FBOs
FAA nixes shorter runway at Florida airport
The FAA has strongly advised the operators of Witham Field Airport in Stuart, Fla., that their request to shorten 5,826-foot Runway 12/30 is not an option.

The FAA has strongly advised the operators of Witham Field Airport in Stuart, Fla., that their request to shorten 5,826-foot Runway 12/30 is not an option. The county commission wants to shorten the runway by decommissioning 230 feet on the Runway 12 end and using a declared distance for takeoffs that would reduce the length of Runway 30 by 460 feet.

In a letter to airport manager Mike Moon, FAA airports division manager Robert Chapman wrote that the FAA “is mindful of the sensitivity of the local community to aircraft noise.” The agency wants to work with the community to enhance the runway safety area and protection zone for Runway 12/30. But the FAA “has no technical basis in FAA standards for removing any runway length currently available for takeoff on Runway 12.”