What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of North Perry Airport?
“Dangerous” was the most common response nearby residents submitted in response to that question in a survey Wednesday night.
More than 100 residents frustrated with the reality of small planes crashing in their neighborhoods and on city streets met with local politicians and aviation authorities to share their thoughts at a town hall at the South Regional/Broward College Library.
In the aftermath of the latest July 13 crash in Pines Village, where all four people in the plane miraculously survived after crashing through a tree and landing near someone’s front yard, Broward County officials plan to hire an independent agency to conduct another safety assessment of North Perry Airport — four years after its last study. Commissioner Alexandra Davis, who hosted the meeting and whose district includes Pembroke Pines, said the county will pay for the new study, which will “enhance” the previous one.
The wreckage of a Cessna is shown on July 13, 2025, in Pembroke Pines after it crashed in a neighborhood. (Pembroke Pines Police/Courtesy)
The county also plans to have an environmental analysis done, focusing on lead emissions in the air and soil, and to revive an airport community advisory committee that is, as of late, defunct.
A safety assessment was done in 2021, and “most if not all” recommendations from the study were implemented, Mark Gale, CEO of the Broward County Aviation Department, told reporters before the meeting.
For 25 years, North Perry Airport has had zero discrepancies in its annual Florida Department of Transportation inspection, which reviews the safety measures at the airport itself. The crashes are attributed to pilots who operate in and out, Gale said during the meeting.
Most crashes are due to pilot errors while about 20% to 40% are related to mechanical errors, Gale said, citing general FAA statistics.
“One of the things that stands out, when we talk about flight training, recreational flying, we’re seeing more and more accidents that involve experienced pilots,” Gale said. “Some of them that have multiple certifications and ratings. But they, too, make mistakes.”
Mark Gale, CEO of the Broward County Aviation Department, answers questions from concerned residents during a town hall about safety at North Perry Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
There have been 33 crashes associated with North Perry Airport between 2019 and 2024, according to figures attributed to the National Transportation Safety Board that were shared during Gale’s presentation at the meeting. Some of the common causes include pilot error, mechanical or engine failure, loss of control, fuel contamination and inadequate aircraft maintenance.
A point of contention between aviation officials and local politicians and residents seems to be that some changes would be up to the Federal Aviation Administration, and not local authorities, to make. But Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo rejected that notion at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Broward County is a landlord. They have a lease for every plane that stays there,” he said. “And through those leases … they can impose additional safety requirements. It can be done.”
Concerned residents listen to officials during a North Perry Airport town hall meeting hosted by Broward County District 7 Commissioner Alexandra Davis at the South Regional/Broward College Library in Pembroke Pines on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Representatives of the FAA and Florida Department of Transportation who were invited did not attend the meeting.
In addition to the studies, officials are considering multiple other initiatives: Limiting the capacity at North Perry, lobbying the FAA to extend the hours of its air traffic control tower and review regular FAA airworthiness inspection reports, among others.
While the crowd was mostly quiet during the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, Castillo’s comments got the biggest response from the audience. Some murmured in agreement when he said that people are constantly worried if today might be the day that a plane crash-lands onto their home and that there are too many planes operating in and out of the airport.
North Perry Airport’s annual takeoffs and landings in the last two years far exceeded numbers it didn’t expect to have until 10 years from now, according to figures shared in a Pembroke Pines resolution urging the county to conduct a safety study.
By 2035, the airport was forecast to have 255,000 annual takeoffs and landings, according to the airport’s master plan adopted in 2020. In 2023 and 2024, the airport reported more than 310,000, the equivalent of 850 takeoffs and landings a day, the city’s resolution said. Castillo at the meeting said that is about one take off or landing per minute.
Davis said they may need to limit the number of people they lease to, as more than 400 aircraft are currently based there. Gale said the FAA can shoot down any request to limit the airport’s activity, “but we can ask anyway.”
While the airport operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the air traffic control tower is staffed only from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day. Any change would require lobbying the FAA.
A report including feedback received at Wednesday night’s town hall will be released within 30 days.
