Mr. Ringler wrote that building the store along the centerline of the airport's runway protection zone was counter to the purpose of the zone, which is meant to be a buffer in case a plane crashes.
He said he intends to cite a letter from the F.A.A. declaring that Stew Leonard's location would be incompatible with the runway protection zone.
Mr. Jones said objections were raised about the movie theater and that it was relocated 1,000 feet north to move it out of the runway protection zone.
"The parcel is sufficiently large enough so that you could move the Stew Leonard's building about 1,000 feet south and have it completely outside the runway protection zone," he said.
Mr. McShane recalled that in 2000 a small plane crashed within feet of the Home Depot at the Airport Plaza shopping center, which is across the street but outside the runway protection zone.
But she added that "structures which will result in the congregating of people" within the runway protection zone "are strongly discouraged in the interest of protecting people and property on the ground".
All these have provided a theoretical basis for exactly determining the position, altitude and the superelevation value of the obstacle in the highway runway clearance zone.
Moreover, many regional airports require substantial investments being made in runways, safety zones, terminal buildings etc. in order to fulfil the requirements set out in the regulation.
In 1994, the safety board recommended moving Main Street, a two-lane state highway, away from the airport to allow room for a safety zone beyond one runway to protect planes that overrun a crash fence, and installing new landing lights for the runway.
The observer then donned a new pair of latex gloves before placing a test pup in the center area (neutral zone) of the runway, confined there with clean translucent dividers (28.5×0.5×15.5 cm; cleaned with 100% ethanol prior to use) to ensure an unbiased starting position.
