Deukmejian Park and other emergency LZs

Please tell what happened and how it might have been avoided. Names should be ommitted. This forum should help others learn from mistakes that caused or nearly caused a mishap.
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Ken Andrews
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Location: Pasadena

Deukmejian Park and other emergency LZs

Post by Ken Andrews »

Fellow cross-country dreamers,

It blew down at Kagel all day on Sunday, so I visited a couple local emergency LZs instead. Deukmejian Park is at the base of Mount Lukens, directly south of the summit. This is a Sediment Placement Site (SPS) operated by the LA Department of Public Works, and it's one of the places where they dump the dirt that they clean out of the local flood control basins. Many thousand truckloads of sediment have been placed here since the fires a year ago, and the park has been closed to the public for most of that time, so this was my first visit since it re-opened. This bail-out LZ is now much smaller than it was a year ago, and it wasn't wonderful even then.

The SPS consists of two man-made hills with relatively small flat tops and steep sides; let's call them East Hill and West Hill. East Hill is shown in the first photo below (looking south with the Verdugo Mountains in the background) with eight bulldozers parked on it. This was the best landing option a year ago when it was larger and lower. Now, I'm intimidated by the heavy equipment and the spectre of overshooting into the houses and trees and power lines below. Instead, one could land on the road in the foreground, which is reasonably steep and long. One would have to land to the northeast, which is downwind and uphill, with potential rotor behind East Hill.

Image

The second photo shows West Hill, as viewed from the rim of East Hill. This is probably the better landing option, though it's not large, and I'd land to the west if given a choice.

Image

Disclaimer: Photos can be misleading as to scale, and even the scariest terrain looks nearly flat from the air. Please walk the site yourself if there's any chance you might land here!

As for other sites, the emergency LZ above Almetz Street (between Barner and Leedy Streets, and just east of the Olive View Hospital LZ) is mostly unchanged. I would still be willing to land a LiteSpeed here (west to east), but the options are not obvious from the air and it sure helps to walk the site first. This is another Sediment Placement Site, so there's ongoing heavy equipment activity, and LADWP tells me that it will likely change dramatically in the next year.

The JPL wash has not changed since the rains nine months ago filled the entire thing with sand and made it look so nice. This is still a very landable LZ, though Pasadena city law may be against you. My favorite runway goes directly under a set of big power lines high overhead, and there are more power lines all around it, so once again, it would be silly not to walk this place before landing here.

Information on other local LZs is here: http://www.shga.com/dangeroussiteinfo.asp
greblo
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Post by greblo »

Wonderfully helpful to all who venture in those directions.
Thanks a lot Ken for taking the time to help educate pilots.
Safety is a book, not a word
Michael Robertson
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JD
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Post by JD »

Thanks Ken. This is invaluable information to me an other low-flying XC pilots. Google Maps has a nice satellite view of the bailout here I think I'd feel safer landing my T2C on the steep hillside than attempting this little terraced set of parks.

La Canada Country Club still looks sort of viable: here.

It looks like time to put on my hiking shoes and grab a camera and GPS.
Cheers, Jonathan
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stebbins
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Location: Palmdale, CA

Post by stebbins »

For what it's worth, I used to drive that way to work, and the area Johathan is indicating is more sloped than it looks from the photos and from the air. Probably doable, but there is what appears to be a better alternative just across the street. I've walked this field, but never landed there.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll= ... 04812&z=18

The thing to note is that the SW end of this area is uphill. So the obvious aproach is to do base leg going WNW just South of Starlight Crest Dr, and make a sweeping left turn to land in the middle of the large grassy area going SW. If you overshoot, it goes uphill, then trees and a house. Don't overshoot to the West. :o

But as I said, I've not landed there, only walked the field. And of course, things do change, so Jonathan is right. A visit would be a good thing.

One more note: This is a Country Club Golf Course, so be very polite and get out of the way immediately.
Fly High; Fly Far; Fly Safe -- George
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