Over the summer, a small plane narrowly missed houses, struck a tree and crash-landed on a residential street in Pembroke Pines.
It wasn’t an uncommon experience for residents next to busy North Perry airport, several of whom stopped eating dinner to rescue the pilot and three passengers on July 14. Airport and Broward County officials organized a town hall to provide answers to fed-up residents, who have weathered years of crashes and increasingly fear the impact of lead emissions from burning plane fuel.
While the Aug. 27 town hall featured glossy poster boards, dinner boxes for every attendee and realtime digital feedback collection, it lacked a typical staple of these types of events: a chance for residents to speak.
READ MORE: North Perry airport pledges to conduct studies during packed town hall on plane crashes
During the town hall, attendees weren’t allowed to publicly address officials and instead were encouraged to submit responses to a digital survey or write their concerns on small comment cards. The feedback was then incorporated into a town hall summary report, released by the Broward County Aviation Division at the end of last month.
While the 17-page report featured no direct quotes from residents, it did highlight some safety efforts under way. It said that North Perry, which has the busiest contract air traffic control tower in the nation, requested more information on the aircrafts in its hangars. Broward County, which oversees the airport, is drafting proposals for safety and environmental studies.
With these efforts underway, WLRN is publishing comments from the town hall, so attendees on both sides of the issue can explain what their concerns are — in their own words.
“I have lived in 33023 for 50 (years). All my life. I currently live on 14th Street where the most recent plane crashed. Too close to home so many times. Something needs to change for the safety of residents.”
“The problem is not the (number) of crashes(,) it is pollutants emitted by the aircraft(s) for over 30 years. Operations have been more than the communities can handle(.) Do something.”
“I knew when I bought my house in Pines Village about the airport. I accepted the facts of what goes with that decision. I would like to compare the number of car accidents, injuries or deaths compared to aviation incidents and deaths.”
"I have lived in Pines Village for 10 years on 14th street. I know it will be very hard to get rid of the airport, but I would hope to see at least a reduction in flights per day. There is a park with kids (Maxwell) all the time.What if a plane strikes them? What if it crashes during a baseball game?"
“Why do folks buy a house or rent close to an airport and then complain about the airport?"
In the digital survey, attendees identified improvements for the airport, such as “relocation to a less densely populated city or industrial area in Broward County,” to “make sure the flight schools are kept active,” and “a restaurant and activities for the public to see and participate in the airport.”
Reform efforts underway, county says
The physical comment cards, as well as the digital responses, were linked at the very end of the summary report.
The Broward County Aviation Division and North Perry said they have taken steps to address the concerns from the town hall. They include:
- Sending a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration “requesting inspection and certification history” of planes at North Perry
- Preparing requests in the next 30 days to conduct studies on safety and environmental concerns
- Lobbying the FAA to extend air traffic control tower hours to end at 11 p.m., instead of 9 p.m.
