Protesters call for closure of Reid-Hillview Airport after small-plane crash
SAN JOSE -- A recent small airplane crash in San Jose is renewing calls to close Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose.
On Saturday evening, a few dozen neighbors demonstrated at the crash site and chanted "Shut it down now! Shut it down now!"
"[This is crash] number seven. There's another one that I don't know about, they were talking about it. It could be number 8," said demonstrator Dara Cano.
Cano has lived across from the airport for 50 years. The plane crashed near her house at the corner of Ocala Avenue and Karl Street, just outside of the airport. Investigators believe the small plane hit a utility pole right after take-off on Friday night. The pilot was rushed to a local hospital for treatment.
"I was trying to sleep, get a little nap, and I heard it explode. And everybody at my house kept saying, 'A plane fell! A plane fell!'" recalled Cano.
She also worries about air pollution and the effects on her five-year-old granddaughter.
"She's getting that lead in her and it's just making me angry. I don't want the lead inside of her, my poor little kid and all these other kids," said Cano.
She limits her granddaughter's outside play time.
"Children who live within a mile and a half of this airport have a high rate of lead in their blood," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez.
After County officials released an air pollution report in the Summer of 2021, the airport switched from leaded to unleaded fuel.
"The reaction of the people around the airport is understandable. We are concerned about these kinds of things too," said Walt Gyger, who operates a flight school and a rental business at the airport.
He said Reid-Hillview Airport is an asset.
"We train a large amount of airline pilot candidates, if you will. And as you know, airlines need more pilots," said Gyger.
He said the airport provides about 300 good paying jobs. But opponents have tried to shut down the airport for decades, saying the risks outweigh the benefits.
"Within a mile and a half of this airport, we have 52,000 people who live here. That is unique, that's not true for most regional airports in the country. This should be an exception. They should close it," said Chavez.
Cano agrees.
"Hopefully, they close it pretty soon, like this week," said Cano. The airport has a contract to operate until 2031. But some county leaders want to shut it down much sooner.
