PACOIMA (CNS) – Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath directed the Department of Public Works on Friday, “to identify immediate actions within our authority to strengthen safety around Whiteman Airport.”
“I remain deeply concerned about the circumstances that led to the downed airplane near Whiteman Airport, and take seriously the county’s role in getting answers from our governmental partners entrusted to safely administer operations,” Horvath said in a statement Friday, one day after KTLA broadcast audio from the air traffic control tower when a small plane coming in for a landing at Whiteman Airport Monday clipped a high-voltage power line in Pacoima, knocking out electricity in the area and leaving the pilot in critical condition.
“A plane going down in a commercial corridor next to neighborhoods should never happen — and our Pacoima community deserves answers.”
Horvath also called on the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages the air traffic control tower, to “answer for what we are hearing on that audio.”
In radio transmissions between another pilot and Whiteman’s air traffic control tower, played by KTLA, a controller appeared to have no idea the plane had crashed.
“I am calling on the FAA to conduct a full review of air traffic control operations, determine whether there was a failure in communication or response, and outline steps to help prevent this from happening again,” said Horvath, whose Third District includes Pacoima.
Some Pacoima residents have been pushing for years for the closure of Whiteman Airport, citing safety concerns and air and noise pollution.
“Calls for reduced hours and safer fuel alternatives are meaningful and within our power,” Horvath said. “In June 2024, the county” introduced “unleaded fuel and implemented a nightly curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. — and we must continue evaluating what more can be done.
“Yet, there is no indication these steps would have prevented this midday crash, and we must implement every measure possible to protect our communities.”
In early 2022, the county Board of Supervisors voted to explore the process involved in seeking a closure of the airport, should the county opt to pursue it. In January of that year, a plane landed on train tracks in the area and was struck by a Metrolink train. In November 2020, a plane crashed in a neighborhood near the runway, killing a Civil Air Patrol pilot.
In April 2022, a pilot died when a Cessna crashed alongside the Foothill (210) Freeway in the Sylmar area.