Superior Mayor Mark Lacis said his town recently obtained an FAA memorandum through a public records request showing Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (RMMA) in Broomfield had the most “potentially significant events,” or PSEs, of any airport in the country. The June 2025 memo cited runway incursions and airborne safety issues. Superior sits less than a mile from the airport. “The PSE count list isn’t one you want to win,” Lacis told Boulder Reporting Lab.
CPR, citing the same FAA memo, reported that RMMA logged more of these incidents than Denver International Airport, one of the busiest in the world. CPR also noted the memo came out weeks after a fatal plane crash shortly after takeoff from RMMA in May, and that the airport is the fourth busiest in Colorado, with a takeoff or landing every three minutes on average in 2022.
The findings add fuel to long-running community frustrations. Superior and Boulder County sued Jefferson County, which owns the airport, in 2024 to try to limit touch-and-go training flights, citing noise and safety concerns. That case was dismissed earlier this year after a judge ruled such restrictions fall under federal authority, though the court noted Jefferson County could act if it chose to.