AIRPORT OPERATIONS HISTORY

The following operations data was obtained from the FAA database and the City's Aircraft Noise Control and Land Use Study (1981). The following complaint and violation data were obtained from the reports to the Airport Commission from the Torrance Community Development Department. Projections for 2022 were estimated based on the average of the months for which data has been reported.

Have flight operations increased?

Flight operations at Torrance Airport have decreased significantly over the years, until recently. In response to the impending critical shortage of airline pilots and related flight-qualification personnel, flight training operations at the airport have increased.

Are there more noise violations?

Violations of the City of Torrance noise ordinances by aircraft using the airport have decreased significantly due to noise-reduction techniques used by Torrance-based pilots. Approximately one-third of flights at the airport are made by transient pilots and aircraft (those not based at Torrance). The Torrance Airport Association is working on means to communicate to these transient pilots the need to also employ these techniques when using Torrance Airport.

Torrance flight schools also require their students to know and use these techniques and to use the south traffic pattern only when necessary. The Sling Pilot Academy, which accounts for nearly half of the flights, also is investigating additional changes to their aircraft and operaitons to further reduce their impact on the community.

Why have complaints increased?

Complaints about Torrance Airport operations come mainly from residences south of the airport. The sudden peak in the complaint rate in 2020 was caused by a flood of "robo" complaints filed by a single individual as the City Council was contemplating renewal of the contract for the very expensive monitoring system. They decided not to renew and monitoring ended September 30, 2020. A new system was purchased in mid-2021 and installed in August 2022.

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Analysis of complaints submitted in 2021 shows that up to 8o% of the complaints in one month were filed using an automated complaint-filing computer application. These "robo-complaints" can be filed with just a click of a computer mouse or click of button on a pocket device sold by the developer. No aircraft even need be in the area.

Further analysis of these "robo-complaints" proved that over HALF of the complaints in April 2021 were filed by ONE SINGLE INDIVIDUAL! As one can see in the graphic below, the majority of the "robo-complaints" in several months were made by that single individual. It is entirely possible that the majority of the "robo-complaints" in the other months can also be attributed to that individual, although that connection cannot be proven with the same analysis method.

In 2022, no "robo-complaints" were filed, except for 4 in April 2022. All four of those complaints were filed by a single individual.