FAA Testing New Air Charts for L.A. Area

The Federal Aviation Administration is asking 5,000 area pilots to flight test a new aeronautical chart designed to better guide them through the complex, congested airspace over Los Angeles.

The charts were developed in the aftermath of the 1986 midair collision between a jetliner and a private plane over Cerritos and they represent an attempt to improve navigational factors that contributed to the disaster.

If the experimental charts get a favorable review here, one test sponsor said, they probably will be developed for other congested areas.

The test program is sponsored by the FAA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. and aviation publisher Jeppesen-Sanderson.

Separating Air Traffic

Jack Norris, accident prevention coordinator for the FAA’s Western Pacific region, said the charts are also intended to provide better separation between air-carrier traffic and general aviation and significantly reduce the number of incursions into airspace reserved for aircraft guided by air traffic controllers.

Proposed by TWA Capt. Barry Schiff after the Cerritos disaster that killed 82 people, the 36 charts show recommended arrival and departure routes for 18 airports in the Los Angeles area. A pilot following the routes and altitudes on the charts would remain outside restricted airspace surrounding Los Angeles International Airport and other terminal areas. The Cerritos collision involved a private plane flying inside the Terminal Control Area without permission and an airliner approaching Los Angeles International Airport.

The new charts are intended to supplement, not replace, charts now used for visual navigation. These charts have been criticized as confusing and cluttered.