CORRIDOR DEADLY FOR FLIERS NEWHALL PASS LIVES UP TO REPUTATION AS CRASH ALLEY.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

Most fatal airplane crashes in the San Fernando Valley since 1985 have occurred in the Newhall Pass, a narrow mountain gateway where a midair collision in Sylmar killed four people last month, according to a Daily News analysis of records.

Twenty-four people have died in 10 crashes in or near the pass since 1985, with most crashes occurring during bad weather and because of pilot error, according to National Transportation Safety Board records.

Altogether, 66 people have died in the pass and Valley during that period in a total of 129 crashes, including 98 that were not fatal.

Pilots and safety experts say flying into the Valley is especially tricky, as planes must share the skies with an average of 2,500 planes a day taking direction from Van Nuys Airport, Burbank Airport and Whiteman Airpark in a seven-mile triangle.

``It's kind of like flying in a bird cage - you really have to keep your head on a swivel and look around real well,'' said Frank Tullo, a retired airline pilot and aviation safety consultant who now teaches at California State University, Los Angeles.

With so many planes flying over this densely populated region of 1.6 million people, the number of incidents affecting people on the ground has been miraculously low. Planes have crashed into school buses, freeways and even homes, but most crash landings in residential areas were nonfatal, and none in recent memory killed anyone on the ground.

Midair collisions like the one in Sylmar on Feb. 7 are also rare. Since 1985, there have only been two others, both nonfatal.

The Newhall Pass, however, has been a veritable crash alley.

The pass, which funnels traffic through the mountains between the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, can be crowded and treacherous, especially for inexperienced fliers in bad weather, according to aviation experts.

``For that area, with the mountainous terrain north and east and west and pretty much all around, weather has been probably the biggest cause of crashes, even going back to the '30s and '40s,'' said George Petterson, a crash investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to experts, most problems can be avoided if pilots simply follow good judgment and common-sense practices - including knowing when not to take to the air.

In order to qualify for flying on instruments in bad weather, pilots must receive extra certification, called an instrument rating. Those who don't are only supposed to fly in clear weather, under visual flight rules.

But overeager, underexperienced pilots too often skirt the rules or push the envelope in terms of flying in bad weather, according to experienced pilots.

``Aviation safety comes down to one thing, and that's judgment,'' said Mark Stewart, operations director at Professional Pilot Training, a Burbank flight school. ``That's the ability to say, 'Look what's outside the window; I'm not comfortable with that, and I'm going to turn back.' ''

``The problem is you get 'Get-there-itis' - I've got somebody in the plane or I've got to get to my sister's wedding,'' he added. ``It's the same evil that gets people in automobile accidents.''

CRASHES DECLINING

Nationally, the general aviation crash rate has dropped to a 62-year low, according to a spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Last year, there were 1,908 general aviation crashes across the country, out of nearly 40 million flights, said AOPA spokesman Warren Morningstar. Of those, 342 were fatal.

People are roughly seven times more likely to get in an auto collision than a plane crash - although plane crashes are more likely to be fatal, he added.

In the Valley, there were seven airplane or helicopter crashes last year, none fatal. Since 1985, there have been 129.

By comparison, in 1999 alone, 73 people died in car crashes on Valley surface streets, according to Los Angeles police - more than the number of people who died in nearly 20 years of air crashes.

Crashes or incidents at the Valley's airports during that time included:

--Seven fatal crashes resulting in 14 deaths at Van Nuys Airport, the nation's busiest general aviation airport with 600,000 takeoffs, landings and flyovers last year. The figure includes crashes on airport property, as well as in the air shortly after takeoff or on approach.

--One fatal crash causing four deaths at Burbank Airport.

--Four fatal crashes resulting in seven deaths at Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima.

Despite the relatively low numbers of crashes, some residents think the airspace over the Valley is much too busy to be safe.

``The main problem I have is the intense volume of traffic that squeezes into this small airspace,'' said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino. ``You've got Burbank Airport approaches coming smack over Van Nuys.''

He said he has been concerned ever since 1981, when a midair collision forced a plane into the May Co. at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, killing three people aboard. That was the last fatal midair collision in the Valley prior to this year.

``Between that and the vast number of helicopters coming in and out, and the jets, it creates a major and severe air safety issue. There's absolutely no doubt of that,'' he said.

Silver argues that the airspace over Van Nuys should be as tightly controlled as that over Los Angeles International Airport, with greater limits on takeoffs and better tracking of every plane. And he thinks more departures from Burbank should be shifted to the east.

FREE-SPIRITED PILOTS

Tight control of Van Nuys airspace is resisted by most pilots, who value their freedom in choosing flight times and paths, as well as by the Federal Aviation Administration.

FAA spokesman Mitch Barker said the current system works well and the agency does not want to be the ``air police.'' Attempts to pass tighter regulation, he said, would encounter stiff opposition, and run counter to the agency's philosophy.

``I'm sure a case could be made that it would reduce accidents if you put strict limits on pilots,'' Barker said. ``But there are societal values that have to be taken into consideration.''

Another way to reduce small-plane crashes, according to Tullo, is to add some sophisticated equipment that is mandatory on larger aircraft.

The first is a traffic collision avoidance system, which helps planes detect other nearby aircraft; and the second is a ground proximity warning system, which alerts pilots when they are too close to the terrain.

If the pilots who crashed over Sylmar last month had those systems, they probably could have avoided the collision, Tullo said.

The problem is that the instruments are much too expensive for most small-plane owners.

The TCAS, for example, costs at least $20,000, Stewart noted, while a cheap plane can be had for $15,000.

``That's like putting a $20,000 stereo in your $15,000 car,'' Stewart said.

CAPTION(S):

chart, map

Map: VALLEY CRASHES

Home to three airports, the San Fernando Valley has experienced 129 plane accidents since 1985, including 31 that were fatal. Most occurred at or near the airports and the Newhall Pass. Nonfatal accidents listed include anything serious enough to warrant a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, including equipment failures, runway collisions and emergency landings.

(Stars are not precise locations, but indicate crashes within a zip code.)

Chart: CITY/ZIP/FATAL ACCIDENTS/NUMBER OF FATALITIES/NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS

Source: National Transportation Safety Board