FAA certification inspection finds minor discrepancies at Santa Barbara Airport; staff to correct markings, vegetation and equipment

The Federal Aviation Administration completed its annual certification inspection of Santa Barbara Airport May 20–22 and identified four discrepancies that airport staff described as minor.

Director Hastert and Michael Smith, the airport operations manager, told the Airport Commission on June 12 that the FAA's findings included faded and worn taxiway centerline pavement markings, housekeeping issues at the fuel farm, overgrown vegetation along sections of the perimeter fence and one fire extinguisher that did not meet the recommended size.

Why it matters: FAA certification inspections check whether airports meet safety and operations standards for commercial service airports. While the airport received a letter of compliance, the inspection's findings and recommendations guide work that affects day-to-day safety, emergency response and compliance with federal requirements.

Michael Smith said the inspection is part of the airport's routine oversight. "As a class 1 commercial service airport, we have to have an annual FAA certification inspection," Smith said. He told commissioners the FAA issued a preliminary report, a detailed formal inspection report and then a letter of compliance.

Smith said crews repainted some markings immediately and planned to finish repainting taxiway markings the following week, once weather conditions allowed proper drying. He said the fuel-farm housekeeping issues were cleaned up quickly and that the undersized extinguisher will be replaced to meet the inspector's note.

The commission heard additional recommendations from the inspector, identified by staff as nonbinding suggestions to improve safety and operations. Those recommendations included reducing the number of vehicle movement drivers on the airfield, adding runway and taxiway dimension slides to the airport driver-training curriculum, refreshing markings affected by construction phasing and providing more formalized FLIR (forward-looking infrared) training for firefighters. The inspector also advised additional training and awareness around ballistic parachute systems carried on some modern light aircraft.

Smith noted the FAA rotates certification inspectors every three years and that the current inspector, Jose, provided observations that aligned with improvements airport staff had been pursuing. "Some of these were things that I've been hitting on for the last couple years," Smith said, and he described the recommendations as helpful to advance ongoing efforts.

Commissioners asked whether a recent Cirrus aircraft accident that occurred off airport property was reviewed during the inspection. Director Hastert said the airport provided its basic report to the FAA but, because the accident was not on airport property, the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the in-depth review. "We don't have a final report for that accident yet," Hastert said; staff said they will review any NTSB findings and take action if the final report identifies airport-related issues.

Staff described the inspection overall as thorough and said they were satisfied that the findings were minor. Smith said many items involved attention to detail such as crack sealing and repainting, and he emphasized partnership with the FAA on safety matters.

What's next: Staff said they are already addressing the discrepancies, will complete the remaining painting and vegetation work after required biological surveys are cleared, and will work through the inspector's recommendations on training and access procedures.

Provenance (excerpted from the meeting transcript): "...as a, class 1 commercial service airport, we have to have an annual FAA certification inspection..." (topicintro). "...we don't have a final report for that accident yet..." (topicfinish).