Every day, an unprecedented amount of training flights take off and land over Mesa’s neighborhoods, circling repetitively for hours at a time. What many people don’t realize is that almost every one of those flights burns leaded aviation fuel (100LL),  the last remaining transportation fuel in the U.S. that still contains lead.

Lead is a neurotoxin. There is no safe level of exposure, especially for children. Even small amounts can cause permanent damage to the developing brain, lowering IQ, harming attention span, and increasing behavioral and learning problems. And yet, flight schools continue to run nonstop operations directly over homes, parks, and schools, effectively turning Mesa’s air into a low-level lead exposure zone.

What’s frustrating is how familiar this all sounds. When people raise concerns, the response from many in aviation circles is eerily similar to how the tobacco industry once defended cigarettes:

“There’s no proof it’s harmful.”
“We’ve always done it this way.”
“It’s a small amount, it can’t really hurt anyone.”

We now know those same arguments delayed action for decades and cost untold lives. We can’t let history repeat itself in the skies over our city.

Mesa families deserve clean air and peace in their own homes. The technology for unleaded avgas already exists. The only thing missing is the will to transition, and the community pressure to make it happen.

Please continue sharing this petition. Every signature adds weight to the call for lead-free fuel and fair limits on repetitive flight training in our neighborhoods.