Late last year, the Santa Monica city council voted to ban category C and D aircraft from using their muicipal airport. As far as anyone in the Aviation industry can tell, this statute is completely illegal and thankfully, as the LA Times reports, a district judge has issued a restraining order that forbids the city from enforcing that ordinance pending review.

AOPA has an article with a good timeline sumarizing the history of this issue and a link to the actual court order. AVWeb mentions that the judge asked the Santa Monica city attorney how many of the targeted jets have been involved in runway overruns (the purported main safety concern of the council.) Apparently, the answer was: none. The only overrun incidnets have been from smaller aircraft not even mentioned in the city's legislation. Nice try Santa Monica, but you may have missed the boat on that one.

The LA Times article also mentions that the FAA suggested removing homes built in the areas that the city claims are in danger if a large jets overruns the runway. Though I doubt anyone would want to endure the uproar that would cause, it does highlight the fact that somebody (the Santa Monica city countil?) allowed houses to be built in that apparently dangerous area. At risk of sounding redundant, not only should this illegal ban be withdrawn, the Santa Monica city council should be held criminally responsible for letting their citizens build homes there...if it is such a dangerous area.