Quote of the Week:  "Quality of life (here) will be diminished, whole communities destroyed forever as we are sacrificed on the altar of federal dollars for North Carolina and noise mitigation for Virginia Beach and Chesapeake."  Opponent of proposed NEW airport in poor, North Carolina wetland community 

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #264.........................................March 21, 2004 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm  Bill Mulcahy rockaway@prodigy.net 

British Noise Activists Fight Night Flights!!!      

As Bill Sees It: (Editorial): British Activists Still Leading Effort To Stop Night Flights And Reduce Airport Noise: Aviation noise issues are heating up again in England. British environmental organizations like HACAN and Friends of the Earth are spearheading the European effort to take back the night from the aviation industry polluters and their paid political stooges. A coalition of anti-noise groups recently had a "sleep-in" (see picture at right) to protest the sleep and health destroying night flights over residential areas near British airports. They want a ban all aviation activity over residential areas from 11pm to 7pm. I think they are being too generous to the polluters. Most people, especially children and the elderly are trying to sleep before 11pm, so why not start the ban at 10pm? What is interesting is how the activists are going after the airports on ALL pollution fronts. Increased "Frequency"  Of Flights Attacked: I'm glad to see that John Stewart (pictured at right) of HACAN isn't falling for the Aviation Cabal hype about planes getting quieter (there is no such thing as a quiet jet). The increased frequency of airport takeoffs and landings more than erases any alleged benefit from quieter planes. While some American aviation activists waste their time worrying about working with the Aviation Cabal polluters to achieve "sustainable" aviation (whatever that is), British activists are going after the aviation polluters on every pollution issue they can find. While American activists are completely ignored by the FAA, British activists are being paid attention to by their government.  Runway "Safety" Extensions The Latest FAA Scheme To Avoid Environmental Impact Regulations? I keep seeing news stories about how airports are complying with a "FAA rule" that mandates that every airport runway have a "safety extension." Almost every story talks about how the FAA is giving the particular airport millions of dollars for these runway safety "improvements." The funny thing is, I can't find this rule anywhere. I think that all these runway extensions are just another way to convert small airports into larger, more polluting ones, without doing a environmental impact (EIS) statement on the expansion!!! Airlines Subpoenaed: Billions In Federal Loans To Airlines Under Investigation!!! The Treasury Department issued subpoenas to airlines who got money in the airline bailout after 9/11. The eight page subpoenas do not say why investigators are seeking the information. Inspectors general at federal agencies usually investigate allegations of fraud, abuse and other wrongdoing in their departments. Could it be that the Air Transportation Stabilization Board members, who handed out billions in tax dollars to the aviation polluters, got some kickbacks?

Virginia Beach, Virginia:  New Loud Jets Prompt Search For A NEW AIRPORT In North Carolina: . -- A visit to Virginia's most populous city, with its frequent blasts of jet noise as loud as rock concerts, makes it clear why the Navy wants to build a landing field in Washington and Beaufort counties. The 90,000 people who live in the hourglass-shaped noise zone surrounding Oceana Naval Air  Station and Fentress practice field in neighboring Chesapeake are used to having conversations drowned out and wearing earplugs for sleeping. They don't even consider backyard cookouts when the jets are flying.  New F/A-18 Jet Louder Than The Concorde!!!: The Navy is bringing the new F/A-18 Super Hornet, which can be several times louder than the existing jets, to Oceana, but it plans to move some landing practice from Fentress field in nearby Chesapeake. The new North Carolina landing field about 135 miles east of Raleigh would be on the edge of an isolated wildlife refuge that's home each fall to more than 100,000 snow geese and tundra swans. http://www.wdnweb.com/articles/2004/03/21/news/news01.txt  
 http://newsobserver.com/news/story/3420324p-3040670c.html 

Treasury Department Investigating Loans To Airlines!!! Treasury Department investigators have ordered major airlines to turn over records of their dealings in 2002 and 2003 with the federal board overseeing loans to domestic carriers, industry officials said Friday. Five airlines confirmed they had received subpoenas on March 12 from Jeffrey Rush Jr., the department's inspector general, directing them to provide their records of dealings with Daniel Montgomery, a former executive director of the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, other staff members, board members and their relatives. http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/03/20/rtr1306206.html 

England: Activists Continue Fight Against New Runways And Night Flights: Night noise from aircraft is proven to be responsible for sleep disturbance, increased heart rates, and day-after affects such as depressed moods. The World Health Organization recommends that night noise heard in bedrooms should not exceed 45 decibels. But the noise of a plane landing at an airport can be over 60 decibels, 15 miles away. HACAN ClearSkies, which represents residents under the Heathrow flight path, took the UK Government to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing that night flights were a breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention which entitles individuals to the peaceful enjoyment of their own homes. In October 2001, the Court ruled in HACAN ClearSkies' favour. But the UK Government appealed and, last year, the Appeal Court ruled in its favour. Later this year the Department for Transport is expected to consult on the night flight regime between 2005 and 2010 at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. http://www.stainesguardian.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.472252.0.aviation_industry_asked_to_reduce_noise_by_baa.php 

Virgin Airlines JFK Urinals Get The Kiss Of Death:  March 20, 2004 -- Virgin Atlantic Airways yesterday flushed plans to install a urinal shaped like a woman's mouth at its new executive clubhouse at Kennedy Airport. On the day a press conference was called by the National Organization of Women to denounce the urinals, Virgin Customer Service VP John Riordan announced the British airline was canning its plans. Riordan, who said earlier this week he expected the response to be "very positive" after the design was unveiled, issued an apology. "Everyone at Virgin Atlantic was very sorry to hear of people's concerns about the design of the 'Kisses' urinals to be fitted into our clubhouse at JFK Airport," Riordan said in a statement. Editor's Note: Appropriate for aviation polluter degenerates. However, I thought a giant ear would have been more appropriate. http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/21318.htm 

 Maryland: 1000 Foot "Safety" Runway Extension At Hagerstown Airport: A Hagerstown company received a $17.4 million contract on Tuesday for the first phase of Washington County's approximately $60.2 million runway extension project at Hagerstown Regional Airport. By a 3-2 vote, the County Commissioners awarded the contract to C. William Hetzer Inc., contingent upon the contract being approved by the Federal Aviation. Editor's Note: I wonder why two of the County Commissioners were against it. The story (of course) didn't say why. http://216.15.229.16/news/full_story.cfm?story_id=22318 

Louisville Airport: FAA To Shell Out $18 Million For Home Buyouts:  The Federal Aviation Administration will commit $18million this year to buy an additional 150 homes of people affected by noise from planes using Louisville International Airport, bringing the buyout program close to its finish. About 148 homes will remain to be purchased after the program spends the $18million, announced yesterday by U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, R-3rd District, and $5million in state money that Gov. Ernie Fletcher included in his proposed budget. "I can't wait until I get out of here," said Paulley, (picture at right) complaining about the way the neighborhood has gone downhill. "They should have had all this done two years ago. "http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/03/16ky/A1-airport0316-8667.html 

Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington: FAA Refusing To Change Over Fight Route To Protect 10 People? The aircraft noise solution championed by neighbors and noise foes north of the Columbia River received a thumbs-down in a recent consultant's report because it would increase noise for 10 people while decreasing it for 6,580. But because it would crank up the noise for just 10 people and probably require an environmental-impact study, PDX consultant Bernard Dunkelberg and Co. of Tulsa, Okla., has advised against it.  "The four noisiest (monitor sites) around the airport, 9a helps," Jacks said. "But there's one noise-monitoring site where things get quite a bit louder. The thinking is, the (Federal Aviation Administration) will say 'Whoops, new people are getting noise, so you can't have it.' http://www.columbian.com/03162004/clark_co/126763.html Editor's Note: You have to wonder who those ten people in the protected are.

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Aircraft noise may go with the downtown Vancouver territory, but small adjustments could make a difference to residents, a two-year study suggests. After the new noise study began, the Port of Portland hired Peggy McNees in 2002 as noise program manager. She previously worked on noise problems at the Anchorage airport and has a background in other forms of transportation. "Aircraft noise bothers different people differently," she said. "And people develop different priorities depending on where they live.

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Important Aviation News Stories This Week

Subpoenas sent to five airlines

Federal loans focus of investigation

Treasury Department investigators have ordered major airlines to turn over records of their dealings in 2002 and 2003 with the federal board overseeing loans to domestic carriers, industry officials said Friday.

Five airlines confirmed they had received subpoenas on March 12 from Jeffrey Rush Jr., the department's inspector general, directing them to provide their records of dealings with Daniel Montgomery, a former executive director of the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, other staff members, board members and their relatives.

The eight-page subpoenas, which cover the period from Jan. 1, 2002, to Jan. 31, 2004, do not say why investigators are seeking the information. Inspectors general at federal agencies usually investigate allegations of fraud, abuse and other wrongdoing in their departments.

A spokesman at the Treasury Department, which oversees the airline loan board, declined comment, as did a spokeswoman for the board itself.

Montgomery, who served as executive director from March 2002 to August 2003, said Friday that he had no knowledge of the subpoenas and declined to comment further. He left the loan board last year to join Kroll Zolfo Cooper, a financial consulting firm.

Montgomery is the only person mentioned by name in the subpoena. It does not cite his successor, Michael Kestenbaum, although the subpoenas cover the first part of Kestenbaum's tenure.

According to the subpoena, investigators are seeking receipts for any dinners, meals, airline tickets, gifts, loans or discounts for Montgomery or other staff members of the board.

The airlines have also been asked to submit copies of memos, faxes, e-mail messages, and correspondence between the airlines and the loan board.

Investigators have also asked to see expense account records.

Airlines have until April 9 to submit the material, according to the subpoena.

Congress created the Air Transportation Stabilization Board after the September 2001 attacks to administer $10 billion in loans it had authorized to help keep the industry afloat. Since then, the board has awarded $1.7 billion in loan packages.

The biggest thus far was $900 million granted to US Airways in 2003. America West and Frontier Airlines, among others, have also received loans. The board is deliberating on a revised application by United Airlines for $1.6 billion in loan guarantees; that would be the largest grant to any single airline. It rejected United's bid for $1.8 billion in guarantees in 2002, sending the airline into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Treasury sent subpoenas both to airlines that received or applied for loan guarantee packages and to those that did not, officials of the carriers said Friday.

Word of the subpoenas had circulated in aviation circles since late February. But some officials expressed surprise at the inclusion of Montgomery, who they said is known as a straight arrow. "He wouldn't even take a Coke from anyone," said an executive at one airline, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The three-member loan board, which includes one representative each from the Treasury, the Transportation Department and the Federal Reserve Board, does not operate under any timetable when it considers requests. Its deliberations are closed to the public. Airlines applying for loans do not meet with members of the board, but deal with its staff.

Four of the nation's major airlines — American, Delta, Continental and Northwest — did not seek loan guarantees, although all suffered financially after the Sept. 11 attacks.