Court rejects Santa Monica’s effort to ban fast jets from its airport

January 24, 2011 at 3:29 pm | Posted in Aviation Law Current Event | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: LA Times

City officials said the aircraft could overshoot the runway and crash into residential neighborhoods. The U.S. Court of Appeals backs the FAA’s decision to halt the ban.

Efforts to ban high-performance jets from Santa Monica Municipal Airport suffered another setback Friday when an appeals court ruled in favor of a federal order permitting such aircraft to use the popular facility.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected a request by the city to review the Federal Aviation Administration decision to disallow a ban on jets with fast landing speeds.

The Santa Monica City Council had voted for the ban in late 2007. The restriction would have prohibited jets with approach speeds of 139 to 191 mph from operating at the airport. The banned aircraft would have included larger and more powerful Gulfstreams, Bombardier Challengers and Cessna Citations. [Full story]