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JENNIFER LIBERTOProgress Energy Inc. says the lines are far enough away from the runway and don't need to be illuminated.
Crystal River has them. Inverness has them. Zephyrhills has them.
Hernando County is the only airport in the North Suncoast whose nearby power lines lack those giant orange globes that dance in the slightest breeze, impaled by the lines.
Power lines close to the airport runway are a hazard waiting to entrap helicopters or troubled low-flying planes, said several airport tenants who have asked the airport to illuminate the lines with the giant orange reflective balls.
"It's a safety issue, if an accident happens, it's too darn late," said pilot Robert Del Valle, who owns Hernando Jet Center, during a recent aviation authority meeting.
Airport Director Don Silvernell said the agency has asked Progress Energy Inc. to illuminate the power lines in the past. But the power company responded that the utility lines are not close enough to the runway to merit such action.
The power lines lie just north of Spring Hill Drive, about 2,000 feet from the runway. Runways at airports like Pilot Country and Crystal River airports are much closer to power lines. Power companies tend to install the reflective balls when the power lines are in the main approach area to the runway, Silvernell said. Federal laws do not require nearby power lines to be illuminated, he added.
When contacted about the issue, a Progress Energy official said the utility's power lines close to the airport are either buried underground or below the tree line. Other power lines are outside the glide path of aircraft.
"Just because a line is near an airport doesn't mean we have to mark that line," said company spokeswoman Kathy Small.
Del Valle told the airport authority last Thursday that in an emergency situation, low-flying planes risk smacking into them.
The Florida Army National Guard and Aerotel Inc. owner Gordon DeGeest also sent the airport letters calling for reflective markers on power lines, which now post a "threat to low-flying helicopter traffic," the national guard letter stated.
The power lines pose the most risk during inclement weather or turbulence, when aircraft tend to hover lower in their approach, DeGeest said.
"This airport is one of the finest airports around here, but it just doesn't have that safety device," said DeGeest, who has run a charter plane company at the airport for 15 years.
The airport authority directed Silvernell to look into the cost to the airport of purchasing the reflective orbs and then asking power company to install them.
If the county is willing to cover the cost of installing the orange orbs, Progress Energy said the company would be willing to work with the county.
"It's not expensive and it's not hard to do," said Progress Energy's Small.
- Jennifer Liberto can be reached at 848-1434 or liberto@sptimes.com