Instrument Training Conflicts With Airliners
San Diego’s Lindbergh Field is near the city’s downtown area between Pacific Coast Highway and San Diego Bay. North Island Naval Air Station is just across the bay.
There have been numerous attempts to relocate the busy terminal serving California’s second largest city and the rapidly growing San Diego County region, but no satisfactory resolution has been made.
Lindbergh Field is at sea level and traffic approaching in the usual east to west landing pattern must fly low over the hills to the east of the field and then drop rapidly to the landing on the main southeast to northwest runway. Most traffic is from the north and flies south to the vicinity of Delmar, where an eastern vector is made until a right turn over Mission Valley brings the planes in for final approach. Takeoffs are to the northwest over Point Loma and Mission Bay. Residents have complained of jet noise. Because of the hills, the instrument approach is only from the west.
Suggestions have been made to move the airport to the preferable location at Montgomery Field, a general aviation airport several miles northeast. However, the Navy, which operates “hot” jets such as the F-14 from adjacent Miramar Naval Air Station, will not agree. Other plans have been to move commercial operations to the south end of San Diego Bay, but complications with Mexico and other problems have made this move impossible.
Because of the instrument runway being operational only on west to east flights, training instrument landings often are made during the same period that commercial and other aircraft land from the opposite direction.
This was the situation on September 25 when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 on a Sacramento to San Diego via Los Angeles flight, was on its final east to west approach and collided in the air with a Cessna which had just completed a west to east instrument touch and go.
The FAA has now authorized the installation of radar for approach control at Lindbergh Field and also the establishment of a terminal control area where all aircraft are to be under direct control of FAA personnel. Additional safety procedures are expected to be established.