⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 8 findings
F1
- Georgetown Airport is unsafe to operate due to overgrowth of trees. Because the County has known about this hazard and continued normal operations into at least December 2023, it may be subject to a claim of gross negligence if an accident happens.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
– The County needs to have a funded plan to address all tree hazards at the Georgetown Airport by the end of March 2024, completing removal of the tree and pole hazards by September 2024, to the satisfaction of Caltrans and meeting FAA regulations.
F2
– Up until December 2023, the County had no immediate plan to address the issue until receiving a notice from Caltrans that the airport would be closed to night operations pending the tree hazards being removed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
– The Board of Supervisors should immediately identify a champion (or team) to lead this effort, considering local pilot volunteers with aviation experience as well as County employees. The champion will provide monthly reports to the Board of Supervisors as to progress against the specific and funded action plan towards removing the hazards.
F3
- The County has been putting its citizens, visitors, and employees at unnecessary risk of injury or death despite being advised of the issue for at least ten years.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
– Management of the two County-operated airports should be moved out of the Planning and Building Department to a department/agency that is better suited to managing a business of this nature and ensuring better visibility to issues at all levels of County government.
F4
- The safety risks have been overshadowed by County efforts to improve the economic viability of the airports that are losing approximately a half million dollars a year, based on the County prioritizing a $50,000 economic development study earlier than it funded a plan to reduce the tree hazards.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
– Prioritization must be focused on airport safety over economic growth. Although $50,000 was spent on the economic development plan, no funding for any of the suggested improvements coming out of that plan should be allocated until the airport hazards are completely addressed.
F5
- The County did not act in the required timeframe to a letter dated March 19, 2022, from the California State Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the County to submit an obstruction removal plan for the Georgetown Airport per FAA requirements, resulting in the airport being closed for night operations on December 7, 2023.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
– Conduct annual safety inspections of both airports starting in 2025 and report the findings to the Board of Supervisors. Consider adding inspections of the airports to the required Grand Jury inspection of at least one detention facility annually by the 2024-2025 Grand Jury term. RECOMMENDATIONS
F6
– A pole that originally marked the tree line to the west side of the runway is no longer functioning for that purpose but serves as another potential hazard to pilots. Any contact with a rigid hazard like this pole would almost certainly cause a fatal accident. FINDINGS
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
– County leadership should continue using the Growlersburg Conservation Camp crew to clear the trees when and where applicable subject to their availability.
F7
- General aviation airports don’t get a lot of political attention because they benefit so few constituents and are only politically relevant as a revenue generator and/or emergency preparedness resource. This contributes to the lack of attention and visibility airport issues have had throughout the County in recent years, contributing to the severity of this issue.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
– The County’s failure to mitigate this known hazard threatens the financial health of the County since they will face lawsuits if injury or death results from the unsafe airport. The $50 million liability coverage from the airport insurance policy may be inadequate to cover losses from potential claims of gross negligence and may impact the general fund.
No recommendations for this finding
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
El Dorado County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office