Local News in Brief : City Warns Pilots at LAX

El Segundo officials, tired of noisy aircraft taking off from Los Angeles International Airport and flying over the city’s homes instead of the ocean, have followed through on their threat and issued an ultimatum to pilots.

A city spokeswoman said Friday that a letter has been sent to the chief pilots of the approximately 80 airlines operating out of the airport, asking for “constructive suggestions” on how the practice--which flies in the face of airport policy--can be halted.

If pilots continue to fly over the city, the letter warns, the city will consider keeping a list of guilty pilots and then select a “Most Careless Airline of the Month.” Those words, in turn, will be placed on a big banner or sign “so as to be visible to passengers of aircraft making early turns,” the letter states.

“You can see our frustration, but we are ready to resort to drastic--and embarrassing to airlines--means to get relief from this longstanding problem in our community,” the letter states.