Airport safety seminars ordered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in response to several recent plane crashes at and near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima began at the county-owned airport last week.
The first of enhanced quarterly safety classes began on Monday, July 27, attracting about 100 participants, including pilots, flight instructors, aircraft owners, members of the aviation community and county and federal officials.
The event drew a standing-room-only response.
“The standing-room-only turnout was a huge win and a testament to how much people truly care about safety at Whiteman Airport,” said Penny Alderson, president and owner of Vista Aviation, who attended the seminar.
Vista Aviation is based at the airport. It does a variety of things, from maintenance to flight school and pilot training, Alderson said.
The county general aviation airport supported more than 126,000 annual operations in 2025 and houses nearly 500 based aircraft. It is also home to Los Angeles County Fire Department and CalFire aircraft used during wildfire incidents.
During the seminar, those in attendance heard from officials with Los Angeles County Public Works, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as aircraft manager Will Hoyt and Michael R. Williamson, a local pilot and flight instructor.
“Safety is the foundation of everything we do at Whiteman Airport,” said LA County Public Works Aviation Chief Jason Morgan at the beginning of the meeting.
Williams talked about safety reminders, standard procedures and gave out tips for flying at the county airport surrounded by the city of Los Angeles community of Pacoima, Alderson said.
Third District Supervisor Lindsey Horvath authored the motion at a June 30 board meeting that led to the quarterly safety seminars.
“This airport is located in a densely populated residential community,” said Horvath at the June 30 meeting. “With repeated failures of the FAA to prevent crashes at Whiteman, I think we need to do more. It is unacceptable for community members to live in fear without answers as to why these things are happening.”
The board actions came after several plane mishaps.
The most recent occurred on June 16, when a small plane crashed while landing at Whiteman. The 77-year-old pilot failed to deploy his landing gear. The pilot was not hospitalized after the aircraft came to rest in the facility’s parking lot. The downed single-engine plane was reported at 9:11 a.m. in the area of 12653 Osborne St., just beyond the end of the embattled airfield’s runway, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Crews reported a 5-gallon fuel spill that was contained with no active fire.
The crash was the latest in a string of high-profile incidents involving aircraft operating to or from the county-owned airport in recent years.
Those accidents have fueled a long-standing debate over whether Whiteman Airport should remain open, pitting community advocates, pilots and airport officials who argue it is an important regional asset, against some elected officials and some residential groups in Pacoima who say the airport poses unacceptable risks.
Previous accidents were more perilous, to the pilot and the surrounding community.
On April 20, a single-engine propeller aircraft crashed in the neighborhood of Pacoima, outside of Whiteman, while attempting to land. In its descent, the aircraft struck a power line and subsequently crashed into a parking lot of an auto parts store adjacent to residential neighborhoods. The 70-year-old pilot was the only person on board, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The June 16 incident marked at least the fifth aircraft accident involving Whiteman Airport since 2020. Not counting the two recent crashes, the other incidents have included a fatal crash near homes in Pacoima, a dramatic emergency landing on Metrolink tracks in which police rescued the pilot moments before a train struck the aircraft, and another fatal crash near the 210 Freeway.
“Of the 35 crashes at Whiteman in the last 25 years, every single one was a result of pilot error or aircraft malfunction,” Horvath said.
The airport already runs monthly safety seminars. The quarterly seminars instituted by the county and FAA are in addition, Alderson said.
“We for 10 years have had a monthly safety meeting here. This is an additional safety meeting that was negotiated between Jason (Morgan) and Supervisor Horvath,” Alderson said on Friday, July 31.
Some of the guidance during the safety seminar came from the air traffic controller who emphasized that pilots must respond immediately to communications and directions from the tower, she said.
“It was a good meeting. We are looking forward to the next one,” Alderson said.
Horvath has sent multiple letters to the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board since April urging the agencies to investigate recent crashes, review pilot training and airport safety practices, issue corrective recommendations and temporarily halt operations pending a broader federal safety review.
The L.A. City Council has previously weighed in on Whiteman Airport, though it has no authority over the county-owned facility.
In December 2020, the council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting state or federal legislation or administrative action to close the airport. The resolution, introduced by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, whose district includes Pacoima, cited public safety and air quality concerns, as well as the potential to redevelop the cite for housing and jobs for the surrounding community.