The graphic (website) version of this newsletter can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/newsletter445.htm
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Quote of the Week
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Quote of the Week: "Elizabeth residents in the current flight path are
accustomed to the noise, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said, but the plan
would spread the misery across the city." from N.Y. Times story which
talked
about Elisabeth, New Jersey suit against the FAA
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#445.............................................................................September
9, 2007 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm
The PASSUR air****t
flight
tracking system at many major U.S. air****ts
http://www.passur.com/sites.htm
(you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the
newsletter
sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Elizabeth, NJ Sues The FAA Over Airspace Redesign Plan!!!
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As Bill Sees It (Editorial): FAA Release "Record Of Decision" For
Airspace
Redesign Plan!!! The masterpiece of FAA lies and distortions can be found
at
here. It is im****tant to note that rather than use detailed maps, that
showed impacts on communities near metropolitan air****ts, the FAA rats
used
generalized maps (see one on the right) which make it look like
communities
many miles away are getting the same impacts. There was little change in
JFK
Air****t routes. Apparently the FAA didn't want to touch Sen. "Chuck"
Schumer's protected communities by fanning flights over them. Instead
increased flights and noise impacts will continued to be sent over mostly
poor, minority and politically weak areas. Airspace Redesign Plan
Generates
Lawsuits In New York And New Jersey!!! It was interesting to read the
Elisabeth, New Jersey's Mayor's comments in a N.Y. Times story on the
opposition to the FAA's Airspace Redesign scheme. The mayor is upset by
the
plan to "fan out" the planes from Newark Air****t which would give parts of
his town noise that were previously avoided. The Times story re****ts the
mayor believes that the people already getting noise should be getting
noise
increases because they are already "accustomed" to the noise!!! I wonder
how
many if those victimized communities agree with him and how many votes the
mayor will get from those communities when they read what he said. Of
course
the FAA isn't fanning planes to fairly share noise impacts; that would go
against FAA policy of protecting the politically powerful communities by
concentrating and dumping flights on the poor, minority and politically
weak
(which I'd bet describes the old overflight path) ones. Instead they say
they are doing so to "reduce delays." Interesting how the FAA didn't find
it necessary to reduce delays by fanning planes over protected JFK Air****t
communities. I guess they were afraid of incurring the wrath of Senator
"Chuck" Schumer, who has been very active with many FAA issues. If
communities are going to fight the Airspace Redesign Plan they should join
forces and look at EVERY part of the plan that violates federal and state
laws, not just their own narrow interests.
Thailand Community Gets Government To Negotiate With Balloon Release
Threat!!! It seems that the threat to release balloons by a noise impacted
community in Thailand got the attention of government officials and has
brought them back to bargaining table. The community said they didn't
release the balloons because they changed their minds because "they didn't
want to endanger air traffic." I think the balloon idea could be used by
other communities fighting the plane noise menace. Why not put up barrage
balloons with signs on them, but put them only as high as legally allowed.
This would not endanger air traffic but be a dramatic way that communities
could show their outrage to the arrogance of airline industry and their
politician stooges!!! After all, this is war. Backward Bush Has Less Than
500 Days Left!!! I've decided to keep the backwards Bush clock as a
permanent feature in my newsletter. I only hope that America can outlast
him. Like most Americans, I feel that ANY candidate (except maybe for
Guiliani) would be better than this idiotic polluter for president.
Elizabeth, New Jersey Files Suit Against FAA "Fanning" Plan!!! Officials
in
Elizabeth, N.J., said the city had filed suit in federal court to block
the
F.A.A. plan. Elizabeth residents in the current flight path are accustomed
to the noise, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said, but the plan would spread
the misery across the city. "That's the issue - 40 percent to 60 percent
have not experienced airplane noise," Mr. Bollwage said. "Homes are going
to
shake. Backyard barbecues are going to be ruined." The F.A.A. says that
fewer people will be subjected to noise, in part because planes taking off
more steeply will mean fewer low-flying aircraft near homes. But it is
clear
that by varying takeoff routes, people unaccustomed to such noise will be
affected. Home values, among other considerations, could be affected as
flight paths ****ft. "There are people who will have a different noise
experience," said Steve Kelley, manager of airspace redesign at the F.A.A.
Of opponents, Mr. Kelley said, "many of them are the same ones who say,
'Do
something about the delays.' " He said the agency considered towns'
objections, altering the plan in parts, and chose the best alternative.
Read
below or at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/us/07airline.html?ref=us
Rockland County, New York To Also File Lawsuit : New York's Rockland
County
Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said Thursday the county is going to file a
lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration over its decision to
redesign the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia region airspace. Vanderhoef
said the county believes the chosen plan, among other things, violates the
national Environmental Policy Act, according to the Journal News. "This
particular agency is one that apparently is hell-bent on doing what it
needs
to do to get this plan in order and therefore is ignoring the law,"
Vanderhoef said. "We're going to hold them to the law and that's what this
litigation is about." According to the plan, about 11,000 Rockland
residents
will be subjected to increased noise levels as 300-400 flights per day
would
fly over at 6,000 to 9,000 feet.
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=3bf4b0f7-8db4-4aab-b050-81d1a5bf4d2c#d
Thailand: Air****t Noise Protestors Won't Release Balloons!!! Residents
from
32 housing estates who are being affected from noise pollution at
Suvarnabhumi air****t Saturday pledged not to release balloons to disrupt
air
traffic at the air****t on Sunday. Prasert Boonkaew, leader of local
residents from the 32 housing estates, said leaders of the residents would
hold a meeting, starting from 9.09 am Sunday, to discuss what problems had
been solved by Air****ts of Thailand (AoT) for the residents during the
past
11 months. Residents leaders will also discuss whether the contracts
signed
earlier with AoT are fair to the residents, said Mr. Prasert, adding that
he
could not say whether the disgruntled residents would move and surround
the
air****t after the meeting. He said the residents had agreed with the
Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, under the supervision of the Trans****t
Ministry, not to release balloons as they realised that such action would
endanger air traffic. The local residents want concerned government
agencies
to honour last year's November 21 Cabinet resolution and want the AoT to
adjust the flight timetable by having commercial airliners refrain from
landing or take-off during night-time like some countries which would not
disturb their sleep. Editor's Note: I would like to know which countries
worry about their citizen's losing sleep from airplane operations. It
certainly isn't the United States!!!
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121459
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@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Im****tant Aviation
News
Stories This Week
N.Y. Times: Plan for Air Paths Draws Ground Opposition
By JEFF BAILEY Published: September 7, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/us/07airline.html?ref=us
Air travelers hoping that a proposed reconfiguration of air traffic in the
New York and Philadelphia area will soon reduce chronic flight delays
could
be in for yet another long wait: some municipalities in New Jersey and New
York are suing to stop the plan because it would route noisy jets over
areas
unaccustomed to such traffic.
The towns and counties are also rallying political power in Wa****ngton to
oppose the plan.
"Whatever it takes, we're going to attack this," Christopher P. St.
Lawrence, the town supervisor in Ramapo, N.Y., said of the Federal
Aviation
Administration's plan to reroute many flights in the New York area.
The plan would simplify the paths flown by aircraft landing at air****ts in
the New York and Philadelphia areas and provide more varied routes for
takeoffs.
The agency expects to begin rolling out the plan this fall and projects
that
it will reduce delays by 20 percent when it is fully in effect in 2011,
compared with the level of delays expected if routes were not changed.
More direct flight paths and steeper takeoffs, which get jetliners into
thinner air more rapidly, would also curb fuel use and save airlines $248
million a year, the F.A.A. said.
But the plan would steer hundreds of flights daily over areas that are not
part of regular flight paths now, disturbing homes and schools and
threatening property values, Mr. St. Lawrence said.
His town, in Rockland County, northwest of New York City, is joining the
county in seeking to block the plan in federal court. Ramapo could face as
many as 600 flights a day passing over at altitudes of about 6,000 feet,
he
said. He and other officials have tried for years - the airspace redesign
was nearly a decade in the making - to stop the F.A.A. from sending planes
over their towns.
"It's not just that we in Rockland County don't want airplanes," said C.
Scott Vanderhoef, the county executive. Mr. Vanderhoef said the F.A.A. had
failed to abide by federal requirements to mitigate noise when redesigning
air space. "The agency arrogantly approached this redesign," he said.
The opposition shows how difficult it is to alter the country's antiquated
air travel system. In recent years, because of financial, environmental
and
noise concerns, few new air****ts have been built and air travel has
outgrown
the air traffic control system, leading to increasing delays in many
areas.
The three big New York-area air****ts and the Philadelphia air****t are
regularly at the bottom of on-time rankings. Just 57.2 percent of flights
arrived on time in July at Kennedy International Air****t, the Bureau of
Trans****tation Statistics re****ted; at La Guardia Air****t, 60 percent were
on time; at Newark, 61.4 percent; and at Philadelphia International
Air****t,
63.4 percent. Air****t delays in the East often ripple across the country.
Officials in Elizabeth, N.J., said the city had filed suit in federal
court
to block the F.A.A. plan. Elizabeth residents in the current flight path
are
accustomed to the noise, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said, but the plan
would spread the misery across the city.
"That's the issue - 40 percent to 60 percent have not experienced airplane
noise," Mr. Bollwage said. "Homes are going to shake. Backyard barbecues
are
going to be ruined."
The F.A.A. says that fewer people will be subjected to noise, in part
because planes taking off more steeply will mean fewer low-flying aircraft
near homes. But it is clear that by varying takeoff routes, people
unaccustomed to such noise will be affected. Home values, among other
considerations, could be affected as flight paths ****ft.
"There are people who will have a different noise experience," said Steve
Kelley, manager of airspace redesign at the F.A.A. Of opponents, Mr.
Kelley
said, "many of them are the same ones who say, 'Do something about the
delays.' " He said the agency considered towns' objections, altering the
plan in parts, and chose the best alternative.
David Neeleman, chairman of JetBlue Airways, which operates from Kennedy
Air****t, said neighbors near his Connecticut home are upset about the
F.A.A.
plan, which they believe would redirect flights over upscale suburbs not
used to such noise.
Improving the air traffic system will require compromise and sacrifice,
Mr.
Neeleman said. "Any improvements from here on out, we're going to have to
change how we do business."
The F.A.A. plan is not intended to make room for more air traffic, but to
handle it more efficiently.
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