Donald D Engen

The Burbank Airport authority agreed under protest Monday to the Federal Aviation Administration's demand that it move the airport's passenger boarding area to get parked planes farther from a runway. Acting on a committee's recommendation, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority voted to eliminate two automobile parking lots east of the terminal building to make room for the new boarding area.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has agreed under protest to the Federal Aviation Administration's demand that it move the airport's passenger boarding area to get parked planes farther from a runway. Acting on a committee's recommendation, the airport authority voted to eliminate two automobile parking lots east of the terminal to make room for the new boarding area. The plan was submitted to the FAA last week along with a plea for federal money for the work.

Eastern Airlines has agreed to pay a record $9.5-million fine, by far the largest civil penalty ever imposed on a U.S. air carrier, which it had refused to pay last year for 78,372 alleged maintenance and record-keeping violations, the government said Tuesday.

Two separate instances of near-collisions between airliners crossing the North Atlantic serve as a fresh and unnerving reminder of the seemingly growing dangers to air travelers. Southern Californians are especially sensitive to these dangers because of the tragic air collision last August over Cerritos. That accident occurred when an Aeromexico airliner and a small Piper collided; 82 people were killed.

I feel compelled to respond to a column by Harry Bernstein ("Reagan Should Rehire Air Controllers," March 26). With each succeeding month, the Federal Aviation Administration is qualifying between 150 and 200 new full-performance-level controllers. Last year--with a 3% increase in air traffic--we had 25% fewer controller errors and 18% fewer scheduled airline delays. Furthermore, air traffic control was not a causal factor in the major airline accidents last year.

A navigational radio transmitter at John Wayne Airport has flunked a key test and will remain inoperative because of signal interference from a new office complex, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday. As a result, pilots heading into John Wayne Airport must continue using the same instrument landing approach used by commercial jetliners.

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration is willing to meet with Burbank Airport officials to discuss the airport's problems in complying with FAA directions to build a new terminal, the FAA has said. The FAA replied this week to a request from Robert W. Garcin, president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, for a meeting with FAA Administrator Donald D. Engen to discuss the expense of meeting FAA requirements.

The Reagan Administration and lawmakers moved Wednesday to restrict air traffic over the Grand Canyon, where 25 sightseers died June 18 when a helicopter and a small plane collided. On a voice vote, the House Interior Committee approved legislation that would ban virtually all civilian helicopters and aircraft from flying below the canyon rim.