Quote of the Week: "I almost wonder if they made this decision prior to the meetings they had with our community." West Deptford Township Mayor Anna Docimo commenting on controversial FAA approval of runway extension for Philadelphia Airport
Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #322................................................May 1, 2005 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm The PASSUR airport flight tracking system at http://www.passur.com/sites.htm (you must have Java installed to view it) Bill Mulcahy rockaway@prodigy.net
Aviation's
Media Lapdogs Praise 
Airbus "Super" Plane
!!!
As
Bill
Sees It: (Editorial)
Aviation's Media Lapdogs Gush Over First
Flight Of Airbus Superjumbo A380!!! It was disgusting to watch the media
coverage of first flight of giant Airbus A380 plane last Wednesday. CNN used one
of their British reporters to cover the flight. This highly-animated, creepy guy
couldn't hold in his
enthusiasm about 
the A380 monster. It made me wonder if he or
others high up
in CNN are stockholders of Airbus!!! Apparently they are not about to
threaten their airline advertising by bothering to report about the community
opposition, especially by British groups, against this plane. But then again that is not unusual. The media,
especially the national media, almost never mentions the noise impacts of
aviation, or the hundreds of local groups fighting airport expansion.
Sometimes aviation noise pollution is "humorously" referred to when one of their
reporters is doing a story and 
the voices of people are being interviewed
drowned out by a overflying plane, but that's about it. When it comes to a
choice of between the public health and welfare and Aviation Cabal advertising
dollars, they choice is apparently very easy for the media moguls. They are
actively working to keep the lid on opposition to aviation expansion. Philadelphia
Airport: FAA Rules That
A Runway Be Extended Despite
Community Opposition!!! News stories
this week reported that the FAA has approved an 1000 foot extension of the
North/South Runway 17-35, which sends plans over a densely populated residential
areas. Once again the FAA has rode roughshod over the wishes of a local
community and expanded "their" airport, increasing the noise and air pollution for
that area. The FAA says this action allegedly will reduce "delays."
This is FAAspeak for increasing the number of planes, noise and air pollution
they inflict on nearby
communities. Many politicians, including U.S. Senators have opposed this
expansion, apparently to no avail. This makes me think that these creeps say one
thing to local communities and say the opposite to the FAA!! What people
must do is wage a concerted campaign against these political enemies who are
helping destroy the quality of life for millions of Americans in the guise of
"progress." All growth is not good, as anybody with cancer will tell
you. Strangely, the most vocal opponents of this expansion are people from a
nearby state of New Jersey and not Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania is shown mostly on
the map on the left)!!! No doubt the FAA has been playing one state against
the other to better divide and conquer the opposition. You can read more about
the local efforts to stop this airport expansion project at the Coalition
of Concerned Communities at: http://www.phl-caw.org/
FAA
Shoves Runway Expansion Down The Throats Of New Jersey, Philadelphia and
Delaware!!! PHILADELPHIA
-- Despite widespread protest, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on
Friday the approval of Philadelphia International Airport's plan to extend
Runway 17-35. "I'm very disappointed," said West Deptford Township
Mayor Anna Docimo. "I almost wonder if they made this decision prior to the
meetings they had with our community." Residents of West Deptford and
Paulsboro are concerned about the increased air traffic above their homes when
the runway is extended 640 feet to the north and 400 feet to the south.
According to Ed Masterson, assistant air traffic control manager for the
airport, planes will fly about 20 feet lower as they pass over South Jersey. The
FAA held two public meetings in West Deptford and Paulsboro in the fall, both of
which were heavily attended by residents who objected to the extension. "Public
opinion was not favorable towards this," said Paulsboro Mayor John
Burzichelli. "Federal legislators forcing the issue in the face of the
public is not what I view as good public policy." The runway expansion
project presented by the city of Philadelphia is intended to alleviate delays
now averaging 10 minutes per flight at the airport, which is the sixth
most-delayed in the U.S. The project, which will cost taxpayers about $36
million. Editor's Note: Note in the picture above how the FAA uses future
fanning out "concepts" when they want to expand an airport. This is a
clever "divide and conquer" strategy they use to get communities to
start fighting with each other to see who gets the increased overflights. The
FAA then sits back and laughs while communities get their politicians to plead
with them. As usual, the FAA eventually gives the poor, minority and politically
weak communities the shaft...or should I say the turbines. http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1114848904180130.xml
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--airport-runway0429apr29,0,3464405.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey
England:
Well Financed Aviation Cabal Gets Unions And Political Stooges To Expand
Heathrow Airport!!! Some of the world’s largest
airlines are forming a powerful coalition to fight for the controversial
development of a third runway and a sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport. British
Airways, Virgin Atlantic and BMI, with the foreign airlines that use Heathrow,
are setting up the campaign group, which will be launched at the end of next
month. It will get extra firepower through backing from the Confederation of
British Industry, three trade unions and senior members of the Labour Party,
said a well-placed source. They will argue that Britain’s economic growth
would be constrained without the new runway. Known as Future Heathrow,
the group will have its own campaign offices, staff and a budget expected to run
into the millions. But it will face opposition from the environmental lobby,
including Hacan ClearSkies which has already taken the Government to the
European Court of Human Rights over night flights. It is planning to set up
Project Heathrow Watch to fight a third runway. The main battleground for the
rival groups will be the environmental impact of a third runway.
Britain’s Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, has said the British Airports
Authority can build the runway if it meets European Union rules on pollution
levels. The airlines have been working on ways to limit future pollution levels.
But Hacan ClearSkies aims to prove that the runway would break EU rules. John
Stewart, the group’s chairman, accused the Department for Transport of
"reworking the figures" to allow the third runway.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10122262
Editor's Note: Interesting how this story is covered in a New Zealand
paper but not in British papers. No doubt they are part of the well-financed
effort to shove this atrocity, and other aviation expansion projects, down the
British public's throats.
France's
Chirac Uses Superjumbo Airbus Plane To Push For A European Constitution: BLAGNAC,
France -- For Jacques Chirac, pushing hard for a "yes" vote in
France's referendum on Europe's first constitution, the maiden flight of the
Airbus A380 was a campaign opportunity too good to miss _ although he almost
did.
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Important Aviation News Stories This Week
PHILADELPHIA -- Despite widespread protest, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday the approval of Philadelphia International Airport's plan to extend Runway 17-35.
"I'm very disappointed," said West Deptford Township Mayor Anna Docimo. "I almost wonder if they made this decision prior to the meetings they had with our community."
Residents of West Deptford and Paulsboro are concerned about the increased air traffic above their homes when the runway is extended 640 feet to the north and 400 feet to the south. According to Ed Masterson, assistant air traffic control manager for the airport, planes will fly about 20 feet lower as they pass over South Jersey. The FAA held two public meetings in West Deptford and Paulsboro in the fall, both of which were heavily attended by residents who objected to the extension.
"Public opinion was not favorable towards this," said Paulsboro Mayor John Burzichelli. "Federal legislators forcing the issue in the face of the public is not what I view as good public policy."
The runway expansion project presented by the city of Philadelphia is intended to alleviate delays now averaging 10 minutes per flight at the airport, which is the sixth most-delayed in the U.S. The project, which will cost taxpayers about $36 million, is expected to reduce each of these delays by about 84 seconds.
The FAA Final Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, released in March claimed that Gloucester County would not be affected by "significant" noise increases.
"There's very detailed and voluminous data on this impact," said Kathleen Bergen, a spokesperson for the FAA. "Federal law recommends that only people in the area very close to the airport get funding for noise abatement."
Len Daws, a West Deptford councilman, said the data is no longer current.
"The noise study was based on an air pattern form made a year and a half ago," said Daws. "Aircraft coming in now aren't adhering to that plan. We asked about the study, and their answers were really inadequate."
In an official statement released Friday, the airport's Director of Aviation Charles Isdell said that the City of Philadelphia intends to review the noise study measures.
"If necessary, we're prepared to explore ways to help mitigate any impact," Isdell said.
Phyllis VanIstendal, a spokeswoman for the airport, was unable to provide further information about Isdell's statement.
State and federal legislators have joined local officials in protesting the runway expansion.
"The FAA's Record of Decision indicates that [this extension] will have no significant noise impacts on the surrounding communities, which defies logic," wrote U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-1st Dist., of Haddon Heights, in a letter to the FAA on Friday. "The proposed runway extension would allow more and larger aircraft to utilize the runway, and common sense dictates that this would result in a substantial appreciation in noise levels for Southern New Jersey communities."
Critics also note that -- by Isdell's own admission -- the project is a "short term solution," which they say means wasteful spending for what will be an ongoing problem.
"The right option requires significantly more funding," said Daws. "They're going for the quick solution, which isn't the best solution."
VanIstendal said the airport hopes to begin construction in spring 2006, and the runway is expected to be in use by the end of 2007.
Bergen said that those who wish to appeal the FAA's decision to the Federal Court of Appeals must do so within 60 days.
"We'll get on this," said Docimo. "This won't be a done deal till we've done everything we can."