Horsford and Kirkpatrick on the North Las Vegas Airport Safety Report
Source: Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford
Nov 2, 2009 - 6:42:17 PM
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HeadupSenate Majority Leader Steven Horsford and Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick today called for immediate follow-up to findings and recommendations of the Senate Joint Resolution 3 Stakeholder Group report issued last week on safety issues at the North Las Vegas Airport. The need for immediate action was reinforced by in the crash of an experimental aircraft taking off from the airport on Friday.
The report on safety issues at the North Las Vegas Airport was the result of SJR-3 of the 2009 Nevada Legislature, which urged the FAA and the county to develop recommendations to improve flight safety standards at the airport. Horsford and Kirkpatrick, who represent areas of North Las Vegas and Las Vegas affected by safety issues around the airport, were the sponsors of the resolution.
The two legislators said immediate action is needed to protect the public.
“Three-quarters of the accidents in the last 10 years were attributed to pilot error and 25 percent occurred during flight instruction. The crashes of experimental aircraft accounted for more than a quarter of the fatalities, including two people who were killed last year when their home was struck by an experimental aircraft.
“The SJR-3 report focuses on better enforcement of recent Federal Aviation Administration rules limiting use of the North Las Vegas Airport for experimental aircraft until they have been tested for at least 25 hours elsewhere. The report also recommends better training and testing of pilots on dealing with crosswinds prevalent at the airport, and it recommends better land use planning at the local level to limit development in the vicinity of the North Las Vegas Airport.
“The airport is the second-busiest airport in Nevada, next to McCarran International Airport, and we urge local and federal officials to follow up on these recommendations and implement those that ensure a safer operation of the airport and protect North Las Vegas and Las Vegas neighborhoods. In particular, after two accidents involving experimental aircraft in the last 14 months, the FAA and local fixed base operators should make sure the new rules regulating experimental aircraft are enforced and there are no unauthorized flights from the airport.”
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