 years under an agreement reached in 1973 between the FAA and Palm Beach County that gave the county the authority to ban jets from the airport.

But that may be about to change thanks to a lawsuit filed by a retired Eastern Airlines pilot, who claims the prohibition is discriminatory.

The FAA has been studying the issue for some eight months, according to a report from the Palm Beach Post. While it has not issued a formal ruling, the FAA has said that the embargo "may be unjustly discriminatory and not consistent with the county’s federal obligations."

KLNA, also known as Palm Beach County Air Park, is the only airport in Florida that formally bans jets.

Pilot Errol Forman, 76, claims that the noise concerns that prompted the ban in the 70s are now moot, given advances in jet aircraft and the engines that power them. He filed a formal complaint with the FAA in April, saying the county was violating the conditions of its AIP grants. But after he landed his Citation I/SP at the airport, he was threatened with a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries penalties of up to $500 and 60 days in jail. The FBO also reportedly reminded Forman about the ban. He stopped using the airport in June, according to the report.

On December 6, the FAA sent a letter written by Deandra Brooks, the southern region airport compliance specialist, that said while the agency had had no objections to the proposed ban in 1973, the agency could also find no documentation or analysis that would have led the agency to believe the "discriminatory restriction was just or reasonable." She said it was her conclusion that the ban has "denied a class of aeronautical users the benefits of federal funded improvements" at the airport.

But she also said the burden of proof that the ban is discriminatory is on Forman. If it turns out to be a safety issue, the FAA will have the final say.

The Denver law firm retained by the city in the matter said it will ask the FAA to provide some "clarity on how the county should act until the FAA safety investigation is complete."

FMI: www.faa.gov