Do Good Noise Abatement Rules Make Good Neighbors?
There is an MU-2 outside my window right now and those Garrett engines are so loud that, in the words of my first grade teacher Sister Paula, I can’t hear myself think.
Airplanes are noisy. No kidding, right? That’s hardly news and it’s certainly no surprise. Since airplanes are noisy, it follows then, that places they frequent – airports – are noisy, as well. Again, no surprise there. What continues to be a surprise to me are noise complaints made by people who live near airports.
What would you say if I told you that I bought a terrific little house next to a railroad track and that I got it at a steal? You’d probably question my sanity since there are sure to be really noisy trains barreling along the tracks at all hours, right? Now what would you say if I told you that I was planning on petitioning or even suing the railroad company to make their trains quieter and to run them only during daylight hours? Does that even make sense? I bought a house next to a pre-existing railroad track, the existence of which I unquestionably knew, and now I demand that the railroad operate according to my preferences? I would be laughed out of the courtroom. Or would I?
This situation happens every day with airports all over the United States and Europe.
Developers buy undesirable land near noisy airports, build houses all over the land, and sell the houses at attractive prices. The new homeowners, forgetting the reason they got such a good deal on the house, then demand that the airport conform to their preferences – and the city councils and courts support the homeowners.
Airports don’t exist in a vacuum - I know that - and we all need to “go along to get along.” However, there must be some consideration for the airports which were in existence prior to development and the economic contributions of those airports. For instance, Atlanta’s DeKalb-Peachtree airport started it’s life in 1941, operated as a Naval Air Station as well as a general aviation airport and is currently the second busiest airport in the state of Georgia with 246,002 operations recorded in 2009. Housing development in the area saw massive increases in the 1950s, after the airport was established. At this time, the airport has a “voluntary” curfew between the hours of 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. I emphasize voluntary because it is clear from the airport’s own literature that the county would make the curfew mandatory if only the FAA would let them. Exemptions are made for medical flights but, any other flight operating at the airport during curfew hours will receive a letter inviting the operator “without compromising safety.. [to] review its operating practices and perhaps modify its procedures to keep this from happening again.” Basically, they invite the operator not to come back during curfew, reserving the right to invite the the operator not to come back at all.
Perhaps the most aggressive noise abatement policies are in Santa Monica, California, and in Naples, Florida, which were among the first (if not the first) to prohibit certain types of aircraft from operating into their fields at any time of day. Naples, which is a public airport operated by the City of Naples Airport Authority, has its hands full these days dealing with an anti-airport group. The situation has become emotionally charged and really contentious there. The airport receives federal funding, yet the neighbors want to dictate how and when the facilities may be used. Try doing that with an interstate or railroad.
The Mu-2 is gone, but my ears are still buzzing; so, I sympathize with people who live with the noise. However, because I know that airplanes are noisy, I didn’t buy a house right next to an airport. And I don’t have sympathy for the people who did, then proceeded to complain about a situation they entered into voluntarily.
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to “Do Good Noise Abatement Rules Make Good Neighbors?”
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- Aug 24, 2010: Walter
- Sep 10, 2011: Ascension Aviation
This post takes me back to my childhood when I spent countless hours at the end of the runway at YVR with my father (then an AME for CP Air). We stood together watching planes land. He taught me how to identify aircraft from miles away. I recall the DC-8 with long black smoke trails being the easiest to identify.
Today, I have my own son and we too spend time standing in fields at the end of runways. The first time we went I told him to cover his ears when the jet aircraft flew overhead. I couldn’t believe how much quieter aircraft have become – not to mention more efficient.
My only point being – time has been kind on this very sensitive issue of noise abatement. The industry has come a long way. Perhaps in time, when my son takes his son, a noticeable difference will made as well.
Pete Roker
Thanks for that, Pete! My grandmother used to take my sister and me to watch the planes take off and land at Memphis. We’d lay on the hood of that old Impala, enjoying our soft serve ice cream cones and watch them until the mosquitos drove us inside. To this day I enjoy watching them and, like you, I enjoy that I can watch them without having to cover my ears as often.