FAA opens investigation into Las Cruces airport

LAS CRUCES — The Federal Aviation Administration has initiated an investigation into Las Cruces International Airport, based on allegations that a city employee is performing duties for which they are “not sufficiently qualified or properly trained,” and that city leadership has blocked corrective actions.

The FAA informed the airport’s chief administrator, Andy Hume, in a May 2 letter that it would investigate alleged noncompliance with federal regulations governing airport certification. It did not name any employees targeted by the investigation nor spell out the allegations in detail.

The letter, authored by FAA airport certification safety inspector Michael Fray, requested information about all personnel with access to the airport’s movement area, along with details about their training and authorizations and any documented breaches of operating or movement area procedures. The letter also requested descriptions of the duties and responsibilities of airport personnel, including city employees, who conduct routine maintenance tasks in the movement area.

The letter made specific reference to regulations limiting access to certain areas of the airport to pedestrians or ground vehicles necessary for operations and procedures for “safe and orderly operation.”

“Information reported to our office indicates that a City of Las Cruces employee with designated Part 139 duties and responsibilities is not sufficiently qualified or properly trained to perform such functions,” the letter states. Additionally, the FAA received an allegation that “on multiple occasions, airport management and staff have attempted to implement corrective actions with the employee, however, City of Las Cruces leadership has intervened and overruled their decisions.”

Part 139 refers to federal regulations pertaining to certification of airports serving scheduled passenger flights with more than nine seats or unscheduled operations with 31 seats or more. The certification requirements address matters including runway safety, firefighting and rescue, safe fueling, hazards related to weather and wildlife and other matters.

Fray invited the city to respond to the investigation in writing within 10 business days of the letter’s arrival.

“The City will be cooperating with the FAA throughout the course of the investigation,” a spokesman said in a statement to the Journal. “While no formal written response has been released at this time, the City remains committed to open communication with our federal partners. Out of respect for the investigative process and in consideration of potential personnel-related matters, the City will not be commenting on specific allegations at this time.”

Michael Radtke, the city’s airport advisory board chair, alerted City Council members to the investigation during their May 5 meeting. Radtke said the investigation “could jeopardize our Part 139 certificate, and this is bad news because the airport has great trajectory right now. If they find us out of compliance, this will mean a huge loss of revenue and a huge safety concern for pilots and the general public.”

Radtke declined to comment further when reached by the Journal.

Just three weeks ago, Hume saw the council approve an ambitious airport master plan contemplating extensions of its three runways, economic development plans in collaboration with the nearby industrial park and New Mexico State University as well as the region’s aerospace industry.

“The municipal code and the airport certification manual spells out clearly the authority of the airport manager and his duties to the city,” Radtke told the council. “The city needs to let him do his job and follow the corresponding rules and regulations.”