Hana wants lights for
foul-weather flights

Navigational aids would help
in medical emergencies andtourism,
say supporters of a master plan
for the airport

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

HANA, Maui -- Residents in rural Hana want the state to install airplane navigational aids at their commuter airport to allow flights in foul weather, especially for medical emergencies.

A drive from Hana to medical facilities in Wailuku takes about two hours.

Under a draft airport master plan, navigational lights would be installed to help pilots determine the altitude at which to approach the airstrip for a landing when visibility is poor.

Pilots would also be able to fly by instrument to a navigational fix offshore before their visual approach to the airport.

The airport runway already has lights.

Regularly scheduled flights between Hana and Honolulu have decreased to two daily in the last 12 years due mainly to a slump in tourism.

The draft plan looks at the use of the Hana Airport in five to 20 years.

Hana resident Michael P. Minn said the airport was closed to air traffic for four days before this past Christmas because of poor weather.

Minn said navigational aids would also help residents who need an air ambulance in emergencies.

The draft includes other recommendations as well, such as expanding the airport terminal from 1,000 to 2,500 square feet and routing traffic in a counter-clockwise direction around an oval designated for parking.

Consultants say residents have complained about the lack of space in waiting areas.

The draft plan also recommends providing hangars for aircraft.

John Ida, a consultant for Urban Works Inc., said that although operations at the airport are expected to increase slightly between 1996 and 2001, the level and location of the noise will not change significantly.

Ida said the noise level is not expected to exceed 75 decibels outside of the airport property, so there is no plan to purchase private land to lessen the impact of increased use.

A couple of Hana residents say they'd like to see more visitor flights.

"I'd like to see more of them because this town has been really dead," said Thomas Cossey, who lives adjacent to the airport.

Cossey and his wife, Suzette, say the noise from airplane landings doesn't disturb them as long as helicopters don't fly over their house.

"We've learned to live with it," Suzette Cossey said.

The plan will go to state transportation heads for their approval, then to the Department of Budget and Finance and, eventually, the Legislature.

A public hearing is expected in three to four months, state officials said.