Decrease the saturation of prop planes over our neighborhoods
Decrease the saturation of prop planes over our neighborhoods
The Issue
To reach us directly, you can email us at eastveniceskies@gmail.com.
THE ISSUE:
There has been a dramatic increase — approximately 39 to 43% — in small prop planes circling Venice & East Venice from Santa Monica Airport (SMO) year to date (see below graph created from FAA records). The increase seems to be in large part due to new and increased flight school activity operating out of SMO since early 2025. These planes circle above East Venice every few minutes performing “touch and go” maneuvers for hours at a time, depending on the time of day (or evening!) with just a few minutes between flights. They have not been following the rules of the Santa Monica Airport’s "Fly Neighborly Program" which states the following: Aircraft departures to the west are requested to overfly the length of the Penmar Golf Course and initiate northerly turns at the shoreline, or southerly turns at Lincoln Boulevard. Departures to the east are requested to initiate crosswind turns over the 405 Freeway. Instead, they frequently take off in a southwest direction across East Venice at very low altitude, banking left just beyond Penmar Ave. and heading east through our neighborhood typically between Palms Blvd. and Victoria Ave. These small prop planes — one after the other — are gaining altitude and speed directly over our heads, which accounts or the intense noise, increased pollution, and safety concerns associated with students pilots learning to fly over our heads.
THE GOAL:
We aim to significantly reduce the saturation of prop planes flying through Venice & East Venice.
THE DATA:
THE INFO:
New flight schools at SMO:
• Sling Pilot Academy signed a lease to operate out of Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in April of 2025. https://smdp.com/business/sling-pilot-academy-launches-new-era-of-flight-training-at-santa-monica-airport/
• Ascent Aviation Academy and possibly other Van Nuys Airport flight schools have increased their operations out of SMO in 2025 due to arunway construction project at Van Nuys Airport. Limited runway access is pushing their pattern flying to SMO. https://www.iflyvny.com/construction/construction-updates According to FAA records, there has been an increase in flights operating out of Santa Monica Airport by 39 to 43% year to date. Some months are up by 63% and 70% in 2025 over 2024.
LEAD is a massive health concern for East Venice:
• “Among the highest” in LA County: In a 2023 filing, the California Department of Public Health reported that Van Nuys had the highest lead emissions in the U.S., followed closely by Santa Monica—underscoring SMO as one of the largest lead emitters in the region. (Newer prop planes do not use leaded fuel, however there are plenty of older prop planes flying out of SMO!)
https://downloads.regulations.gov/EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0389-0214/attachment_1.pdf
https://ceh.org/air-and-water/avgas-map-californians-affected-by-lead-from-aviation-fuel/
• Lead emissions from aircraft engines that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare. The EPA has formally recognized this as a public health danger.
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-lead-emissions-aircraft
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO BESIDES SIGN THIS PETITION?
1. Share the petition with concerned neighbors, encouraging them to sign and share with others. Let’s get to 1,000 signatures!
2. Keep track of the specific days and times when the noise from prop planes is particularly bad. Email those specific complaints to Santa Monica Airport Noise Management. The more complaints in writing, the better.
Additionally, the noise complaint line is difficult to reach, therefore emailing them directly and or filling out a complaint form found on the Santa MonicaAirport website is the most effective way to document your complaints. See link and email below.
https://www.santamonica.gov/process-explainers/how-to-submit-an-aircraft-noise-inquiry
Noise complaint email:
noise.mailbox@santamonica.gov
ADDITIONAL SOURCES INCLUDE:
EPA: Endangerment Finding for Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/epa-issues-endangerment-finding-for-leaded-aviation-gas
FAA: Unleaded Avgas Transition — EAGLE Program https://www.faa.gov/unleaded
UCLA Study: L.A. neighborhoods show striking differences in transit-related air pollution https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers discover-striking-249623
UCLA HIA: Santa MonicaAirport Health Impact Assessment (HIA) https://www.pew.org/~/media/assets/2010/02/santamonicaairportfinalhia.pdf
South Coast AQMD: Santa Monica Airport Lead Study https://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/air-quality/air-quality-monitoring-studies/general-aviation-study/study-of-air-toxins-near-van-nuys-and-santa-monica-airport.pdf
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The Issue
To reach us directly, you can email us at eastveniceskies@gmail.com.
THE ISSUE:
There has been a dramatic increase — approximately 39 to 43% — in small prop planes circling Venice & East Venice from Santa Monica Airport (SMO) year to date (see below graph created from FAA records). The increase seems to be in large part due to new and increased flight school activity operating out of SMO since early 2025. These planes circle above East Venice every few minutes performing “touch and go” maneuvers for hours at a time, depending on the time of day (or evening!) with just a few minutes between flights. They have not been following the rules of the Santa Monica Airport’s "Fly Neighborly Program" which states the following: Aircraft departures to the west are requested to overfly the length of the Penmar Golf Course and initiate northerly turns at the shoreline, or southerly turns at Lincoln Boulevard. Departures to the east are requested to initiate crosswind turns over the 405 Freeway. Instead, they frequently take off in a southwest direction across East Venice at very low altitude, banking left just beyond Penmar Ave. and heading east through our neighborhood typically between Palms Blvd. and Victoria Ave. These small prop planes — one after the other — are gaining altitude and speed directly over our heads, which accounts or the intense noise, increased pollution, and safety concerns associated with students pilots learning to fly over our heads.
THE GOAL:
We aim to significantly reduce the saturation of prop planes flying through Venice & East Venice.
THE DATA:
THE INFO:
New flight schools at SMO:
• Sling Pilot Academy signed a lease to operate out of Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in April of 2025. https://smdp.com/business/sling-pilot-academy-launches-new-era-of-flight-training-at-santa-monica-airport/
• Ascent Aviation Academy and possibly other Van Nuys Airport flight schools have increased their operations out of SMO in 2025 due to arunway construction project at Van Nuys Airport. Limited runway access is pushing their pattern flying to SMO. https://www.iflyvny.com/construction/construction-updates According to FAA records, there has been an increase in flights operating out of Santa Monica Airport by 39 to 43% year to date. Some months are up by 63% and 70% in 2025 over 2024.
LEAD is a massive health concern for East Venice:
• “Among the highest” in LA County: In a 2023 filing, the California Department of Public Health reported that Van Nuys had the highest lead emissions in the U.S., followed closely by Santa Monica—underscoring SMO as one of the largest lead emitters in the region. (Newer prop planes do not use leaded fuel, however there are plenty of older prop planes flying out of SMO!)
https://downloads.regulations.gov/EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0389-0214/attachment_1.pdf
https://ceh.org/air-and-water/avgas-map-californians-affected-by-lead-from-aviation-fuel/
• Lead emissions from aircraft engines that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare. The EPA has formally recognized this as a public health danger.
https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-lead-emissions-aircraft
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO BESIDES SIGN THIS PETITION?
1. Share the petition with concerned neighbors, encouraging them to sign and share with others. Let’s get to 1,000 signatures!
2. Keep track of the specific days and times when the noise from prop planes is particularly bad. Email those specific complaints to Santa Monica Airport Noise Management. The more complaints in writing, the better.
Additionally, the noise complaint line is difficult to reach, therefore emailing them directly and or filling out a complaint form found on the Santa MonicaAirport website is the most effective way to document your complaints. See link and email below.
https://www.santamonica.gov/process-explainers/how-to-submit-an-aircraft-noise-inquiry
Noise complaint email:
noise.mailbox@santamonica.gov
ADDITIONAL SOURCES INCLUDE:
EPA: Endangerment Finding for Lead Emissions from Piston-Engine Aircraft https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/epa-issues-endangerment-finding-for-leaded-aviation-gas
FAA: Unleaded Avgas Transition — EAGLE Program https://www.faa.gov/unleaded
UCLA Study: L.A. neighborhoods show striking differences in transit-related air pollution https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers discover-striking-249623
UCLA HIA: Santa MonicaAirport Health Impact Assessment (HIA) https://www.pew.org/~/media/assets/2010/02/santamonicaairportfinalhia.pdf
South Coast AQMD: Santa Monica Airport Lead Study https://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/air-quality/air-quality-monitoring-studies/general-aviation-study/study-of-air-toxins-near-van-nuys-and-santa-monica-airport.pdf
1,226
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Petition created on August 20, 2025