TORRANCE AIRPORT AIRSPACE PROTECTS THE AREA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controls all airspace and aircraft flights. Surrounding Torrance Airport is a special area, defined by the FAA as "Class D airspace." It extends 5 miles from the center of the airport and up to 5000 feet above ground level. This special airspace, like that around all similar airports in the country, provides some special protections for our community:

• Large jets from LAX and Long Beach airports must fly outside the Class D airspace--they must be above 5000 feet. Otherwise, they could fly as low as 1000 feet above the ground.
• The FAA limits building height to under 200 feet within 3.8 miles of the airport. Otherwise, we could see dense, vertical development with more traffic and congestion.