10:40am | The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is seeking stricter air control regulations at the Long Beach Airport over concerns that aircraft are at higher risk of mid-air collision. But incidents at the airport are rare and some pilots say that new regulations will only complicate things.

Airlines such as JetBlue are saying that their cockpit collision warning systems are triggered with increased regularity when flying in or out of LGB, so the FAA is proposing that the airport be designated as Class C airspace.

This new designation would increase safety by expanding air traffic supervision by one-third. But some pilots say that stricter regulations will complicate flying in the area, creating more paperwork and less actual supervision while also making general aviation more dangerous.

For instance, the new regulations will require stricter two-way communications between pilots and the tower. For smaller, private planes that do not wish to be in close contact with the tower, there would be designated flight paths that could become congested and therefore more dangerous under the new rules.

According to a Los Angeles Times article:

“This is designed for the air carriers, not general aviation. They are not asking the airlines to do anything,” said Al Pregler, a veteran air transport pilot and aerospace engineer. “This is just another nail in the coffin of general aviation.”


UPDATE 11:45am
| Airport spokesperson Sharon Diggs Jackson said that the airport will not take a stance either way because the issue involves airspace, which is strictly FAA jurisdiction and above the power of the airport. She said that although commercial flight activity has increased in recent years, the airspace is not unsafe but that any decision from the FAA would be welcomed.

“An FAA decision will not in any way affect airport operations,” Diggs Jackson said.