La County Report Says Closing Whiteman Airport Costs $3.5 Billion, Needs Federal Approval
Closing Whiteman Airport in Pacoima to make way for residential and commercial development would cost $3.55 billion in demolition and redevelopment, while requiring Los Angeles County to obtain approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration, a report released Wednesday, Oct. 28 concluded.
The Whiteman Airport Land Use Study and Economic Analysis, commissioned by the Board of Supervisors in 2024 to study different land use options, says the county as owners of the general aviation airport shares control with the FAA over its future, and must jump through several hoops to receive closure approval.
“Closing a federally obligated public-use airport requires a federal administrative process, not a local legislative action,” concluded the report from Trifiletti Consulting. “Closure is not the county’s decision to make alone.”
The airport has raised safety concerns in Pacoima during the past six years, after airplane crashes occurred on the property and also on nearby residential streets. Pacoima, a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, is home to 69,600 residents who are mostly Latino. The median household income is below the San Fernando Valley average, the report stated.
In November 2020, an airplane on approach hit power lines and crashed into the adjacent Pacoima neighborhood. That kicked off a wave of community concerns. In January 2022, the Board of Supervisors directed county departments to evaluate the process and implications of a potential closure. On April 9, 2024, the Board directed preparation for this study, that includes an assessment of economic impacts to the county and Pacoima, the study cited.
The most recent incident occurred on June 16, when a small plane crashed while landing at Whiteman. The 77-year-old pilot failed to deploy his landing gear. The aircraft came to rest in the facility’s parking lot in the area of 12653 Osborne St., just beyond the end of the embattled airfield’s runway.
On April 20, a single-engine propeller aircraft crashed in the neighborhood of Pacoima, outside of Whiteman, while attempting to land. In its descent, the aircraft struck a power line and subsequently crashed into a parking lot of an auto parts store adjacent to residential neighborhoods. The 70-year-old pilot was the only person on board, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The June 16 incident marked at least the fifth aircraft accident involving Whiteman Airport since 2020. Not counting two recent crashes, the other incidents have included a fatal crash near homes in Pacoima, a dramatic emergency landing on Metrolink tracks in which police rescued the pilot moments before a train struck the aircraft, and another fatal crash near the 210 Freeway.
Community members are concerned about safety of their homes when planes take off and land “and the risk of an aircraft coming down in the neighborhood, on a school, or a person on the ground. That concern is a legitimate response to real events,” said the study. Protests have occurred led by community groups.
The L.A. City Council has previously weighed in on Whiteman Airport, though it has no authority over the county-owned facility. The airport is located at 12653 Osborne St, Pacoima.
In December 2020, a resolution introduced by Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, whose district includes Pacoima, calling for the airport’s permanent closure. The resolution cited public safety concerns, as well as the potential to redevelop the cite for housing and jobs for the surrounding community.
Rodriguez was contacted for this article but did not respond by deadline.
The study looked at three future scenarios.
Scenario 1 renovates old hangars and adds new ones, keeping the footprint. Scenario 2 keeps the airport operating but adds more improvements to aviation activities, as well adding non-aeronautical land uses for warehouses, healthcare, life sciences, logistics, and retail to be developed.
Scenario 3 closes the airport and uses the entire 184 acres to build housing, plus office space for healthcare, commercial, tech and light industrial. This would cost the county the most and take up to 40 years to realize potential revenues, but provides roughly 12,102 jobs at full buildout around 2075. In comparison, scenario 2 would deliver 1,933 jobs in about 10 years.
The study does not endorse any scenario.
The Whiteman Airport Coalition supports Scenario 2, said Christina Pascucci, with Atlas Impact, a public relations and marketing firm representing the airport’s interests. She’s also a former member of the Los Angeles County Aviation Commission.
She emphasized that approvals for closure are hardly ever given by the FAA. She said the airport provides jobs and contributes to the county’s economy and should not be shut down. Of the five county-owned airports, Whiteman is the only one that is in the black, generating $1.1 million in an operating surplus from 2022-2025, the study reported.
“Why is the county spending $2.1 million of taxpayer dollars for a study for an airport that they can’t close?” she said.
The report said the county is bound to keep the airport operating in perpetuity due to contracts stemming from federal funds acquired in the past for airport improvements. “Therefore, the county must obtain FAA approval for any permanent closure, partial closure, or conversion to non-aviation use,” the study said.
The Coalition has said the county should instead apply for additional FAA funding to modernize the airport.
The group has promoted the airport as home to Los Angeles County firefighting aircraft and has cited that as another reason for keeping it open.
But technically, the aircraft is kept at Barton Heliport, a separate facility adjacent to Whiteman (WHP). Barton houses the county’s firefighting operations. “The County Fire’s air operations do not depend on WHP’s general aviation activity and would not be eliminated by a change in WHP’s status,” the report stated.
On occasion, Whiteman is used as a staging area for firefighting aircraft, the report stated.
The Coalition cites the report, saying the aircraft crashes were not due to the airport’s runway or control tower problems, but rather due to pilot error, operational or mechanical factors.
The group supports a county-approved plan initiated by Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, to add quarterly pilot safety classes, which began on July 27.
Related links
- LA County-ordered safety seminars begin at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima
- Study on other uses for Whiteman Airport approved by LA County supervisors
- Civil Air Patrol pilot dies in plane crash near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima
- Plane crashes into auto-parts parking lot in Pacoima, pilot hospitalized
- Hollywood Burbank Airport celebrates new terminal, completing $1.3 billion project
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