Los Angeles International Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration, responding to years of noise- and safety-related complaints from El Segundo residents, will implement a new takeoff procedure at Los Angeles International Airport designed to ensure that planes head out over the Pacific Ocean, rather than the city.

A Los Angeles International Airport police officer is under investigation for allegedly driving past the scene of an unattended fatal car accident on his way to a doughnut shop last month. Lt. Kathleen Green confirmed that 13-year airport police veteran Merinio Labio is the focus of a "neglected duty" investigation stemming from the Jan. 18 accident on Imperial Highway.

Airport police arrested a 25-year-old motorist Sunday morning after he allegedly skirted a security gate at Los Angeles International Airport and drove his car onto a taxiway, where he traveled underneath the wing of a departing jetliner. No one was injured in the 8:30 a.m. incident and airport police said they could not explain the actions of the motorist, identified as Kang Min Wang. "He doesn't appear to be crazy or anything," said Lt. Howard Whitehead.

Saying "I have to pick up my mother at Los Angeles International Airport" will only draw hysterical laughter. It's LAX, babe. Call it Essential Advice--the stuff newcomers need to know upon arriving in L.A. We invite you to share your two cents for an upcoming story. It can be your favorite restaurant or your favorite freeway shortcut. Send to Essential Advice, Life & Style, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include a daytime telephone number. Or fax: (213) 237-4888.

The body of a pregnant woman found earlier this month in a burning car at Los Angeles International Airport was identified Tuesday as a Huntington Beach resident and a former Marine stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, authorities said. Dental records were used to identify the body of Stacey Janelle Horst, 29, who was discovered April 15 in a still-blazing car at an airport parking structure, according to police and coroner's investigators. Horst was discovered about 7:45 p.m.

A preliminary autopsy of a woman whose body was found in a burned vehicle at Los International Airport showed that the woman was pregnant, police said Thursday. It was initially believed that the woman, who was found in a burned-out sport-utility truck in a parking garage Monday night, had died in the car with an infant, Los Angeles Police Lt. Anthony Alba said. The age of the fetus was unclear, Alba said.

The Los Angeles International Airport owes the city's general fund $350 million--about $250 million more than previously estimated--in reimbursement for services and investment income dating back to 1928, according to a report released Monday by the city controller's office.

About 250 miffed employees from Los Angeles International Airport marched on City Hall Tuesday to protest several fee increases being considered for LAX. The city would like to receive more revenue from LAX and has been considering increasing the jet fuel tax and landing fees as well as requesting $350 million in unpaid interest from a loan made by the city to the airport in 1930.

A bill aimed at reducing noise levels for some 70,000 residents near Los Angeles International Airport was defeated Monday at its first committee hearing. The measure (AB 2887) by Assemblyman Curtis Tucker Jr. (D-Inglewood) was voted down 6 to 2, even though Tucker had stripped the measure of its toughest provisions before the committee acted. As originally drafted, the bill would have forced the airport to levy a $3-per-passenger tax to step up the soundproofing of surrounding homes.