Your Kite May Be A Danger -- Law Forbids Flying One Within 5 Miles Of Airport

The skies are abuzz with airplanes, prompting officials at Paine Field to be on the lookout for unwanted airspace intruders - kites.

The summer kite-flying boom usually coincides with heavier air traffic over Paine Field, a combination that could increase dangers to planes that use the 1,000-acre county airport, said aviation supervisor Bill Dolan.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit flying most kites within five miles of an airport. The rules cover kites weighing more than five pounds, or any kite, balloon or model rocket that creates a hazard to aircraft.

The regulations also prohibit flying kites:

-- 500 feet or closer to clouds.

-- More than 500 feet above the ground.

-- In areas where the ground visibility is less than three miles.

Kite-fliers also must notify the nearest air-traffic-control tower 24 hours before flying a kite more than 150 feet above the ground.

"A real big concern is a kite being ingested into a plane's engine," Dolan said. "Light reflections are also a hazard. They can distract pilots. A pilot has to concentrate on flying; he can't afford to be distracted, or mistake a kite for a plane."

So far this year only one minor incident has been reported.

Last month, at least two pilots reported to air-traffic controllers a homemade kite flying at 300 feet over Evergreen Way east of the airport. The tower alerted Everett police, who traced the kite to a house on 100th Street Southeast.

The flier was neither arrested nor fined.

Such incidents are rare.

Dolan said airport officials have been flexible about kite-flying rules.

"It's all a question of where they are being flown and how high, and on the level of air traffic," he said.

Paine Field air-traffic controller Pete Moore said controllers rarely bother with kites in the area, unless pilots report them.

"First of all, we can't really see them (from the tower)," he said. ". . . We have other things to do."

The American Kite Association, a national organization of kite fliers with at least 3,000 members, is preparing a manual on FAA rules, said board member Kathy Goodwind. The association does not sanction kite-flying events within five miles of an airport.

The five-mile radius in which flying kites is technically prohibited extends to the Port of Everett to the north; Alderwood Manor to the south; the Snohomish River to the east; and the southern tip of Whidbey Island to the west. Included within that radius is Mukilteo State Park, long popular with kite fliers.

"Normally, I just encourage them (kite fliers) to take it elsewhere," Dolan said. "Five miles is a significant area, but it's not the end of the world for them to drive outside the five-mile radius."