Drake operations part of GAO review

When General Accounting Office personnel come to Fayetteville to study the regional airport next week, they also intend to question Drake Field officials about area aviation.

Dale Frederick, airport manager, said a meeting with GAO staff members is scheduled next Wednesday.

According to a project definition form outlining the review, the GAO intends to examine "Drake Field's future plans, projected passenger costs, financing, air carrier interest and air traffic control" as they relate to the financial viability of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

GAO staffers plan to discuss Drake Field operations and activities with local community members and "financial experts" as well as airline and Federal Aviation Administration personnel, according to the project form.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who requested the GAO review, asked that it take into account the relationship of the regional airport and Drake Field "and the fact that this project may force that airport to close."

The project definition form anticipates 50 staff days will be required for the review, which began April 14, and is slated to conclude May 23. The review will take GAO staff members to Fayetteville and Dallas as well as Washington, D.C.

In addition to the Drake Field relationship, the review will examine the process the FAA used and the factors it considered in issuing a letter of intent to the regional airport, guaranteeing $29.5 million in funds over a five-year period. The criteria for awarding $32 million in Airport Improvement Program grants to the regional airport will also be examined.

In a March 7 letter to James F. Hinchman, acting comptroller general, McCain asked that the review consider whether the criteria are "appropriate and fair," and whether they "target scarce federal funds to their highest and best use."

McCain asks for further investigation into qualifications for multi-year LOI grants, such as that pledged the regional airport.

The senator, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, also called for a study of highway funding for the airport. He noted the National Highway Designation Act pledging the money required the federal government pay 95 percent of the cost of a highway to the airport from U.S. 71.

Although the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act sets a 90 percent limit on the federal share of highway work, the bill offers no option, McCain said.

"Does the federal taxpayer pick up 95 percent of the costs of all airport intermodal highway connectors?" McCain asked in his letter. "And if so, how many and where are they located?"

McCain pointed out in his letter that the FAA proposes to cut airport grants by more than 30 percent in the 1998 fiscal year. He said the discretionary funds would decrease as a result. "The FAA and DOT (Department of Transportation) should be able to document and support all of their funding decisions, especially in the light of dwindling resources," he wrote.