The Landings & Bay Colony

24

Dear Neighbors,

On February 11th, a Beechcraft airplane crashed into a residential neighborhood
near the Miami Executive Airport killing all four passengers on board and narrowly
missing a home before it exploded. 

Shortly before the accident, Imperial Point Association hosted to discuss the Fort
Lauderdale Executive Airport and issues involving safety, noise and pollution
associated with it pertaining to our residential neighborhood which is in the direct
flight path of air traffic departing east to destinations including the Bahamas. We
expressed our concern regarding the age of three specific aircraft and inquired if
anyone is supervising their maintenance records and cargo loads. Airports around
the world are restricting older aircraft from utilizing their airports. For safety, we want
to limit FXE traffic to only newer multi-engine aircraft manufactured to current, stricter
FAA standards, which are built to fly on the remaining engine when the other engine
fails even when fully loaded.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates air traffic. In an event at the
North Ridge Hospital auditorium sponsored in the mid 2000's in collaboration with
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and more than 200 owners in Lake
Estates, Landings, Golf Estates, Bay Colony, and adjacent condo communities, the
FAA admitted that there was a reduction in funding for inspectors on the ground at
the local airports. As a result, we requested the City of Fort Lauderdale to carefully
the survey the equipment maintenance records to make sure there was maintenance
surpassing the minimum requirements.

We have experienced approximately five or more airplane crashes in the last ten
years documented in Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Imperial Point and surrounding
areas in the flight pattern departing from or arriving to the Fort Lauderdale Executive
Airport. One crashed on a home. Another built in 1952 crashed on NE 56 Court
narrowly missing a school bus from Westminster Academy. Pilots were described in
the news media as "heroes." We feel differently.

This is our worst nightmare.

Paul Renneisen, a commercial airline pilot and has
served on the Fort Lauderdale FXE Airport Advisory
Committee shared the following comments in an email, 

"While many South Florida Airports boast phenomenal aviation safety records, FXE
has had its share of aircraft crashes. As an aviator myself, we take to the skies
knowing we need to “trap” as many errors as we can to avoid losing control of an
aircraft. The FAA has required aircraft manufacturers to provide minimum aircraft
capabilities. For example, in 1957 a rule was implemented that requires a multi-
engine aircraft to be able to fly on remaining engines in the event one engine fails at
takeoff. The regulation had exceptions including aircraft under 12,500 pounds.

The safety exceptions apply to three multi-engine aircraft seen daily that fly scheduled
service over Fort Lauderdale north of Commercial Boulevard that were built in 1959,
1960, and 1976. Two are Beechcraft 18’s, built on 1937 specifications that were

President's Message

Lake Estates Improvement Association

Linda Bird, President

Lake Estates Improvement Association

2014 Annual Dues 

are due. $25.00

Please make check payable to 

Lake Estates Improvement

Association Inc. 

and mail them to:

Linda Bird, President

Lake Estates Improvement Assn.

2790 NE 57th Ct.

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308