Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pilot says FAA found Yuba County ultralight ban violated grant assurances; citizen warns county faces funding cuts
Summary
A pilot told the Yuba County Board of Supervisors the FAA found a 2022 county restriction on ultralight aircraft violated federal grant‑assurance rules and that the county has not submitted an adequate corrective plan; he warned the county could lose federal airport funding and said he intends to resume ultralight operations with FAA support.
David Shelton, an aerospace engineer and pilot, told the Yuba County Board of Supervisors that the county’s 2022 restriction on ultralight aircraft at the Yuba County Airport violated federal grant‑assurance obligations and that the Federal Aviation Administration has been asking the county to file a corrective action plan.
Shelton said the FAA notified the county in April 2023 that the ban conflicted with federal grant assurance requirements that an airport be available “to all aeronautical users without discrimination against any class or type of aircraft.” He told the board the FAA later concluded Yuba County had not met its obligation to submit a corrective action plan and that the agency was warning the county it could lose funding, a loss Shelton said could amount to “several $100,000 a year.”
Shelton told the board he was personally challenging what he described as an unlawful ban and said he planned to resume operating ultralight aircraft “safely, legally, and in compliance with all federal aviation regulations,” carrying a letter he said from the FAA stating ultralight operations are allowed at the airport.
Shelton also accused Supervisor John Masick by name of resisting changes and said the rest of the board had been “complicit” in what he called prolonged noncompliance. The board did not take formal action in response; supervisors later discussed FAA engagement with airport staff during board‑member reports.
The board’s staff and supervisors later discussed airport safety and ongoing FAA engagement during reports and asked staff to continue coordinating with the FAA. No vote or formal staff direction concerning the ultralight restriction appears in the transcript.
Next steps: supervisors said airport staff and county counsel would continue communications with the FAA; an airport‑related briefing was requested as part of routine oversight.
