WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — West Mifflin borough leaders say they were not notified about plans to turn off approach lights at the county airport until 11 Investigates told them.
Borough Solicitor Phil Dilucente is critical of the FAA’s decision to decommission the approach lights at the Allegheny County Airport.
“When I heard this from you, this was like an April Fools joke, but we’re in November,” Dilucente said.
He says the borough was never notified.
“I am shocked and disappointed that the FAA, a federal agency that has an airport in our community … does not actually come to us and tell us that this is going to happen,” Dilucente said.
11 Investigates broke the story that the FAA is phasing the lights out, despite objections from the airport authority.
The authority says the approach lights are an important safety component, especially in bad weather, and they asked the FAA to keep them on. But the FAA says maintenance costs outweigh the operational benefits.
They say advances in technology like GPS have made approach lights expendable.
The FAA is also phasing them out in Wheeling and Morgantown.
Flight instructor and commercial pilot Josh Burns knows the importance.
“As a pilot is coming through the cloud bank down to that minimum altitude, they’re looking for those approach lights. That’s typically what we’re going to see first before we even see the runway pavement,” Burns said.
Last year a private plane crashed two miles short of a runway in San Diego, killing everyone on board, and the approach lights were out at the time.
Residents who live in the West Mifflin neighborhood in the flight path where approach light towers dot the landscape were unaware of the change until we told them.
“I had no idea they weren’t working, and that’s something that should be looked at and addressed and fixed,” resident Sherri Hertzog said.
Solicitor Dilucente says the borough plans to reach out to the FAA and the airport authority with a message that will be loud and clear.
“Let’s keep the lights, let’s keep the lights,” Dilucente said. “The citizens of West Mifflin deserve better and this board and this mayor, I can tell you they are very, very, aggressive in protecting the community interest, so this is not the last you are going to hear of this subject. And to not have notice is ridiculous.”
11 Investigates reached out to the FAA multiple times during the past several weeks but never heard back.
We also asked the Allegheny County Airport Authority if they contacted West Mifflin about this, and they are looking into that.
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