Whiteman Airport, a longtime staple of the Pacoima community, has left some of its community members divided after some have expressed concerns that the airfield is no longer safe.
The small San Fernando Valley airport was the subject of a study launched by Los Angeles County in 2024 to determine whether it should close and what could possibly replace it.
“How can they waste millions of dollars of taxpayer money to examine closing a legal airport that legally, they’re not able to close?” said Christina Pascucci, the former LA County Aviation Commissioner.
On Tuesday, a coalition of current and former local aviation officials called on the county to keep Whiteman open. The county has owned the airport since 1970 and would require the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval to shut it down.
Recently, the FAA told the county that Whiteman must remain open as long as it’s a viable airport. The coalition is accusing county officials of withholding federal funds that could make it safer.
“If elected officials continue to suffocate the airport from resources it really needs, we are afraid there could be serious long-term consequences,” Pascucci said.
Their pleas come just a week after a pilot was seriously hurt when he hit power lines while on approach to Whiteman, crashing upside down in the parking lot of an O’Reilly Auto Parts store. The coalition said the county needs to use federal dollars to put power lines underground and rebuild the runway.
“It’s an airport in an urbanized community whose runway does not provide for sufficient takeoff or landing space for planes,” said Roberto Barragan, Executive Director of ICON CDC.
The results on the county’s study on whether Whiteman should remain open or close are expected to be released this year. It will then be submitted to the FAA.
LA County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
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