ASSEMBLYMEMBER TED LIEU
53RD ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
For Immediate Release: December 19, 2007
Contact: David Ford
Phone: (916) 319-2053

Assemblymember Lieu Again Calls On FAA To Immediately Improve Safety At LAX

South Bay Lawmaker Says FAA Gambling With Lives Of Passengers

El Segundo, CA – In a sharply worded letter to Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgelll, Assemblymember Ted Lieu stated the FAA was “playing Russian Roulette with the lives of passengers” at LAX. 

Assemblymember Lieu reiterated his call to the FAA to immediately improve safety at LAX by: reducing flight volume and diverting flights to other regional airports; increasing the amount of time between landings and takeoffs; and increasing the number of air traffic controllers.

In his letter, the South Bay Lawmaker cites a recent report by the Federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), which pointed out the severe safety problems at LAX, and labeled it one of the most unsafe airports in the country. 

Assemblymember Lieu flies in and out of LAX four times per week when the State Legislature is in session, and he has personally experienced being a passenger in an airplane during a runway incursion incident at LAX last spring.

“The GAO has stated there is a high risk of a catastrophic collision and yet the FAA continues to sit idly by,” Lieu said.  “If the FAA does not take immediate action, people are going to die, and the blood is going to be on its hands.”

Assemblymember Lieu represents LAX and the surrounding communities of Westchester, Playa Del Rey, and El Segundo in the State Assembly.

Please see attached copy of the letter Assemblymember Lieu sent to the FAA.