Dear Editor,
In response to your coverage last week: “County Advances Efforts to Improve Safety at Whiteman Airport,” and on behalf of ICON CDC, and many community stakeholders, we would like to thank and congratulate Supervisor Lindsay Horvath for calling for the suspension of operations at Whiteman Airport until the Federal Aviation Administration can fully investigate and implement safety measures to prevent further crashes. While we are fully aware that the FAA will not heed her call due to their loyalty to airports, not people, we appreciate her willingness to stand up to those who care more about their aviation hobbies than about the health and safety of their neighbors.
Also, she is on point as to the reasons for the accidents, “these are really related to pilot and operational error, not to the county’s lack of maintenance,” or improvements. A review of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aviation Investigation Reports for the recent accidents:
November 2020: Engine Maintenance Failure (Final Report)
January 2022: Inadequate pilot inspection and water-contaminated fuel (Final Report)
April 2022: Pilot Loss of Control and Alcohol Consumption (Final Report)
April 2026: Pilot error (preliminary)
June 2026: Landing gear malfunction (preliminary)
The FAA is responsible for aircraft safety and inspection, and pilot certification and performance. As per the FAA, the County of Los Angeles has NO jurisdiction, responsibility or obligation as regards the aviation worthiness of the planes or their proper maintenance, nor the ability and actions of associated pilots. All of the recent crashes were due to pilot error or plane malfunction, not to the “lack of investment” by the County in airport infrastructure. Airport infrastructure improvements and associated FAA grants that would obligate the County and the airport into perpetuity.
And it is our understanding that there is no full-time or even part-time presence of FAA personnel at Whiteman Airport. The FAA makes periodic (not even weekly) visits to inspect planes and/or certify pilots. In fact, the maintenance of personal aircraft and the capability and behavior of pilots (including alcohol consumption) is self-policed by the pilots themselves, with the FAA responding to reports or complaints.
While we appreciate the County’s efforts to implement safety measures and facility improvements, they do not speak to the lack of oversight and inspection of almost 600 private planes at an airport that is by the FAA’s regulations, “non-standard.” No amount of
funds is going to correct the deficiencies of Whiteman and alleviate the need to use “Declared Distances” for takeoff and landing over homes and businesses. Situated in an urbanized area and adjacent to schools, churches and parks, Whiteman Airport, and its use by personal aircraft, with associated maintenance and pilot issues, for the past 75 years, is no longer sustainable and continues to endanger local residents.
And we should not confuse the Barton Heliport with Whiteman Airport. The former is where the various fire and law enforcement helicopters are based, not Whiteman. The entire community supports Barton and potentially its expansion. Aviation advocates want to confuse the two to claim the necessity of Whiteman, but they are entirely separate facilities.
Finally, the Whiteman Coalition’s statement that the County cannot close the airport is also misleading. Per the FAA’s letter to the County on January 21, 2026, “the County, as the Airport’s sponsor, remains responsible for conducting its own analysis and providing justification for any long term planning requests, including the pursuit of release and closure.” While the FAA has the final word on closure of an airport, “upon receipt of such a request,” as the owner and sponsor of Whiteman, the County can and must make the decision to do what’s in the best interest of those most impacted by Whiteman’s continued troubled existence, the 100,000 residents and 3,000 businesses of Pacoima, mostly Latino, not the few plane owners who don’t live in Pacoima and who have enjoyed our lack of engagement…until now.
Regards,
Roberto Barragan
Executive Director, ICON CDC