Marines to Shift Helicopter Flight Path

SAN DIEGO — To quell homeowner complaints about noise, Marine Corps officials said Tuesday that the main flight path for giant helicopters based here will be shifted a mile south to avoid Del Mar and other suburbs.

The Marine Corps is altering its main east-west route away from homes and closer to the Torrey Pines golf course. The route is used by helicopters approaching or departing Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

The new route is possible because of rule changes about altitudes being made by the Federal Aviation Administration, said Maj. Gen. Robert Magnus, commanding general at Miramar.

The route change was revealed at the same time that an out-of-court settlement was announced in a lawsuit filed against the Marine Corps by the city of Del Mar and a homeowner group alleging that the helicopters spew noxious fumes.

Without admitting fault, the Marine Corps agreed to pay $680,000 in legal fees and court costs for the plaintiffs and to conduct a study to see if the big green workhorses are violating the federal Clean Air Act. If so, the Marines promised to take unspecified action.

The flap over the helicopters began with a post-Cold War decision to close the Marine Corps bases in Orange County at El Toro and Tustin and transfer 112 Super Stallions and Sea Knights to Miramar. Miramar is the most heavily used Marine air station in the world, with 250 craft and 10,000 personnel.

Miramar had long been a naval air station famed for its Top Gun School and its F-14 Tomcats. But with Top Gun moving to Fallon, Nevada, and the Tomcats being assigned to other bases, Miramar was turned over to the Marine Corps in 1997.

Almost from the beginning, residents have complained about noise and pollution and expressed concern over possible crashes. Although jets have roared off the Miramar runways for years, the lumbering helicopters emit a noise that is both longer in duration and stronger in vibration.