Evening star., 1951-08-14
0'Nea|| Charges
CAAFavoritism
On BurkeSite
Attorney Says AirIines
Got Preference Under
Secrecy on Airport

of Washington's new airport.
The charge came from Charlie
F. O'Neall. attorney for the Burk'
Airport Relocation Committee, a.
he pressed a bitter fight agains
development of the Fairfax Coun'
ty project, although it has beer
approved by Secretary of Com
merce Sawyer and indorsed by tht
National Capital Park and Plan.
ming Commission.
Mr. O'Neall asserted that CAA
had sacrificed the long-range in.
terests of both the public and the
airlines through the policy o1
secrecy in choosing the 4,500-acre
site II miles southwest of the Dis
trict.
No Implication of Dishonesty.
Previously, the attorney had de-
clared that it is reasonable to
believe that the cloak of secrecy
was employed to preclude public
scrutiny of the reasons behind the
selection made" He said. how
ever. the statement contained mo
intended implication of dishon-
esty"
Amplifying the Relocation Com
mittee's position on this point to-
day, MIR. ONeall said
1T is a recognized phenomena
in Government administration
that agencies charged with re-
sponsibility of defending the pub
lies interest as against any Or
ganized segment of the economy
are particularly susceptible to the
influence of the economic group
which they are supposed t. regu-
late.
Thus the ICC Interstate Com
merce Commission) grants fire.
quent freight rate increases, etc
In the case of CAA, the airlines
themselves constitute the most eff
fective pressure on CAA and there
is no organized group representing
the general public interest to form
a counterbalance to the pressure
of the airlines' interest
Airlines Expected to Gain.
Mr.. O'Neall said the airIines
stand to benefit from the Burke
selection because of its proximity
both to Washington and to Ma
tional Airport. He said the lines
can expect to attract more pas
sengers than if the airport were
farther away, or if Baltimore S
Friendship airport were used as a
supplement to National.
Gov. McKeldin of Maryland has
made a strong bid for the use of
Friendship and criticized the
Governments selection of the new
site at Burke.
The Burke Relocation Commit
tee is made up of Fairfax County
land owners who prefer to see
their property developed private
ly to being taken over for the
multi-million dollar airport In
official objections, however, they
are emphasizing legal and engi-
neering points as reasons for re-
locating the big field.
In conferences yesterday and
today with CAA authorities, COM
mittee members attacked the
stand taken last week by CAA
Administrator C. F. Horne in his
brief for the Burke choice.
Poor Engineering Charged.
Mr.. O'Neall and his associates
contend that the Government
proposes to build at Burke an
airport which does not meet min
imum recommended engineering
practices of the international Civil
Aviation Organization of the
United Nations. He also contends
that CAA is not abiding by pro-
visions of its own 1949 publica-
ton. Airport Design" with re-
spect to safety factors.
The Burke attorney said the
selected site would intensity the
already complex traffic patterns
for Washington National Airport
and that planes approaching
Burke would cross danger areas
for Quantico Marine Base and the
Dahlgren Proving Ground unless
modified. Mr.. Horne said it is
CAA's opinion that the conflict
with Dahlgren and Quantico
danger areas can be resolved sat
isfactorily.
Mr.. Horne said last week that
CAA did not consider as serious
objections to the Burke site which
were listed in an engineering re-
port. He said Mr.. O'Neall had
overlooked "far more serious lin
itations with respect to the other
(possible) sites" He also declared
that the southerly approach at
Burke would be unrestricted.
Criticism Unanswered.
Mr.. O'Neall objected strenu-
ously to the latter statement. He
insisted that the southerly ap-
proach would be unrestricted only
If the Dahlgren and Quantico
danger areas could be modified.
Mr.. O'Neall complained that
CAA has never answered criticism
of the length of Burke's proposed
secondary runway. Under the
plans, the main runway will be
10000 feet long and the secondary
runway 1000 feet. Mr.. O'Neall
said the secondary strip should
be $500 to keep in the spirit of
the international agreement. The
pact provides that the secondary
runway generally (should be-
not less than IS per cent and
never less than 10 per cent of the
length" of the main runway.
The Burke attorney also said
the proposed airport will be within
IL airline miles of National Air
port whereas the Airport Design"
adopted by CAA specifies that the
minimum distance should be IS
or Is miles.
uorua nafande DoJ;nv