Laserfiche WebLink
City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan <br />Part I Basic Plan <br />2.4.11 Aircraft Crash <br />Air Travel in Orange County <br />Increasingly heavy air traffic over the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan area are constant <br />reminders of the possibility of aircraft accidents occurring in or near the City of Santa Ana. Within and <br />surrounding Orange County there are multiple airports with numerous air traffic lanes spread over the County. <br />The airports in and adjacent to Orange County that handle the greatest amount of air traffic are as follows: <br />John Wayne Airport (SNA) - John Wayne Airport (SNA) is the sole commercial airport in Orange County and <br />serves both domestic and international passengers. In 2015, over 10 million passengers boarded or departed planes <br />at SNA, making it the 40' busiest passenger airport in the US. Almost 18,000 tons of cargo passed through the <br />airport. General aviation operations (private planes) actually outnumber commercial operations. The airport had <br />248,255 flight takeoffs and landings in 2015. <br />SNA lies about one mile south of the southern border of the City, near the intersection of the 405 and the 55 <br />Freeways. Aircraft arriving at SNA typically do so from the Northwest while departures are to the Southwest. <br />Aircraft approaching for landing fly along the eastern border of the City along the 55 Freeway and aircraft lining <br />up for this final approach frequently pass over the eastern portion of the City. During Santa Ana wind conditions <br />the arrival and departure pattern reverses, with aircraft taking off up the 55 Freeway and out over the eastern part <br />of the City. <br />Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - In 2015, LAX was the third busiest passenger airport and seventh <br />busiest cargo airport in the US. It ranked as the fifth busiest passenger airport and fourteenth busiest cargo airport <br />in the world. More than 75 million passengers boarded or departed planes and the air cargo system handled more <br />than 2.1 million tons of goods. LAX had 655,564 flight takeoffs and landings in 2015. LAX handled 70 percent <br />of the passengers, 75 percent of the air cargo, and 95 percent of the international passengers and cargo traffic in <br />the five -county Southern California region. <br />Long Beach Airport (LGB) - In 2015, 2.5 million passengers and 69,000 tons of cargo <br />passed through the airport and the airport had 268,309 takeoffs and landings. <br />Fullerton Airport (FUL) - Fullerton Airport lies 8 miles north of the City adjacent to Interstate 5 and the 91 <br />Freeway. The airport services general aviation only (no passenger or cargo aircraft) and the airport serves 600 <br />small planes housed there. <br />Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos - This airfield is located 10 miles northwest of the City close to Long <br />Beach Airport and is an active military base with numerous military flights taking off and landing on a daily basis. <br />Los Alamitos Airfield is the largest Army airfield operated by the National Guard Bureau (NGB). The airfield at <br />Los Alamitos has two all-weather runways, one 8000' in length and the other 6000'in length. Los Alamitos can <br />accommodate most any aircraft in the flying inventory. This includes military aircraft such as the C-5, C-17, <br />Department of Defense (DOD) charters, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aircraft, and <br />fighter aircraft. The President's Boeing VC-25A (B-747 named Air Force One) along with the United States <br />Marine Corps (USMC) Presidential Helicopter Flight Detachment (HMX-1), use the Los Alamitos Joint Forces <br />Reserve Training Center Airfield and its facilities for any visits to the Orange County area. Ramp space can <br />accommodate and house up to ten C-5 aircraft without difficulty. At present, approximately 30 helicopters are <br />stationed at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Reserve Training Center Airfield as well as several fixed -wing aircraft <br />assigned to the United States Army Reserve. The airfield includes a fully staffed Army air traffic control tower, <br />and a jet fuel farm for aviation refueling. <br />Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton — This MCAS is adjacent to the South Orange County boundary <br />line. This installation is home to a large number of aircraft, predominately helicopters, which frequently transit <br />through the airspace over Orange County. <br />95 <br />