Alas, the FAA has again entered Lewis Carroll’s fantasy world Alice in Wonderland.
In the FAA’s world – as in Carroll’s - Everything is nonsense. Nothing is what it is because everything is what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, isn’t. You see?
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See Blog #18 for the FAA’s initial visit with Alice to Wonderland. You decide whether the latest FAA visit related to assessing the “flight-safety” of Palomar methane-emitting landfills makes common sense or nonsense.
FAA Safety Rule 1: Talk to the County, Not the FAA
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According to the FAA, concerns about big planes, big fuel tanks, and crashes into a big Palomar landfill involve the County, not FAA. Why? As the local airport sponsor, the County controls the airfield.
Let’s check the FAA logic. Visualize a Q & A session with the FAA as follows:
Q: When a new Palomar air carrier asks the FAA to certify use of new large turbojet “C-III” aircraft at Palomar, a “B-II”-classified airport, does the FAA assess safety?
A: Safety is the highest FAA priority. C-III planes have wider wingspans and faster approach speeds than usually permitted at B-II certified airports. The FAA assures that Palomar can handle these faster, larger planes.
Q: So the FAA assesses safety as part of the aircraft certification process? A: Yes.
Q: Does the FAA recognize that the C-III aircraft could overshoot the runway or crash into the landfill areas? A: That is unlikely because the FAA considers the stopping distances of the C-III planes it assesses.
Q: Well what if on takeoff or approach at Palomar the aircraft brakes fail, visibility is poor, or a bird strike affects control of the plane? Is the Palomar methane-emitting landfill safe for the crashed plane? A: Ah, ah, ah. You need to raise that issue with the County.
Q: Does the County have any “say” as to whether C-III aircraft can use Palomar? A: No. The FAA determines what aircraft can safely use airports.
Q: So if the County ignored a landfill safety issue related to C-III planes, the FAA would ignore the issue when certifying new C-III aircraft? A: Ah, ah, ah. You need to take up landfill issues with the County.
FAA Safety Rule #2: Ignore the safety features at new airports at old airports.
Visualize another Q & A session with the FAA.
Q: If the County built a new airport tomorrow to handle C-III aircraft, how long would the runway safety area and the runway approach area be?
A: The runway safety area needs to be 1000-feet long in case a C-III aircraft overshoots the runway. The runway approach area (emergency area available to a landing aircraft prior to the runway) needs to be 1700-feet long. [See Table A7-8, Runway design standards matrix, C/D/E-III of Appendix 7 at page 270 of FAA Advisory Circular AC 150/5300-13A as discussed with FAA recently.]
Q: How long is the Palomar Runway Safety Area? A: It’s 300 feet long. Then the 1000-landfill area begins.
Q: And 300-feet is ok for C-III flights using Palomar Airport? A: Yes, the 1000-foot design standard noted above is for new airports.
Q: And someone at the FAA determined that to handle C-III aircraft at an acceptable safety level, a new airport should have a 1000-foot runway safety area? A: Yes.
Q: And – when certifying C-III planes for use at the Palomar B-II airport - does the FAA consider the fact that a C-III plane using Palomar could crash into a landfill with 30-feet deep methane-emitting trash that a few years ago had a 5-month underground fire and that on several occasions has had methane gas levels exceeding explosive limits as tested by the County’s own consultant? A: Ah, ah, ah. You need to discuss those issues with the County.
Lordy, Lordy. All those college logic, ethics, and engineering courses going to “waste.”
