Gail, In your Sept. 13 Letter to the Editor about the tragic aircraft accident on Sept. 1, near Portland, you expressed hope the Port of Friday Harbor took note to help avert a similar situation here, particularly relating to aircraft overflying the Foxhall subdivision. It is a completely rational request and, over the years, one the Port, the FAA and local pilots have spent much effort addressing (not just for Foxhall but for our entire area).

At the risk of both oversimplifying pilot procedures for the entire country’s airspace system and overcomplicating your simple request, I thought I’d put on my Flight Instructor’s Hat and attempt to address the issues.

Since you alluded to an accident that took place near the Troutdale airport in Oregon, here’s a brief recap: An airplane had maintenance performed that required a test flight. There were two pilots aboard and shortly after takeoff they experienced trouble controlling the airplane. In the process of trying to return to the airport, they lost control and crashed into a townhouse. Three lives were lost. Most accidents usually take the National Transportation Safety Board about 18 months to gather the evidence that will, hopefully, explain the chain of events leading to the tragedy.

Flying has an incredibly good safety record but, without knowing all the details here, it is still possible to say this situation is extraordinarily rare. Aviation mechanics, who are well trained and certificated and monitored throughout their career, would not release an airplane for a maintenance test flight unless they felt certain there was no danger. As we all know, however, life is not always as certain as we feel.

How does this event relate to airplanes flying over Foxhall? Almost not at all. Airplanes do occasionally fly over congested areas and, while one plane is a curiosity, several can seem annoying. The FAA has determined the minimum altitude to fly over these areas should be 1,000 feet above the ground, except when landing or taking off, which of course, requires a lower altitude. In addition to this basic requirement, our local pilots, in conjunction with the Port and the FAA, came up with a Noise Abatement and a traffic flow procedure that is published in all the Airport Facility publications. Its purpose is to guide aircraft away from more congested areas, when possible, to help make arriving and departing airplane noise less annoying and to increase safety. These procedures are non-regulatory here, as they are at all similar airports across the country, but almost all pilots understand that the freedoms they enjoy flying in the United States are there because they make the effort to be safe and courteous neighbors. Certainly, from my observations, this is true for our pilots.

Will this make us immune from all possible calamities? Of course not. However, the simple answer to your letter’s primary request is: yes, the Port is paying attention and continues to look for ways to encourage safe and courteous behavior.

Best Regards,

Rich Goodhart

Port Commissioner and (wordy) Flight Instructor