Air noise pollution angering residents
February 29, 2012, 10:29 am
Overnight arrivals at John F. Kennedy Airport's runway 22L recently increased in the last four months of 2011, despite officials promising residents the noise pollution would be reduced along that route.
Between September and December of 2011, the air traffic controllers at JFK used runway 22L for 800 more overnight landings than during the same period in 2010, marking a 31.7 percent increase. During those months, residents of Nassau County filed complaints of the noise. In response the Federal Aviation Administration promised to take steps to better monitor planes landing at night on the runway to make the skies quieter for residents. However, homeowners close to runway 22L said there has been no noticeable improvement in the noise pollution, rather the noise has gotten worse, Newsday reported.
"It's been miserable here," Mary-Grace Tomecki told the source. "It's never been this bad."
According to FAA officials, the agency tried to rotate the runway use for overnight arrivals between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.. Deciding when to use the runway was based on several factors such as wind, weather, operational efficiency, operational safety criteria and noise considerations. If these factors are all favorable then the runway was used to help ease traffic in the airport, thus leading to an increase in late night noise pollution, the source reported.
Steve Abraham, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association at JFK Airport, told the source that the safety and efficiency of departures greatly influence deciding which runway to use.
"We are aware of the noise issue but we are constantly pressured to reduce delays, and a delay to the airlines means taxiing for two minutes versus one minute," Abraham told the source.
Similarly, the FAA recently told a group of Newport Beach City leaders and residents that the agency will not make any additional changes to a departure path at John Wayne Airport. Residents near the facility were upset about the old satellite-navigated route, and asked the FAA to change the paths of several planes to decrease noise pollution. The changes would send some planes farther offshore before turning down the coast, thus not flying over as many residential areas, the Daily Pilot reported.
The FAA has already changed the departure path at the airport twice in response to residential complaints and says it is open to hearing suggestions for a new route for different flights. The existing path for the departures, however, are no longer subject to change, the source reported.
As airports work to reduce noise pollution, pilots should work on reducing mishaps in the sky and costly repairs. Pilot insurance can help reduce these burdens.
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