2000-02-25 00:00
On February 3rd and 4th, Seattle television station KIRO aired an expose titled "Exposed Hidden Dangers at Sea-Tac Airport". Their investigation ofthe NASA AMES files documented hundreds of near misses, close incursions, and mechanical problems in the very crowded airspace near Sea-Tac airport. The fact that these incidents are not reported (by the pilots, the airlines, or the aircraft controllers) to the FAA and then to the decision making local public officials is very serious. The FAA is the public lead ~gency responsible for protecting public safety in aviation matters. The KIRO report uncovered very disturbing information that may be only the tip of the iceberg. 'Ihe investigation indicated that there could be other agencies keeping information about safety issues at Sea-Tac Airport. The combined airspace of the Sea-Tac, Boeing Field, Renton, and Auburn airports now produces more than one million (1,000,000) aircraft operations a year. It should be a cause for concern that in addition to this very large number of current operations the Port of Seattle's Master Plan includes a major expansion with a 3rd runway to increase the number of operations. Would the FAA and our local officials support this expansion had they been aware of the dangers to public safety that the KIRO documentary has revealed? We are requesting that you initiate an investigation of the public safety issues that this very limited expose has uncovered. We suggest that the investigation should also cover any additional safety issues that come to light as it progresses. From…
2000-02-25 00:00