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Newsletter>
Las Vegas Pilots
September 5, 2008
On Wednesday night, residents got the chance to air their
concerns about flights into and out of the North Las Vegas
Airport.
On Thursday night, it was the aviators' turn.
Several dozen pilots, from flight instructors to weekend
hobbyists, gathered in the airport terminal to defend the
safety of small private airplanes and respond to questions
and criticism from residents.
"Stop and look at the safety record of aviation as a whole.
We're doing a pretty dang good job," said local pilot,
flight instructor and dentist Scott Brooksby.
The meetings this week were organized in response to a pair
of fatal airplane crashes within one week last month.
An experimental aircraft crashed into a single-story North
Las Vegas house near Lake Mead Boulevard and Simmons Street
shortly after take-off the morning of Aug. 22, killing the
pilot and an elderly couple inside the home.
The second crash, just six days later, involved a
twin-engine airplane that crashed into a house on North
Jones Boulevard one mile short of the North Las Vegas
Airport, killing the pilot.
About 50 residents and general aviation pilots met
Wednesday night to discuss ways of avoiding future
accidents.
Thursday's meeting was called by the Clark County Aviation
Association, a private group of pilots and airplane owners.
Association President David Lerner said the goal was to
open a dialogue with homeowners living near the airport and
hopefully ease their minds somewhat.
Particular emphasis was given to the safety of experimental
or home-built planes.
"Remember: The guy who's building it is going to be flying
it, and he wants to make sure everything is just the way it
should be," said pilot and experimental aircraft owner Ed
Smith.
When asked what home-owners should make of two crashes into
homes six days apart, long-time instructor pilot Kathleen
Snaper shrugged.
"You can't make sense of it," she said.
Federal investigators continue to search for clues to
explain the accidents. Until that work is finished, Lerner
urged the public not to speculate about what might have
occurred.
He and others also warned residents not to expect much help
from local officials when it comes to implementing new
flight rules and airport protocols.
"There's no such thing as trying to control aviation
flights locally. That's a federal matter," Lerner said.
But there are some things that can be done outside the
regulatory arena, said Fred Sorenson, whose 42-year career
in aviation includes work as a commercial pilot, instructor
and aircraft mechanic.
He suggested pilots fly at higher altitudes when possible,
carry less fuel in hot weather to make their planes more
maneuverable, and control their propeller speeds to reduce
noise over homes near the airport.
Sorenson also encouraged the use of enhanced maps to help
pilots fly over the least densely populated areas.
Burying utility lines underground instead of hanging them
from tall poles within a three-mile radius of the airport
also might help prevent accidents, Sorenson said.
Flight instructor Luis Magana said pilots and instructors
can do a better job policing themselves. If someone sees an
individual cutting corners or doing something incorrectly,
they should say something, he said.
For his part, Magana said he plans to further stress with
his student pilots the importance of preflight checks for
mechanical problems.
The key message of the night was that general aviation
pilots and mechanics take safety seriously, and residents
have more to fear on the roads than they do from the sky.
"If we were to close every street where a fatal accident
has occurred, none of us would be able to drive anywhere,"
Brooksby said to applause from the audience.
"You all drive carefully going home," Sorenson added at the
end of his remarks. "There's people trying to kill you out
there on the highway."
Review-Journal writer Lynnette Curtis contributed to this
report. Contact reporter Henry Brean at
hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. 
  
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