The Pinocchio Chronicles #3: Palomar, County & FAA, #290

Yesterday’s article (#289) revealed how past county Board of Supervisor (BOS) members have for 35 years crippled, not promoted, Palomar safety.

Today, another sad, example. Since 2000, county has failed to install Palomar EMAS runway safety systems at the Palomar runway ends to replace Runway Safety Areas (RSAs). At the Cinco de Mayo BOS meeting, Airports Director Cameron Humphreys admitted that an EMAS would have saved 4 lives lost in a 2006 Palomar crash.

Today, we explain what an EMAS is and why Palomar needed them 20 years ago. Tomorrow we explain why the county failed to install Palomar EMASs and sacrificed lives to expand Palomar business – and continues to sacrifice safety in its court-rejected 2018 Palomar Master Plan. And why the county should install Palomar EMASs at each Palomar runway end ASAP.

Runway Safety Areas (RSAs)

U.S. paved airport runways end with Runway Safety Areas (RSAs), usually unpaved, to safely stop aircraft overshooting or undershooting the runway. The FAA requires 300-foot long RSAs for FAA-B-rated airports; Palomar, a B airport, meets this requirement. These 300-foot RSAs stop smaller, slower aircraft.

The FAA requires 1000-foot long RSAs for FAA-C-rated airports; Palomar RSAs are less than 400-feet. Although Palomar is a B-airport, pilots of FAA-rate C and D larger aircraft sometimes use Palomar. County cannot stop them.

The city of Santa Monica, also a B-airport with C-aircraft using it, tried. The FAA sued Santa Monica and won. As a result, Santa Monica advised the FAA that Santa Monica would not accept more FAA grants and intended to close the airport when past FAA grant restrictions ended in a few years.

EMASs [Engineered Material Arresting Systems]

All you movie TOP GUN fans know one type of “arresting (“stopping”) system.” Think fast jet landing on postage-size aircraft carrier in big ocean. The jet lands. Restraining cables on the carrier deck catch a jet hook and stop the jet quickly.

Worry not. Installing an EMAS at each Palomar runway end will not require you to ride a Palomar thrill ride or suffer whiplash. Rather, so-called “passive” EMASs are engineered with materials like crushable cement blocks to catch an aircraft overshooting a runway like a soft dirt area along a steep road slows and stops out-of-control trucks.

The beauty of a Palomar EMAS at each runway end? EMASs need be only 350 feet long instead of 1000-feet long. Palomar Airport about 10 years ago dug up its sole runway to rebuild it. Palomar could easily have added an EMAS at each runway end at that time. It did not. What in the world were BOS members then thinking?

Santa Monica could also have added an EMAS at its runway end to protect nearby housing. But Santa Monica decided that its residents could benefit far more by using the airport land for other purposes.

Tomorrow’s Teaser: Why do you suppose county failed to install EMASs in 1996 when Palomar handled 286,000 aircraft, including many jets? And failed again in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, and 2006 (the 4-death year)?

And NOT EVEN in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 AFTER the 4 deaths when county dug up the runway to rehabilitate it (and to upgrade the runway strength, which might interest Supervisor Desmond in view of his Cinco de Mayo BOS meeting runway comments questioning the Palomar runway strength)?

And STILL NOT in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020?

And why in 2021 when Palomar from 2015 to 2020 averaged about 140,000 annual flights – a 100% drop in traffic long before Covid - did county in the blink of an eye want to promote adding Palomar EMAS systems. Hint: Follow the money. Pinocchio Nose Ranking: 4 out of 4.