Agreeing that they would be too risky and too noisy, the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority has declined to allow commercial flights to land from the north, over Hailey.
The decision was made in a Tuesday meeting of the airport governing body.
Horizon Air, one of two commercial carriers serving the airport, hasn't made a request for the approach. However, Horizon Air Flight Operations Executive Perry Solmonson offered to discuss the procedure after Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, asked Horizon Air if it could land at Friedman from the north to avoid weather-related diversions.
U-shaped terrain on three sides of Friedman allows an instrument approach only from the south to the southeast-northwest aligned runway. However, aircraft making that approach must have the capability to execute a missed approach by climbing on a single engine and avoiding terrain to the north.
Neither Horizon nor the other air carrier serving Friedman, SkyWest Airlines, has demonstrated that capability. Whenever their pilots cannot see the runway at a minimum altitude, Horizon flights are diverted to Boise and Skywest flights to Twin Falls.
In rare instances when strong winds require it, general aviation aircraft land from the north.
In his response to Waller, Horizon's Solmonson wrote that the missed-approach procedure requires an airliner to fly 79.6 miles northward on a single engine "past significantly rising terrain with no radar contact." He added that although Horizon's 78-passenger Bombardier Q400 twin turboprops and flight crews serving Friedman are being upgraded with RNP/SAAR (Required Navigation Performance/Special Aircrew Authorization Required) technology, "no (air carrier) operators (are) applying for approval to fly the ... approach, much less flying this procedure."
Solmonson indicated, however, that a landing procedure from the north could be easily developed, since a missed approach to the south would be toward open space and away from terrain.
Airport manager Rick Baird agreed that technically that would be true. However, in outlining reasons not to develop an approach from the north, he pointed out that:
· The Q400 would descend low over a populated area. The customary 1,000-foot restriction over populated areas is not required on approaches.
· "Squirrelly winds" boiling up from canyons near Hailey could create turbulence and affect control of aircraft. SkyWest refuses to land from the north, Baird said.
· Because of designated touchdown zones on the runway, a landing from the north, Baird told the board, would leave an airliner only 5,400 feet of runway versus about 7,250 from the south. Baird characterized that is a safety issue.
· Allowing landings from the north would violate the spirit of the airport's voluntary noise-abatement policies.
· There is no taxiway turnoff to the west on the runway for landings from the north. This would mean that under under FAA-mandated restrictions on Friedman, the airport would need to cease other landings or takeoffs while Horizon aircraft taxied on the east side of the full runway to return to the terminal.
● Since Horizon Air has only two regular flights into Friedman per day, Baird said, and are thus less likely to divert flights because of winter weather, formalizing a landing procedure over Hailey would involve "disproportionate risks" for only a "possible" benefit.
Waller told the board her motive in raising the question with Horizon was "because we want to get our customers here." However, she found no support among board members.
Authority chairwoman Martha Burke said she was "not prepared to say this is a good idea." Vice chairman Tom Bowman as well said he saw no reason to change. Member Dr. Ron Fairfax, a pilot, said Baird should "tell Horizon these are our policies," a sentiment echoed by member Susan McBryant.
New governing group for airport?
The Friedman Memorial Airport Authority agreed Tuesday night that it's not too early to begin discussing how the new replacement airport for Friedman will be governed and by whom.
A tentative decision on the shape and makeup of such a board ideally should be made within the next 18 months, suggested airport attorney Barry Luboviski. Where and when a new airport is constructed and opened depends on approval of a site by the Federal Aviation Administration and local land-use authorities. An environmental impact statement study on proposed sites is underway.
Odds favor Site No. 10-A in south Blaine County, east of state Highway 75 below Timmerman Hills.
To get the discussion launched beyond the airport board, authority vice-chairman and County Commission Chairman Tom Bowman will appear before the Blaine County Leadership Council on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. to discuss future airport governance with Blaine County mayors.
Bowman is expected to tell the council that a new airport would continue to be "sponsored" by Blaine County, as required by the FAA, but no longer by the current co-sponsor, the city of Hailey, since it will not be inside Hailey city limits. Airport sponsors are required by the FAA to be responsible for the various federal grants made to airports for operations and improvements.
Bowman said he will also urge council members to propose a structure for the governing body.
The Hailey City Council was scheduled to be briefed Thursday afternoon about studying a proposed new airport governing body.
The current authority has two members representing Hailey, two representing the county and one at-large member who's a pilot and aircraft owner.
