South Bay : Jet Traffic Problem to Be in the Spotlight

Residents of El Segundo have had it with jet traffic from Los Angeles International Airport illegally flying over their town, so they’re going to shine a light on the problem.

Next Thursday, the city plans to shoot a searchlight straight up from its westernmost boundary to show pilots exactly where the city limits are. The hope is that pilots will stop making early turns after takeoff.

“They’re going to know exactly where we are,” said City Manager Jim Morrison. “We’re tired of 747s making the ground in our city shake. We have videos showing jets coming down Center Street, which is, of course, in the center of town.”

The searchlight, with 650,000 candlepower, will be placed at the west end of Imperial Highway. Jets are supposed to wait until they have cleared the shoreline before making any turns to the south. Morrison said the city has documented an average of 15,000 early turns a year by pilots.

The city has arranged to have two representatives in the LAX tower next Thursday to make sure controllers remind pilots why the searchlight is in place. If the searchlight test is successful, Morrison said the city may request that it be kept permanently and that LAX pay for it.