The FAA is moving to bring Palm Beach County into voluntary compliance with its grant-assurance agreements, but if the county does not lift its ban on small jets at Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) in Lantana, Florida, it will deem the county in “pending noncompliance” and possibly move forward with more formal action, the agency said last week.
After receiving an informal Part 13 complaint from a pilot over the jet ban, the FAA in March determined “that permitting jet aircraft operations on Runway 9-27 will not affect safety or efficiency at LNA or surrounding airports” and requested that the county “update information regarding its restriction on jet operations.”
The county responded that the FAA’s finding did not constitute a formal or final order and was not a formal directive. This prompted the pilot, Errol Forman, to seek a meeting and suggested he would move forward with a full Part 16 compliant.
In a May 9 letter to counsel for Forman and the county, the FAA cautioned that the county has 60 days to follow through on the request. Palm Beach is currently considered to be in “conditional compliance,” but would be moved into “pending noncompliance” if the county failed to take timely action, the agency said, adding it might also refer the case for enforcement investigation.