Hundreds of concerned residents, along with local leaders and executives from North Perry Airport, gathered Wednesday night at the South Regional Library in Pembroke Pines to discuss safety concerns.
A string of plane crashes over the past several years, including one just last month in a residential neighborhood, prompted the town hall meeting.
“I met many people from Pines Village in particular, and they said to me, ‘We can’t live this way. We just can’t live this way anymore.’ I’m constantly living, looking up, wondering if this is going to be the day that one of these planes is going to fly into my house,” said Mayor Angelo Castillo.
Safety study and extended hours planned
Broward County Commissioner Alexandra Davis, who organized the town hall, announced that a new safety and environmental study will be conducted.
“One of the things we’ve done in the past, we’ve done a safety study, we’re going to enhance that study — take into consideration over 500,000 people that live around the airport,” Davis said.
Davis and other officials also proposed extending air traffic controller hours to improve safety.
“There’s over 850 in and out of that airport daily, which is a lot — so we’re looking to make sure we look at our capacity,” she said.
County outlines limitations
Mark Gale, CEO of the Broward County Aviation Department, led the presentation portion of the town hall and explained the county’s limited authority over certain safety aspects.
“When you get into actually looking at who certified pilots, who checks to make sure they’re proficient, who’s maintaining the aircraft, those fall under the purview of the Federal Aviation Administration,” Gale said.
Mixed reactions from residents
While Mayor Castillo said the meeting was a strong first step, some residents expressed disappointment.
“I was a little disappointed with the presentation by the aviation director, Mr. Gale. He seems like he was relinquishing all responsibility — not all responsibility, but a lot of responsibility to the FAA,” said William McDonald.
“I’m a pilot, and I think this meeting was kind of skewed to getting rid of the airport. They did not mention what the contributions monetarily is to the community, and the airport was here first, so that has some weight,” said Josue Tirado.
Next steps for accountability
In 30 days, the airport will publish a report summarizing feedback from the town hall.
