The U.S. FAA has found that business jets can safely operate at Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA) in Lantana, Florida, in a determination that could at least in part overturn a long-standing ban on the smallest of such aircraft at the facility.

The determination, issued on March 17, stemmed from an informal Part 13 complaint filed over the long-standing ban on jet aircraft operations at LNA. Former Eastern Airlines pilot Errol Forman had filed a complaint with the FAA’s Orlando Airports District Office, after he had received warnings for landing his Cessna Citation I/SP at LNA. Forman argued that the ban violated airport grant assurance agreements and was discriminatory.

Palm Beach County officials have argued that the ban, which was put in place in 1973, was grandfathered under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA) of 1990.

In December, the FAA’s Southern Region Airports Division disagreed, however, saying the ban isn’t necessarily grandfathered, since Palm Beach County had altered its regulations and implemented new agreements involving the jet ban after ANCA was adopted.

“This restriction is not subject to the grandfathering provision of ANCA and is being used to deny access to the airport in a manner that is not consistent with paragraph (a) of Grant Assurance 22,” the agency stated.

But the agency also noted that the ban might be permitted, if it proved necessary for safety purposes and agreed to conduct a study on the possibility for such operations.

In a March 17 letter, the agency revealed findings of that safety study, concluding “that permitting jet aircraft operations on Runway 9-27 will not affect safety or efficiency at LNA or surrounding airports.” But the county could continue to restrict jet operations from 3-21 and 15-33 in compliance with its grant assurance agreements, the FAA added. Runway 9-27 is the longest of the three runways at 3,489 feet, within the CJ’s 3,080-foot takeoff range.

The March 17 letter further stipulates that the agency's “conclusions do not obligate the county to alter its existing plans for LNA; the length of Runway 9-27, its design features, weather conditions and federal regulations for aircraft operations may continue to reasonably restrict the type, kind and class of jet aircraft that may take off and land.”

This language, said Alan Armstrong, an attorney representing Forman in the case, appears to provide the county with the leeway to continue restrictions on aircraft that cannot safely use the runway, such as those that need longer takeoff strips.

The FAA requested that the county “update information regarding its restriction on jet operations at LNA with the FAA's National Flight Data Center, the Florida Department of Transportation's Aviation and Spaceports Office and the County's website within 60 days.”

Armstrong was unsure whether the finding would address the issue and whether the county would alter its restrictions in the next 60 days. But he added that his client would wait to see the response of the county before deciding to pursue the matter further.

Counsel representing the county, meanwhile, said officials are reviewing the letter and deciding on their next steps.