A lawsuit was filed against the property owners association at Spruce Creek Fly-in, an airplane community near Port Orange. WESH 2's Claire Metz (@clairemetzwesh) found that a pilot who lives there filed the lawsuit, claiming the association is refusing to trim trees that he says make flying in and out dangerous.
Watch video: http://www.wesh.com
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
IN AND OUT DANGEROUS. THERE ARE SOME 400 HANGAR HOMES IN THIS PRIVATE SPRUCE CREEK FLY-IN COMMUNITY ANOTHER 6 TO 7 HUNDRED PLANES IN AND OUT AND A GROUP OF PILOTS HERE SAY THEY NO LONGER FEEL SAFE DOING IT.
TREES HAVE BEEN PERMITTED TO GROW INTO THE SO CALLED SAFETY ENVELOPE. MELVIN STANLEY AND OTHERS WHO LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THEY ARE PILOTS, LIKE TREES JUST AS MUCH AS ANYONE BUT NOT WHEN THEY ENCROACH THE RUNWAY, WITH DOZENS OF PINES AND OAKS GROWING SO TALL, SOME FEAR THEY'LL CLIP THEM.
YOU DON'T HAVE THE OPTION OF COMING IN LIKE A BALLOON AND DROPPING DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RUNWAY LIKE SOME OF THE LITTLE SMALL PLANES DO.
BY PHONE, THE PRESIDENT OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION DECLINED TO COMMENT, BUT STANLEY SAYS SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE FAA PROHIBITED INSTRUMENT LANDINGS AT NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE TREES, STANLEY, WHO VOLUNTEERS TO FLY VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR MEDICAL CARE, SAYS THAT NIGHT PROHIBITION REALLY RESTRICTS HIM.
OTHERS SAY, EVEN DURING THE DAY, THE TREES ARE A HAZARD.
IT'S AN UNNECESSARY SOURCE OF ANXIETY.
DR. MICHAEL SCHLOSS FLIES A JET AIRCRAFT FOR BUSINESS BUT HIS REAL LOVE IS AN ANTIQUE BI-PLANE, HE HAS SECOND THOUGHTS TAKING IT UP THESE DAYS. I'M LOOKING AT THOSE TREES AND THINKING TO MYSELF LETS SEE HOW OLD IS THIS ENGINE? HMMMM PROBABLY OLDER THAN I AM, I HOPE IT DOESN'T HICCUP, THOSE TREES ARE AWFUL CLOSE.
THE PILOTS THINK THE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION IS PUTTING THE AESTHETIC OF TREES, SO MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD OVER SAFETY.
AND THINK THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY COULD BE ON THE HOOK IF HEAVEN FORBID SOMETHING HAPPENS THE PILOTS ARE HOPING THE HOA FINALLY HEARS THEM THAT THEY SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES, THIS LAWSUIT THEY SAY, IS A LAST RESORT.
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