By Stephanie Hastings Miranda – Community Forward Redlands
December 6, 2024
REDLANDS, Calif. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing modifications to the airspace designation around San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) to enhance safety and accommodate new flight procedures. The changes involve adjustments to the airport’s Class D and Class E airspace.
Why it matters: While the FAA states the changes will improve safety, critics, including local pilots and aviation groups, have voiced significant concerns. Comments submitted to the FAA’s Federal Register highlight the lack of radar systems at SBD and the potential for increased air traffic conflicts over Redlands.
The FAA has extended the public comment period to Dec. 10, 2024, to give stakeholders more time to respond.
Details: The proposed changes include raising SBD’s existing Class D airspace by 500 feet and extending it 5.5 miles to the east, partially overlapping the airspace above Redlands Municipal Airport (REI).
The Class D airspace would also expand nearly 0.75 miles to the north and slightly to the west. This classification requires pilots to communicate with the SBD control tower before entering.
The FAA contends these modifications are necessary to better control aircraft departing SBD using instrument flight procedures and to manage a second instrument approach developed for SBD’s Runway 24.
The second approach routes arriving aircraft over Redlands and Mentone, then along Green Spot Road toward SBD, potentially increasing large jet traffic at the airport. To improve air traffic control for these arrivals, the FAA is proposing to establish Class E airspace from the surface. This new Class E airspace, covering an area of approximately seven by five miles, would impose stricter visibility requirements on aircraft operating under visual flight rules (VFR), including most flights at REI.
The FAA asserts these changes are needed to accommodate growing air traffic driven by increased air freight activity at SBD.
Concerns about safety and policy
Aviation experts have raised alarm about potential safety risks.
“This does nothing to address ongoing safety issues with jetliners crossing through the pattern,” said Ted Gablin, president of the Redlands Airport Association (RAA).
Gablin criticized the proposal as premature due to the lack of radar and other surveillance equipment at SBD. “San Bernardino Airport still doesn’t have radar or any surveillance equipment beyond binoculars and human observation,” he said, noting that tower personnel have reported challenges managing visibility within the current airspace.
Gablin, who participated in the FAA’s safety risk management panel, wrote a letter on behalf of the RAA opposing the changes unless additional safety measures, such as radar installation and pilot education, are implemented.
A radar display system is expected to be installed at the SBD control tower by 2026.
Many commenters brought up the lack of radar in their letters to the FAA.
“Until KSBD becomes radar-equipped, the Class D shelf over KREI should be postponed,” wrote Daniel Turner in a public comment. “Several comments have already called out the danger this poses to both the heavy aircraft on the approach to Runway 24 and the smaller aircraft in the pattern at KREI.”
Eric Heigis, a certified flight instructor, submitted a six-page letter calling the proposal a “first-of-its-kind Class D airspace design” that could confuse pilots.
“I haven’t seen one comment supporting what the FAA is doing,” Heigis wrote, urging the agency to explore alternatives and issue a revised proposal.
Critics also expressed concerns about noise and pollution.
“The new airspace scheme will invite larger aircraft to make east-to-west approaches, increasing noise and pollution for the Redlands and Highland communities,” Marc Weniger wrote.
Impacts on Redlands Municipal Airport
The proposed changes would shift REI’s airspace from uncontrolled Class G to controlled Class E4. This classification imposes stricter visibility and cloud clearance requirements, potentially complicating operations for helicopter pilots and ultralight vehicle operators.
Gablin and others have highlighted the minimal separation between the new Class D airspace floor and REI’s traffic pattern altitude, warning of potential wake turbulence and mid-air collisions with aircraft approaching SBD’s Runway 24.
Pilots at REI may also face operational challenges due to reliance on SBD weather reports, which can differ significantly because of geographical and elevation differences.
“This airspace modification will harm general aviation at Redlands Municipal Airport and create real-time safety concerns for pilots operating out of both airports,” wrote Ben Amen.
Moving forward
The city of Redlands has not yet issued an official response to the FAA’s proposal.
The comment period was extended after a request from the Crestline Soaring Society, which represents hang glider and paraglider pilots who could be affected.
