WASHINGTON — As a busy military airstrip, Joint Base Andrews In Prince George’s County, Maryland, supports many flights, including that of the president in Air Force One.
With these flights come the risk of an accident involving an aircraft, and county officials have a plan in place for such incidents.
That plan was put into action Wednesday morning when a D.C. Air National Guard F-16C fighter jet crashed near Temple Hill Road in Clinton.
“The operation was seamless and that didn’t happen by accident: It comes from a tremendous relationship between county government, the base and the community,” said Jim Estepp, president of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable. Estepp is also the former chairman of the county council and served as Prince George’s County’s longest-running fire chief.
He said there are agreements between the county and the military in how a response will work after an incident, such as the jet crash.
Creating the safest possible conditions for the community, while leaving the military space to conduct necessary training and missions, is something the county and military has studied, according to Estepp.
In 2015, the county passed an ordinance that limits what can be done with property that is in what has been dubbed clear zones. There are two zones: one on the north and the other on the south side of the runway. The 5,000-foot-long by 3,000-foot-wide zones are areas where studies have shown have the highest probability of seeing an aircraft accident if one were to occur.
“You’ve got an area essentially that you really want to be free of any development and, certainly going forward, no new development and no new growth in those areas,” Estepp said.
Wednesday’s crash happened just outside the designated clear zone, something Estepp said is very rare.
The final findings of the joint land use study requested that Congress appropriate funds so the military could acquire lands in the clear zone to prevent what the report called “incompatible land use.” Estepp said a push for those federal dollars continues so offers can be made on more than 40 properties that remain in the north clear zone.
He said the county is in better shape than many other communities that find themselves with bigger concerns because lands around bases are more developed.
“That’s what has happened at a lot of bases across the country, is you have encroachment over the years and unchecked growth, and then all of sudden people realize they have a problem,” Estepp said.
Prince George’s County is trying to get ahead of the problem, according to Estepp, and the ordinance that puts height, noise and land use restrictions on properties inside the clear zones is one part of the solution.
