HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10061992 - S.8 S.8
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on October 6 , 1992 by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Powers, Schroder, Torlakson, McPeak
NOES: Supervisor Fanden
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
SUBJECT: Helicopter Crash on September 30, 1992, in Martinez.
Supervisor McPeak presented to the Board her recommendations
requesting the Manager of Airports and the Aviation Advisory
Committee to review all relevant information pertaining to the
helicopter crash in Martinez on September 30, 1992 , and to advise the
Board on whether to adopt policies on the issues .as presented in the
attached document.
Supervisor Fanden recommended that the Board put a moratorium on
all helicopter training flights from Buchanan Field Airport until the
Board has received a report on the helicopter crash. She further
recommended that the Manager of Airports look into the immediate
relocation of all helicopter training facilities to the Byron Airport
in the interest of public safety. Supervisor Fanden stated that she
does not support training flights over Acme Landfill because of rail
cars in the vicinity containing hazardous chemicals/substances and of
the increased risk to public safety if there was an accident in that
area involving aircraft.
The following persons stated their concerns relative to
objection of training flights in the area of the Praxis property
(wetlands) , the removal of training flights to Byron, and the putting
of private citizens at risk because of "touch and go" flight training
activities at Buchanan Field Airport:
Dorothy Sakazaki, Mt. View Sanitary District, 737 Central
Avenue, Martinez 94553 ;
Joyce Jones, Pacheco Town Council, 45 Rutherford Land,
Pacheco 94553 ;
Donna J. Davidson, 1000 Temple Drive, Pacheco 94553 ;
Andrea Wise, 64 Baylor Lane, Pleasant Hill 94523 ;
Don Mount, P.O.P. , (address unclear) , Concord;
Wally Wiggs, 187 Freda Drive, Pacheco 94553 ; and
Douglas Davis, Oak Creek Court, Pleasant Hill 94523 .
Patrick Corr, owner of Helicopter Adventures Inc. , 81 John Glenn
Drive, Concord, advised of his support for Supervisor McPeak' s
recommendation and pledged his cooperation in the investigation of
the crash. He expressed the belief that training flights over the
Acme and Praxis properties to be a safer option than Byron because
there are no residences in the immediate area. However, Mr. Corr
agreed with Supervisor Fanden on the safety issues with the Acme
property but felt these issues could be dealt with.
IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the Manager of Airports and the
Aviation Advisory Committee are REQUESTED to. review all relevant
information pertaining to the helicopter crash in Martinez as well as
the imposition of additional safety measures and the location of an
alternate site for training operations until the Byron Airport is
ready to accept them, and REPORT to the Board on November 3 , 1992.
Board Order
October 6 , 1992 , S. 8
Page 2
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this matter is REFERRED to the Byron
Municipal Advisory Council.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that County Counsel is REQUESTED to report
to the Board on November 3 , 1992, on the feasibility of imposing a
moratorium on flight training operations and the impact on
leaseholders at Buchanan Field Airport.
(Supervisor Fanden advised that she was voting "no" on the
motion because she was in favor of imposing a moratorium at this
time. )
1 hereby certify that this Is a true and correct copy of
an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED:
PHIL BATCHELOR,Clerk of the Board
of Supervisors and County Administrator
By Deputy
cc: Public Works Director
Manager of Airports
County Counsel
County Administrator
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
... Contra
FROM: Sunne Aright McPeak
NQ Costa
DATE: October 6 , 1992 County
SUBJECT: Helicopter Crash in Martinez Last Wednesday
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION•
Request the Manager of Airports and the Aviation Advisory
Committee to review all relevant information pertaining to the
helicopter crash in Martinez on September 30, 1992, and advise
the Board of Supervisors on whether or not to adopt the
following:
1. Additional safety measures, if any, that can be taken to
prevent another helicopter crash incident in the future.
2. Increasing the minimum ceiling for helicopters in Contra
Costa County except for those aircraft that have approval
from the Airports Manager to conduct public purposes or
specified business operations.
3 . Restricting all helicopter traffic (not just training
flights) to non-residential areas and specified routes in
and out of Buchanan Field Airport.
4. Accelerating the process to acquire an off-site helicopter
training pad site.
5 . Establishing guidelines on the maximum amount and mix of
training/non-training flights (for both rotary and fixed-
winged craft) that are allowed at Buchanan Field.
6. Moving all or a portion of the training flights to Byron
Airport.
7. Banning overflights of helicopters (and perhaps other
aircraft) above all schools or take off using established
FAA rules/patterns.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S)
ION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREB ERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AYES: NOES: ORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
OF SUPER RS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: ATTESTED
Phil Batchelor, Clerk of td of
Contact : Kare �itc�zoff SupervisorsmWcourrtyAdmin'
M 7-99 BY DEPUTY
BACKGROUND:
The helicopter crash last Wednesday was tragic. It would have
been a major disaster had it crashed on the school, a residential
neighborhood, or in a crowded area. Therefore, it is incumbent
upon us to examine all the information about the accident to
determine if anything can be done to enhance safety and prevent
future such incidents.
I am proposing that the above actions be studied by the Airports
Manager and the AAC because I think they may have merit in
ensuring that helicopters operate out of Buchanan Field and
within Contra Costa County with a greater margin of safety. As
an example, I have not been given aniexplanation as to why the
helicopter was in the vicinity of the school. Furthermore, while
it may be interesting to "sightsee" as the public accounts to
date have suggested the helicopter occupants were doing, I do not
see a compelling public reason why helicopters (and perhaps other
aircraft) need to fly over any school unless they are carrying
out a vital purpose with prior approval. We have agreements
currently about flight patterns for training helicopters but do
not have restrictions on other kinds of helicopter operations. I
think it is reasonable to consider restricting areas over which
all helicopters may fly and setting a higher minimum ceiling.
cc: Airports Manager
Aviation Advisory Committee
Pacheco Municipal Affairs Council
Pacheco Town Council
Martinez City Council
Pleasant Hill City Council
Concord City Council
TO: BOARD OF SUPf"RVISORS
Contra
FROM: CostaSupervisor Nancy Fanden
October 6, 1992 County
DATE:
SUBJECT: HELICOPTER CRASH RESULTING IN DEATHS '
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Board of Supervisors put a moratorium on all
helicopter training flights from Buchanan Field Airport
until the Board has received a through and complete report
on the helicopter crash in Martinez on September 30, 1992.
Request that the Manager of Airports look into the immediate
relocation of all helicopter training facilities to the
Byron Airport, in the interest of public safety.
BACKGROUND:
March 18, 1991, Acme Fill Corp. wrote to then Chair of the
Board, Tom Powers and Members of the Board, to recommend
that they consider requesting the training to take place at
the Byron Air Field; it is more remote from industry and
residences. It is not prudent to allow these flights in a
more congested industrial area or near the residences of
Concord, Pacheco, Blum Road, and Vine Hill.
November 5, 1991, in response to the substantial public
concern expressed by numerous groups in the community,
I requested an E.I .R. on the proposed helicopter pad.
Furthermore, I once again, proposed Byron Air Field as a
viable alternate site in the interest of public safety.
Blum Road Alert has objected to the proposal to move a
helicopter training facility into the Vine Hill area of
Martinez because the neighborhoods are surrounded by
pipeline, refineries and railroad tracks with tank cars full
of flammable or toxic chemicals used by or produced at the
refineries.
The City of Martinez, in- a letter to Harold Wight, Manager
of Airports, dated November 25, 1991, recommended that the
County should consider placing the program at the Byron
Airport. Mr. Wight responded back in his letter of December
10, 1991, that "Relocating to the East Contra Costa County
Byron Airport was also examined, but rejected as the Byron
Airport is too remote to be practical. " This can only be
interpreted to mean that it wouldn' t be cost effective for
the owner of the company - public safety was not an issue.
In the same letter Mr. Wright admitted that there are no
specifically "approved routes", there are recommended routes
along the freeway.
In a letter to the editor dated Thursday, July 9, 1992, Mr.
Wally Wiggs of Pacheco quoted-airport statistics that
indicate there are about 240 training flights a day. "With
so many students flying near our homes, sooner or later
pilot error or mechanical failure .will cause a crash. "
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