In 1977 two 747s came together in the fog in a runway - taxiway mishap that claimed hundreds of lives in Tenerife, and ever since, taxi-ways and runway issues were paramount safety concerns with the FAA. That was till a flock of geese flying up the Hudson river decided to sacrifice a few of their own to maintain their centuries old claim to that airspace and Capt Sully unknowingly obliged them by letting them put his A320 in the Hudson river. In a knee jerk reaction to public outcries, our elected leaders changed this safety priority to “wildlife incursions on and in the vicinity of airports” and Montrose Regional Airport got a fence instead of a much needed taxiway.
In our elected leaders infinite wisdom, they will provide a very large local goose population a place to spend their nights, free from any threats from the predators who will be fenced out by this 10 million dollar fence. That is, till some inconsiderate airliner landing or taking off at night disturbs their sleep and they decide to make another sacrifice. Hopefully the pilot will be as gifted (and lucky) as Capt Sully and hopefully the Uncompaghrey river will be in flood stage or the city has widened Park street providing another happy ending.
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The Mayor of Telluride recently addressed a group of Montrose business people and told of their 65 million grant from the FAA for not only new taxi-ways, but also a new runway, terminal, ramps and parking facilities. When asked how they were awarded so much money, he responded that his airport manager went to the FAA and asked for it. He of course was turned down initially, but not taking no for an answer, and using every resource available, they finally gave in to his request.
I don’t know what they pay this man, but it is not enough!
We, on the other hand, get their traffic whenever it is necessary to close the Telluride airport for these various improvements and our old ‘temporary’ taxiway suffers more abuse. We, however, are getting a fence!
Montrose County is in need of a well represented Airport Authority which would be a great asset in maintaining the Montrose Airport, as the fine facility that it is.
Norm Pesch
Black Canyon Pilots
Association
Publisher’s note: The 300-word guideline was waived for this letter.
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