The graphic (website) version of this newsletter can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/newsletter417.htm
Quote of the Week: "I'm ready to put my house up for sale," after nightly
disturbances since January. "It wakes the baby ... and I'm afraid" from
story this week about New Jersey resident who is worrying about Airspace
Redesign Plan increased noise
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#417.........................................................................February
25, 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]
Jersey Worries Over Airspace Plan Increased Noise!!!
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As Bill Sees It: (Editorial): New Jersey Communities To Get Noise
Increased
"Four Times!!!" A news story this week predicted that some New Jersey
communities, like Sus***, will get a fourfold increase in aviation noise
from the changes in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area
Airspace Redesign Project. Although I am a sup****ter of the FAA spreading
out flight patterns so that all communities get their fair share of
pollution, I'm sure that the new routes will be just as unfair,
politicized
and racist as the old ones. That's the way the FAA operates.
Airlines Try To Sabotage Congressional "Passenger Bill Of Rights!!!" As
could have been predicted, as soon as a Airline Passenger Bill of Rights
was
proposed in the House and Senate, JetBlue rolled out its own passenger
bill
of rights. Of course this is all just a scheme to do an end run around
bills
in the House and Senate. Watch the other airlines follow JetBlue's lead
and
come out with their own passenger bill of rights. They may get away with
it.
The congresscreeps know that the public has a short memory and already the
issue has almost disappeared from media attention. No doubt after "our"
representatives squeeze every bit of mileage they can for themselves they
will allow it to die in committee. Once again proving, especially when it
comes to aviation, that there is no difference between a republican and
democrat controlled congress. I hope the outraged passenger, Kate Hanni,
keeps up the pressure to get a bill through congress. If she can get this
kind of bill through the aviation industry-controlled congress, there may
be hope for get a bill of rights for the aviation industry's pollution
victims on the ground.
NY/NJ/Pennsylvania Airspace Redesign To "Dramatically" Increase Noise Over
Parts Of New Jersey And New York!!! A little-known set of proposals being
considered by the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) that would
re-route
air traffic in the metropolitan area could lead to significantly more
noise
above Sus*** County. The FAA proposals, which have been in the works for
the
past ten years, are known as the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign Project. One of the proposals that the
FAA is considering would result in re-directing more arrivals bound for
Newark Liberty International Air****t over the northern and eastern edges
of
Sus*** County, according to FAA do***ents (see map). That plan would also
result in increased air traffic and higher noise levels for residents of
western and eastern Orange County, N.Y., northern Bergen County and Morris
County. The period for public comment on the changes has closed, according
to FAA spokesman Jim Peters. But public hearings on the noise mitigation
measures will be held in yet-to-be-determined locations in either late
April
or early May. The so-called "integrated airspace'" proposal would
"dramatically increase air traffic over the (Sus*** County) area," said
Robert Belzer, president of the New Jersey Coalition Against Aircraft
Noise
(NJCAAN), a grassroots organization he heads in Millburn, N.J.
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2007/02/23/pike_county_courier/news/5.txt
Aviation Noise Fighter Finally Finds Peace: Sherwin Landfield, 86, a
retired
Foreign Service officer who traveled the world for work and pleasure and
who
was a vocal civic activist at home, died Feb. 3 of complications of a
stroke
at Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center of Capital Hospice in Arlington
County. Mr. Landfield, who lived in Arlington for 36 years, was active in
the Donaldson Run Civic Association and in the Citizens for the Abatement
of
Aircraft Noise. As a frequent spokesman for the group in the late 1980s
and
1990s, he pushed officials responsible for Reagan National Air****t to
minimize nighttime jet noise, increase runway safety and address
environmental concerns.
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001552.html
England: Can Judicial Review Stop Night Flights? A judicial review is to
be
launched by the council and other authorities to try and overturn the
current night flights regime at Heathrow Air****t. A High Court Judge gave
permission this week for the legal challenge to go ahead and it is set to
be
heard in the High Court in May or June. If successful, the government
could
be forced to scrap the current night flights regime at the air****t. At
present about 16 flights, mostly jumbo jets, land at Heathrow during the
"night quota period" from 11.30pm to 6am. But a concentration of planes
land
between 6am and 7am, when the cap on night flights does not apply,
although
this hour is still "night" according to EU law. The judicial review is
being
spearheaded by councils belonging to the new 2M Group, an alliance of 12
authorities representing two million residents affected by Heathrow air
noise.
http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/display.var.1196452.0.can_judicial_review_stop_night_flights.php
FAA Pushes Its "Fairer" 14.1 BILLION Dollar Reauthorization Through
Congress: Now, at least, everyone knows what they're arguing about.
Nearly
a year later than promised and after more than two years of jockeying for
position among aviation groups, the FAA unveiled a user-fee-based funding
plan for air traffic control that will pit two of the most powerful
congressional lobbying organizations--airlines and general/business
aviation--against each other. The plan is part of a multi-year FAA
reauthorization bill sent Feb. 14 to Congress, where Republicans are
skeptical but positive, Democrats are skeptical but negative, and seven
months remain for them to do business. The current authorization expires
Sept. 30, and unless Congress p***** a bill and President Bush signs it
into
law by then, current revenue sources for the trust fund will disappear
without being replaced. The trust fund pays for most of the FAA budget,
proposed for Fiscal 2008 at $14.1 billion. Issued Feb. 14 by the FAA, the
plan got early exposure on Capitol Hill--with the House aviation
subcommittee that same day, followed by the Senate's aviation panel on the
15th. The reception on the House side ran the gamut. Rep. John Mica
(R-Fla.), former subcommittee chairman and now ranking Republican on the
parent Trans****tation Committee, said the FAA proposal would be fairer
than
the current system. But two panel members who are general aviation pilots,
Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), called the funding plan
unfair and unwise, and Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) pronounced it "dead on
arrival."
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw021907p2.xml&headline=FAA%20Reauthorization%20Plan%20Stirs%20Industry,%20Lawmakers
Kentucky: Comair Sues FAA Over Jet Crash!!! LOUISVILLE - Comair sued the
Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, saying the agency was
negligent
in having only one air traffic controller on duty last year when a plane
took off from the wrong runway in Lexington and crashed. The accident
killed
49 of 50 people on board. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in
Lexington, seeks unspecified damages. The Comair commuter jet mistakenly
turned onto a too-short runway in the dark, struggled to get airborne and
went down in a field Aug. 27 at Blue Grass Air****t. The co-pilot was the
only survivor. A week earlier, the taxi route leading to the correct,
longer
runway had been changed during a construction project, but the maps and
charts used in the cockpits of Comair and other airlines were not updated.
The FAA did notify airlines of the changes through a separate
announcement.
Editor's Note: No doubt the FAA "notice" was included in a mass of other
stuff that pilots didn't have time to read.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Kentucky-Crash.php
Budapest Air****t concludes talks with residents on noise pollution:
Ferihegy
Air****t operator Budapest Air****t has completed consultations with local
residents on a program of measures it will take to reduce noise pollution
at
the air****t, Budapest Air****t spokesman Domokos Szollár told MTI on
Tuesday.
The program contains 21 proposals, drawn up with air traffic controller
HungaroControl, for reducing noise at the air****t. Among them are making
changes to approach and takeoff paths, making new rules for night takeoffs
and landings and giving Budapest Air****t the power to levy fines. In a
statement sent to MTI, an association of local residents conceded that the
proposals were aimed at reducing their complaints, but complained they
were
limited to measures, which would do no harm to the company's business
interests. Budapest Air****t will submit the proposals to Hungary's Civil
Aviation Authority. (Bloomberg)
http://www.bbj.hu/main/news_23021_budapest+air****t+concludes+talks+with+residents+on+noise+pollution.html
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Aviation News Stories This Week
New Jersey: Sus*** skies could get a lot noisier
By Tom Hoffman
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2007/02/22/advertiser_news/news/2.txt
A little-known set of proposals being considered by the U.S. Federal
Aviation Authority (FAA) that would re-route air traffic in the
metropolitan
area could lead to significantly more noise above Sus*** County.
The FAA proposals, which have been in the works for the past ten years,
are
known as the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace
Redesign Project.
One of the proposals that the FAA is considering would result in
re-directing more arrivals bound for Newark Liberty International Air****t
over the northern and eastern edges of Sus*** County, according to FAA
do***ents (see map). That plan would also result in increased air traffic
and higher noise levels for residents of western and eastern Orange
County,
N.Y., northern Bergen County and Morris County.
The period for public comment on the changes has closed, according to FAA
spokesman Jim Peters. But public hearings on the noise mitigation measures
will be held in yet-to-be-determined locations in either late April or
early
May.
The so-called "integrated airspace'" proposal would "dramatically increase
air traffic over the (Sus*** County) area," said Robert Belzer, president
of
the New Jersey Coalition Against Aircraft Noise (NJCAAN), a grassroots
organization he heads in Millburn, N.J.
While Belzer admits that planes descending to 7,000 to 10,000 feet above
Sus*** County "won't be screaming over your head," he points to FAA data
in
which the integrated airspace plan could lead to as much as a 20 decibel
increase in air traffic noise for the area - or up to four times the
airplane noise that Sus*** County residents are accustomed to hearing. The
so-called "vibrational noise energy" emitted by planes over Sus*** would
be
even more dramatic, Belzer said. For instance, a 10-decibel increase in
noise would result in a 900 percent increase in vibrational noise energy.
So
if some areas of Sus*** County experience a 20-decibel increase in
airplane
noise, that equates to more than an 11,000 percent increase in vibrational
noise.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the agency doesn't "characterize noise as
vibrational, just levels of noise."
As far as that's concerned, he said, "Some parts of the county will see an
increase and some will see a decrease."
According to a FAA study of the integrated airspace plan, communities in
Sus*** County that would probably experience the sharpest increases in
noise
levels would be Glenwood, Vernon, McAfee, Hamburg, Franklin, Ogdensburg
and
Sparta.
Belzer believes that the FAA's integrated airspace proposal - the one that
would adversely affect Sus*** County residents the most - "is the FAA's
preferred alternative." Following the public hearings in April, the FAA
will
issue a re****t in June and then publish a 'record of decision' which
details
their plans in August.
Belzer is mounting a legal battle against the FAA and he encourages county
residents to take their concerns to their elected officials.
Will Holley, a press secretary for Congressman Scott Garrett, said the
congressman has sent several letters to the FAA expressing concerns over
the
potential impact that an airspace redesign might have on his constituents.
Garrett "wants to make sure the people who live beneath the flight paths
are
given the same weight" as each of the proposals, including residents of
Bergen County whom he also represents, said Holley.
Calls to representatives for Senator Robert Menendez and Gov. Jon Corzine
were not returned before The Advertiser-News went to press.
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