Friends of Meigs File Suit to Reopen Airport
Release Tape of Dramatic Air Traffic Conflict Prevented by Meigs
Controllers
CHICAGO, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Friends of Meigs Field
returned fire in the battle over Meigs Field, Chicago's downtown
airport.
Following the City of Chicago's midnight bulldozing raid on Sunday
night, the
Friends of Meigs and numerous other plaintiffs filed suit in Cook County
Circuit Court, challenging the legality of the move, seeking a temporary
restraining order against further demolition, and, ultimately, the
reopening
of the airport. At today's press conference at the Daley Center,
presenters
also played a recording of an air traffic control radio conversation
that
dramatically illustrated the value of Meigs Field to public safety.
"The City's actions were not only outrageous and shocking to all
Chicagoans," said Rachel Goodstein, President of the Friends of Meigs
Field,
"They were also illegal. The community cannot afford to let this pass
unchallenged."
In December of 2001, Mayor Daley and Governor Ryan announced an
agreement
settling the long-standing dispute surrounding Meigs Field's fate,
agreeing to
keep the airport open 24 years, unless the Illinois Legislature enacted
a law
earlier (after 2006) to allow its closure. Yet, on Sunday night, the
City of
Chicago used bulldozers to carve up Meigs' runway without notice to
anyone,
including the public, the Governor of Illinois, the FAA, IDOT, the
employees
at the airport, or even the pilots of 16 aircraft left stranded on the
tarmac.
The City cited nonspecific "homeland security" threats for the closure,
even
though the action would not eliminate the purported threat of aerial
attack
and actually threatens public safety in numerous ways.
"The move shocked the nation," said Goodstein, "now that we've got a
chance to catch our breath, we are moving to stop this travesty." The
suit,
asking for an emergency temporary restraining order, was filed by
Stephen Novack, Karen Levine, and Richard Miller of Novack and Macey, on
behalf of numerous clients, including the Friends of Meigs Field.
Wide Variety of Plaintiffs
The initial Plaintiffs in the suit also include individual
taxpayers,
aeromedical transport professionals, air traffic controllers, and
volunteers
in the Young Eagles first flight program at Meigs Field.
Claims include that the closure endangers public safety by
threatening air
traffic, critical care medical patients, and disaster planning for bio-
terrorist attacks.
Dramatic Audio Tape of a Life Saved This Week by Meigs
At the press conference announcing the suit, the Friends of Meigs
Field
played an audio tape recording of an incident only two days earlier, in
which
the air traffic controllers at Meigs Field played a crucial role in
averting a
mid-air collision between two aircraft in the downtown airspace. The
dramatic
sound track recounts the exchange between the tower controller and a
pilot on
a collision course with an opposite-direction aircraft at the same
altitude.
It is very possible that only a last-second dive commanded by the radar-
equipped controller kept the two aircraft from colliding. The pilot is
heard
after the incident thanking the controller for "saving his life."
(Note: Neither aircraft took off nor landed at Meigs Field, whose
runway
was already bulldozed. These types of flights are called "overflights"
and
typically exceed the number of flights landing at Meigs, particularly on
good
weather days. These flights will continue whether Meigs Field exists or
not.
It is the role of the Meigs Field control tower to provide traffic
advisories
to aircraft within a 9-mile circle of airspace over downtown Chicago.
Eliminating Meigs Field would endanger these pilots and their passengers
needlessly.)
A digital version of the recording and a transcript will be made
available
on the Friends of Meigs Field web site later today (
http://www.friendsofmeigs.org ).
Other Initiatives Under Way to Save Meigs Field
The Friends of Meigs Field also presented materials documenting a
wide
variety of organizations that have been galvanized into action by the
City's
precipitous and illegal closure of the airport.
-- Wednesday, a group of 6 leading national aviation groups,
representing
over half a million individuals and 8,000 corporations, joined in
a
strongly-worded letter to President Bush asking for federal
intervention. (Available online at http://www.nbaa.org ,
http://www.eaa.org ,
http://www.aopa.org , http://www.nata-online.org ,
http://www.generalaviation.org , and
http://www.rotor.com )
-- Thursday, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association announced a
12-element plan to fight to reopen Meigs Field, including legal
and
legislative initiatives, as well as an advertising campaign in
Chicago
media. (see http://www.aopa.org )
-- Thursday, the Illinois Association of Air and Critical Care
Transport,
representing aeromedical transport professionals across the
state,
issued a strongly worded statement saying it was "stunned" over
the
"implications on critical patient transport" to area hospitals.
-- Thursday, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club had
published in
the Chicago Tribune an op-ed article decrying the Mayor's
reneging on
the 2001 agreement with Gov. Ryan to expand airport capacity, and
saying that the Mayor's decision "does severe harm" to the
relations
between the business community and local government.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Comes to Chicago Friday
On Friday, Phil Boyer, President of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association, the world's largest civil aviation organization with more
than
390,000 members will be in Chicago making media appearances in defense
of
Meigs Field and presenting AOPA's airport defense plan.
For further information:
Friends of Meigs Field Rachel Goodstein, President Cell: (773)
338-4762
Meigs Action Coalition Steven Whitney, President Cell: (847)
452-4305
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. Keith Mordoff, SVP Communications
(301) 695-2156
National Business Aviation Assn. Pete West, SVP Govt. Affairs
(202) 783-9262
National Air Transportation Assn. Jim Coyne, President (800)
808-NATA
Experimental Aircraft Assn. Earl Lawrence, VP Govt. Affairs
(920) 426-6537
General Aviation Mfrs. Assn. Ed Bolen, President (202) 393-1500
Helicopter Assn. Intl. Roy Resavage, President (703) 683-4646
SOURCE Friends of Meigs Field
Web Site: http://www.friendsofmeigs.org http://www.nbaa.org
http://www.eaa.org http://www.aopa.org http://www.nata-online.org
http://www.generalaviation.org http://www.rotor.com