Arrowhead Airpark Developers Think They Know Better Than the FAA

To the Editor:

Arrowhead Airpark is a proposed subdivision with 94 hangar homes and a private 3000 ft paved runway packed onto 159 acres located at 203rd and Prospect. Safety is a critical issue for residents opposing the proposed development. Concern for safety is not an irrational fear of airplanes falling out of the sky. The concern is rooted in the fact that the developers appear to be ignoring crucial FAA safety recommendations.

The FAA recommends that a safety buffer surrounds the runway to protect against take-off overruns, landing shortfalls, or veering off to the sides. The areas at both ends of the runway are particularly important. The FAA recommends that the runway owner also controls that land to keep it well maintained and obstacle free. Instead of doing this, the developer has chosen to have their runway placed from property line to property line. This placement is so they can fit more homesites on the property, placing money over safety.

The Arrowhead Airpark developers have also not produced any wind data analysis. Runways function best when positioned to match the wind’s direction. By their own admission, the Arrowhead Airpark runway is in a crosswind alignment. Crosswind runways are trickier for take-offs and landings. We do not know the extent of the misalignment because they have not done the wind analysis.

Wildlife also poses a hazard to planes. Two of the top five hazardous animals, deer and Canada goose, are in abundance in this rural residential area. The FAA recommends the creation of a hazardous wildlife survey and a wildlife mitigation plan to avoid collisions between planes and animals. Arrowhead Airpark developers have done neither of these.

The developers have been working on this airpark proposal for years. They have claimed that they will be good neighbors.

The developers have not conducted FAA recommended surveys, analysis and plans which are all things that good, concerned and safety-minded neighbors would do. Instead, Arrowhead Airpark’s approach to safety has been “trust us, we want to be safe.” Every pilot involved in an accident likely “wanted to be safe”. The developers have adopted an arrogant and condescending approach to safety. Following FAA recommendations is not foolproof, but it creates a better chance that accidents are minimized.

Arrowhead Airpark developers think they know better than the FAA. THEY DO NOT!

The Cass County Commissioners are scheduled to meet on July 23rd at 12:00 p.m. at the Cass County Sherriff’s Training Center, located at 2501 W Mechanic St in Harrisonville, to decide on this proposal. Commissioners look at attendance. A packed room demonstrates the strength of our concern. It is harder to ignore us when they see our community standing together.

Peter Hallberg,

Cleveland