Narrative:

The banning; ca airport (bng) was notified by me at least 6 months ago that the rotating beacon was not functioning properly. The only light illuminated is the green light as the white light of the beacon is inop. No action was taken by the airport to make a repair; nor has any NOTAM been issued by the airport if they were awaiting parts. After 1 month; I called the FAA safety hotline and did not receive a call back. I finally called the FSDO and was told to call the regional FSDO. After being in contact with them; I thought for sure that something would be done. The beacon is still not working and there are no NOTAMS for it. Another important factor to this airport is that it is located in a mountain pass with rapidly rising terrain to the north and south and is frequently used by light GA aircraft to transit to/from the la basin to the palm springs area. It is important that pilots know that it is working so they can safely fly the pass at night as the socal TRACON uses the airport as a handoff between controllers for VFR aircraft. I believe that there are several breakdowns that could be avoided in the future. 1. The banning airport ultimately takes the blame in this matter. The airport manager and any other employees need to report to the FAA when there is a problem with airport lighting; etc and have a NOTAM issued until the item has been repaired. Whatever the reason is for the beacon still not working correctly; if they can't fix the light in a timely matter and issue a NOTAM; what else is the airport not reporting. 2. The FAA safety hotline needs to call back. Why have a safety hotline if no one is going to call you back. The FAA has failed big time on this one and someone is not doing their job. 3. The regional FSDO should have followed up on this matter.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The BNG rotating beacon white light is inoperable. Its failure has been reported to the airport authorities and the FAA; but no action has been taken to either NOTAM its status as a night navigation aid failure in mountainous terrain or repair it.

Narrative: The Banning; CA Airport (BNG) was notified by me at least 6 months ago that the rotating beacon was not functioning properly. The only light illuminated is the green light as the white light of the beacon is inop. No action was taken by the airport to make a repair; nor has any NOTAM been issued by the airport if they were awaiting parts. After 1 month; I called the FAA Safety Hotline and did not receive a call back. I finally called the FSDO and was told to call the Regional FSDO. After being in contact with them; I thought for sure that something would be done. The beacon is still not working and there are no NOTAMS for it. Another important factor to this airport is that it is located in a mountain pass with rapidly rising terrain to the north and south and is frequently used by light GA aircraft to transit to/from the LA Basin to the Palm Springs area. It is important that pilots know that it is working so they can safely fly the pass at night as the SOCAL TRACON uses the airport as a handoff between controllers for VFR aircraft. I believe that there are several breakdowns that could be avoided in the future. 1. The Banning Airport ultimately takes the blame in this matter. The Airport Manager and any other employees need to report to the FAA when there is a problem with airport lighting; etc and have a NOTAM issued until the item has been repaired. Whatever the reason is for the beacon still not working correctly; if they can't fix the light in a timely matter and issue a NOTAM; what else is the airport not reporting. 2. The FAA safety hotline needs to call back. Why have a safety hotline if no one is going to call you back. The FAA has failed big time on this one and someone is not doing their job. 3. The Regional FSDO should have followed up on this matter.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.