Council Opposed to Student Flights over Atwater

ATWATER, Calif. -- Elected officials are protesting the Federal Aviation Administration's decision that allows Castle Airport's student pilots to fly over the eastern edge of the city.

Mayor Joan Faul asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to suspend its decision and reopen the public hearing so the city and other groups can comment on the changes.

"No one has explained anything to use," she said. "It's not right. The citizens of Atwater were not given due process."

On Dec. 14, the FAA created an 11.5-mile airspace circle around Castle's runway, and the control tower was activated a couple weeks later.

The new boundary passes over Atwater, and the flight plan allows pilots to fly east of Santa Fe Drive and south of Winton, passing over some city land next to Castle.

A spokesman with the aviation administration said the city's letter is being reviewed, though it's not known when a decision about reopening the public comment period would be reached.

Faul and other council members say the student pilots endanger residents and Peggy Heller Elementary School, while county officials, pilots and flight instructors say the worries are overstated, adding that the changes make the skies safer.

"We haven't used the western side of the airport anymore often than we have in the past," said Mark Canlas, American School of Aviation flight operations manager. "Before they had the tower, you were able to use that pattern."

Canlas estimated that five planes each day use the path closer to the city and are directed there by the control tower.

The FAA's classification angered Merced City Council members who passed a resolution Monday night asking the federal government to redraw the airspace boundary because they say it creates safety hazards and delays passenger flights.

Merced County spokesman Mark Hendrickson said the tower and airspace boundary will control all air traffic through the area, making flights safer for the pilots and the residents on the ground.

"The mission of the FAA is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world," he said. "The county is confident the ruling is in the public's interest for safety."

The flight pattern that crosses part of Atwater will only be used when the other path is congested and for flights to Merced Municipal Airport.

The county respects the city's position, but notifying groups about the changes is up to the aviation administration, Hendrickson said.

To help keep planes away from the city, the city hired attorney Dennis Myers, Councilman Nelson Crabb said.

Myers is a former lawyer for Merced County and also represented the McSwain residents who won a lawsuit against Atwater because a proposed subdivision wasn't adequately studied.

While Castle Air Force Base was active, Crabb said the pilots only used the flight pattern farther from the city.

"It's breaking a 40-year tradition," said Crabb, who has been a pilot since 1969. "The good neighbor airport days are pretty much gone."

Though the county contends the change is safe, Crabb said students are more apt to make mistakes or have problems during their instruction.

"We don't want a plane crashing into the health clinic at Castle," he said. "What if a student does take a dump into a home? Who's going to take responsibility?"

California Pilots Association Vice President Carol Ford said students are almost always flying with an instructor who is in charge of the plane, adding that training flights happen across the nation above many cities.

"It's very rare to have an airplane crash and rare to have any kind of incident," said Ford, who oversees the region that includes Merced County. "Oftentimes there's a perception that diverges from reality when it comes to airplanes."

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