Transferring radar controllers from Palm Beach International Airport to Miami could make South Florida skies a "dangerous place to be," four area congressmen said Wednesday in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA announced in February that it plans to move the radar approach controllers to Miami International Airport within three years to save money.
The congressmen, calling the decision shortsighted, are asking the FAA to reconsider. Concentrating all of South Florida radar approach operations at one location could be risky, given Miami's vulnerability to hurricanes and its designation as a high-risk target for terrorism, said the letter signed by U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, Mark Foley, R-Fort Pierce, Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, and Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale.
"If a hurricane were to barrel through Miami-Dade County and damage Miami International Airport's control tower and subsequent radar system, as Hurricane Andrew did, then it is highly possible, indeed likely, that emergency efforts in Palm Beach could be dramatically hindered," said the letter addressed to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
Local radar approach operators now work in the base of the tower at Palm Beach International. They use radar screens to track and sequence the landings of aircraft within 40 miles of the airport. The controllers behind the glass windows at the top of the tower who guide takeoffs and landings within 5 miles of the runways will remain at PBIA.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Blakey had not yet received the letter. Bergen said shifting controllers won't affect air safety.
"Many significant hurricanes have hit South Florida and none of our buildings have had significant damage," Bergen said.
Copyright 2005 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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