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By Lookout Staff

April 29 -- A Federal Judge on Monday blocked a ban on high-speed jets at Santa Monica Airport, granting the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) request for a temporary restraining order.

The City contends that the ordinance -- which bans jets with approach speeds of between 139 and 191 mph -- is necessary to protect neighboring residents from runaway jets. The FAA counters that the law approved by the City Council last month is unnecessary and would harm jet operators.

The ban was scheduled to go into effect on April 24, but City officials waited until the judge heard the case in Federal Court Monday. The written 3 ½ -page ruling was issued at 4:30 p.m., one hour after the hearing ended.

“The council directed us to work very hard to protect public safety, and we will continue to do so,” said Kate Vernez, a senior analyst with the City Manager’s office. “We are currently studying the court order to determine the next steps.”

The decision was not surprising, given that the courts grant some 90 percent of such requests, City officials said.

In issuing the ruling, Judge George Wu said he wasn't sure whether or not he could rule on the validity of the ordinance, adding that the key issue might have to be taken up by the 9th District Court.

The judge, however, agreed to a hearing scheduled for May 15 after both sides file additional written arguments.

Wu asked several questions that seemed to indicate he might be questioning the need for a ban. He asked Moutrie how many Class C and D aircraft banned by the ordinance had been involved in overruns.

Moutrie responded that none had overrun the runway, but that smaller, slower planes had been involved in overruns that could have proved disastrous had they involved larger, faster jets.

Wu then noted that the jets banned under the ordinance, which use professional pilots, are generally considered safer than the smaller planes.

Moutrie cited a declaration by James Hall, a safety expert who was chairman of the National Transportation and Safety Board, concerning the need for safety areas at each end of the runway similar to those called for in the City’s ordinance, which meets the FAA’s own safety standards.

“In my opinion, in the absence of meeting the federal standards for RSAs (runway safety areas) at Santa Monica Airport, Category C and D aircraft should not be permitted to operate due to the serious risk of injuries to occupants of the aircraft and members of the community resulting from aircraft operating on the margins of safety with no provision for the possibility of mechanical failure or pilot error,” Hall wrote.

An FAA attorney argued that the City’s ban would do ``irreparable harm'' to the jet operators and businesses that serve the larger jets.

Moutrie countered that the City was protecting the safety of residents who live near the airport and shouldn’t have to wait until a runaway jet plows into a home to prove the need for the ban.

The City has called the federal government’s challenge a “legal assault” on an ordinance responding to increasing concerns that soaring jet traffic -- from 4,829 jet operations in 1994 to 18,575 last year -- is putting neighboring homes, as well as pilots, in danger.